Developing Fluent Readers: Teaching Fluency As a Foundational Skill

Viewing fluency as a bridge between foundational skills and open-ended learning, this book guides teachers through effective instruction and assessment of fluent reading skills in the primary grades. Fluency’s relationship to phonological awareness, phonics, and print concepts is explained, and practical methods are shared for integrating fluency instruction in a literacy curriculum grounded in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Classroom examples, weekly lesson plans, and extensive lists of recommended texts add to the book’s utility for teachers.

Melanie R. Kuhn, PhD, is Professor and Jean Adamson Stanley Faculty Chair in Literacy at the Purdue University College of Education. Her primary focus has been on reading fluency and how best to support its development. In addition, her research interests include literacy instruction for struggling readers and comprehension and vocabulary development. Dr. Kuhn’s instructional experience includes clinic work, directing reading interventions, and teaching in the Boston Public Schools. She served as a member of the Literacy Research Panel for the International Literacy Association and as a board member for the Literacy Research Association. Dr. Kuhn has written or edited several books, along with numerous journal articles and book chapters. She moderates the website https://thereadingforum.com.

Lorell Levy, EdD, is a learning disabilities teacher/consultant in the West Windsor-Plainsboro (New Jersey) School District and Adjunct Professor at The College of New Jersey, where she teaches courses on literacy education. Dr. Levy has presented at both national and regional conferences on topics of literacy education and special education. She is on the board of directors of several nonprofit organizations and has spent time training parents, teachers, and health care professionals in Ghana on how to work with children on the autism spectrum.