Why Beginning Reading Must Be Word-By-Word: Disfluent Oral Reading and Orthographic Development

Abstract

The development of reading fluency is a gradual process which often entails strategies that make for a disfluent oral presentation. Disfluent oral reading, fingerpointing and reading aloud to oneself are the most characteristic behaviors of beginning readers. In this paper, research related to these reading behaviors and the corresponding spelling behaviors is presented. Based on an integrated theory of literacy proficiency, the synchrony between stages of reading and spelling development and the reasons why these stages are related are discussed.