Question
Do you consider form, content and use synonymous with accuracy, rate and prosody?
Answer
No, I don't. Similar to using a Venn diagram when referring to form, content and use which are important to oral language, I like to use a Venn diagram of accuracy, rate and prosody to represent what's important for reading fluency. Oral language and reading fluency are not synonymous; they are two different things. So, think about how the three of those (form, content and use) are important to language and communicative competence. The same holds true for reading fluency – we need accuracy, rate and prosody. We can't just get by on accuracy and rate.
Dr. Shari Robertson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a Professor of speech-language pathology and Dean’s Associate for Graduate Study and Research at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Prior to obtaining her doctorate at UW-Madison, she was a school-based SLP and special education supervisor for 18 years.
