Date Approved
8-14-2026
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Education-Literacy Studies: Reading (M.Ed.)
Degree Program
Literacy, Educational Foundations, & Technology
First Advisor
Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle, Ph.D.
Academic Year
2025/2026
Abstract
Despite extensive research establishing reading fluency as essential to literacy development, many early elementary students fail to achieve grade-level fluency, compromising their reading comprehension and academic success. Fluency instruction has been narrowed to measuring reading speed, dismissed beyond third grade, and taught as an isolated skill disconnected from authentic reading across content areas. While research demonstrates that fluency encompasses accuracy, automaticity, and prosody and should be integrated meaningfully across disciplines, many K-2 teachers lack practical resources and guidance for implementing comprehensive fluency instruction in their classrooms.
To address this gap, this project presents a research-based fluency integration guidebook for K-2 teachers. Grounded in Automaticity Theory, component-based fluency frameworks, Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development, and Schema Theory, the guidebook includes foundational fluency explanations, integratable fluency strategies, grade-differentiated lesson enhancements across English Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, authentic practice passages, and teacher and administrator feedback forms designed for purposeful student and teacher engagement. The application of these resources ultimately aims to shift teacher practice by bridging the research-to-practice gap and supporting comprehensive fluency development that strengthens reading comprehension and academic achievement across disciplines.
ScholarWorks Citation
Yersak, Erika, "Building Fluent Readers: Developing Comprehensive Reading Fluency in K-2 Classrooms" (2026). Masters Projects. 764.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/764
