Fluency

I just started reading Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner this morning (it is 8:25am now). On page 6, there is a neat comparison of how the difference between reading fluency and reading word-for-word is like the difference between spreading butter and margarine on a piece of bread.

"When spreading butter, the bread often tears and the butter is lumped in places on the bread. Margarine goes on smoothly, not tearing the bread, and covers the bread evenly."

She goes on to comment about how "writing fluency is equally important for writers. Being able to think and write at the same time -- getting words on a page, writing a paragraph, a page, or even a couple of pages in one writer's workshop -- is an important skill for students to develop. When students are thinking, they are less likely to forget what they want to say. Fluency is the ability to generate text -- a lot of it -- in a short period of time. This gives students something to work with when it comes to rereading, revising, and even editing."

I really liked these comments and thought this would be a good place for me to record them so I can refer back to them.