Tim eats, sleeps and breathes fluency. For over four decades, he has been actively studying literacy and fluency, first as a classroom teacher and later as a professor of literacy education at Kent State University, where he is now a professor emeritus. Tim has devoted his career to the building of literacy and – having written over 200 articles and authored, co-authored or edited over 50 books or curriculum programs on reading education – Tim can certainly be considered one of the foremost literacy experts. In fact, in 2010, Tim was inducted into the International Reading Hall of Fame.
In this presentation, Tim describes how he taps into science and the use of phonics to teach reading. Yet for Tim, fluency is much more than simply reading fast, and it requires more than science and phonics. Art is fundamental to the reading process, and true fluency incorporates “meaningful prosody” – the sort of expression, phrasing, and patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry and music – that readers experience when they are reading aloud or even silently.
Listen in, and you will experience firsthand the power and joy of using art to build fluency. Sing along with Tim as he croons, “When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin’ along,” and delight while he recites Lewis Carroll’s “The Jabberwocky.” Watch how Tim brings back the magic of poetry and song into the teaching of reading and how “the rhythm, the rhyme, the melody make poetry and song … the best text for struggling readers.” There is never a dull moment during a talk with Tim, and you will leave this hour with innovative and practical lessons that you can transfer immediately into your classrooms.
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