Fluency/Comprehension

The relationship between reading comprehension and reading fluency within my classroom is that of making sure that the students are understanding what we are reading to them or what they are reading to themselves. I have noticed that my students when they read aloud to themselves during silent reading time- they have a better fluency pattern as well as a better comprehension pattern. For example, I was sitting with a student and she was reading a Clifford book to me. Of course she was reading it aloud and her fluency seemed to be going well. She had a few stop-ups here and there but that is expected of a second grader. I then asked her questions at the end of the book to see if she could re-call what she had read and she did very well. I thought, that was interesting because I have never looked at the two relationships before. I then had a different student read a book silently to themselves and I had prepared myself to ask them questions when they were done (reading through the book first) I noticed that they seemed to stay on a page longer than ‘normally’ and when I went to ask them questions their answers were fuzzy and un-clear. I made the conclusion that it is harder for the students to read in their heads because when they hear themselves saying it aloud they can hear the mistakes that they make and correct them, verses reading to themselves. I thought it was an interesting find. So I think the relationship between reading comprehension and reading fluency is very close and if a student is able to fluently read they will have a better time comprehending because they already know what they are reading and do not have to worry about just getting through the story but understanding it.
Approaches that are used to assess and teach fluency in my classroom include as I stated above sitting and reading with students to help them become better readers by giving them hints to sounding out words, helping them use sight words to help them pronounce other words that they may not know. As well as observing students during their reading time. This is a great tool because you can see exactly where students are struggling and where their strengths are. I find that observing students and then looking back at the notes is a great way to assess them and them help them improve. Fluency is taught in my class through read aloud instruction and examples. Students work with the teacher when we are circulating around as well as they are listening to how a story is read to them with inflection and punctuation.
What I need to know to fully understand my students reading development is in my opinion the number one most important facet would be the students attitude toward reading. If a student hates to read and has no interest in it, they are going to be poor readers because it is more of a chore than something to be learned and gain experience. It is ‘dreadful’ to the student and therefore reading is put into a negative category. Finding out their attitudes toward reading will help me understand my students better and give me more opportunities to help them improve. I could do this through a reading survey or just asking students randomly what they like about reading and what they don't. I also think it would be helpful to find all the students strengths within reading and make sure that I complement them on their strengths and then help them improve on their weaknesses. I can find this out through observing and note taking during their silent reading or writing time.