Fluency develops over time through supported and repeated reading practice. Fluency develops as students are able to recognize words “by sight”, decode unfamiliar words, and construct meaning more actively and rapidly. It is important for teachers to understand that “sight words” are not just the small number of irregular words they directly teach students, but eventually all words become sight words as they are repeatedly read correctly in text. It is the students’ ability to recognize very large numbers of words “at a single glance” that is one of the most important factors underlying the development of reading fluency in the early elementary grades. Teachers should use read-alouds, recorded books, peer reading, and discussions to model the elements of expression, intonation, phrasing, and rate. One important reason for teaching students to read prosodically is that it will help to focus their attention on the meaning of what they are reading—it is difficult to read with proper expression if students do not actively construct meaning as they read. Daily oral reading experiences with teacher feedback should be provided at the student’s instructional reading level. Practice at the student’s independent reading level is also necessary. Fluent readers are so skilled at identifying the words in print, and they do it so easily and effortlessly, that they are able to devote most of their attention to constructing the meaning of what they read.

Elements of Effective Fluency Instruction
In order for students to become fluent readers, they must first become accurate readers, so the ultimate development of fluency depends on:

• Strong instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics
• Many opportunities to listen to models of fluent reading
• Multiple opportunities to practice reading with text at the right level of difficulty