Read voraciously

If you see readers who . . .

• are attempting to read material that is too difficult and thus read very little.
• read word by word, like a robot, lacking inflection.
• don't adjust their phrasing and prosody to match the text.

Most readers develop fluent reading normally with little instructional guidance. Allington (2009a) believes that children who come to school having heard hours and hours of reading become fluent readers naturally unless “something in the classroom instruction interferes.” His research leads him to conclude that the “volume of reading matters critically in the development of fluent, proficient readers” (100).

Students must choose to read books that are a good fit, and they must increase the amount of time they read each day.

Reading voraciously is found under each goal area on the CAFE Menu. The same principles for teaching this strategy hold true in all goal areas. In this case readers need to spend a tremendous amount of time reading to increase their fluency. Our language for introducing Read Voraciously changes slightly, depending on the goal.

Create a whole class of students who see the value and joy in reading and are motivated to read by

• reading to the class each and every day from a wide variety of materials, modeling a love of reading and a love for words;
• providing time each day for children to read material of their choice that is of high interest to them;
• providing ongoing support, matching readers to texts based on interest and ability;
• providing a wide range of reading material that is of interest to all your students; and
• sharing your reading journey, including books you are reading and words you are learning.

Suggested language:

• What is the next book you plan to read?
• How many books have you read?
• What is your reading goal?

Possible ways to differentiate instruction:

• Carving out time during the day for all students to read, especially our students who need voracious reading as a strategy to build fluency, can be a challenge. We might add these students to our conferring calendar every day for a week or two, to help them get in the habit of reading with fluency.
• Check in with readers often to monitor the constant consumption of reading material and the fluency they are gaining.
• In school and classroom libraries, maintain current copies of a wide range and variety of reading materials for readers to choose.

Reconsider materials, setting, instruction, and cognitive processes.

These strategies may provide support before, during, and after teaching this strategy:

• Set a Purpose for Reading
• Read Text That Is a Good Fit