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. 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. In addition to reading fluency, her research interests include literacy instruction for struggling readers, and comprehension and vocabulary development. Formerly on the faculties of the Boston University School of Education and the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Dr. Kuhn began her teaching career in the Boston public schools and worked as an instructor at an international school in England. She served as a member of the Literacy Research Panel for the International Literacy Association. Dr. Kuhn has published several books and numerous journal articles and book chapters.

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.