**4. Conclusions**

When considering whether to use a whole class approach to fluency development or an approach designed for smaller groups of disfluent readers, it is important to consider students' developmental

needs [8,11]. For example, it is rare that an entire class of first graders will be ready for fluency instruction. Similarly, most students beyond the third grade should be fairly fluent readers. In both of these scenarios, small group instruction using FOOR or Wide FOOR is appropriate for those learners mentioned, but is unlikely to benefit the entire class. In fact, these approaches are e fficient and e ffective ways to meet various students' needs as they develop and change throughout the school year. By using a flexible grouping structure, you can vary your curriculum so that oral reading instruction is targeted to those who need it the most.

On the other hand, it is the case that most, if not all, second and third graders could benefit from the type of whole-class fluency instruction provided by FORI and Wide FORI. These approaches have a solid scientific research base, have been proven to increase students' fluency and overall reading achievement, and are an e ffective way to teach the shared reading component of a literacy block. However, it is also important to remember that even the best oral reading instruction should not be the entirety of a literacy curriculum. Further, once students are fluent readers, these approaches should be a fforded less time and priority in the curriculum, or even phased out entirely. Instead, additional silent reading and comprehension instruction, writing activities, and/or opportunities to expand your students' reading of di fferent genres and in di fferent content areas should take precedence. In this way, it becomes possible to create literacy instruction that will meet the needs of all students.

**Funding:** This research was supported in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative, a program of research jointly managed by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the National Institutes of Health (NIH Grant 5 R01 HD40746-4).

**Acknowledgments:** I would like to acknowledge the work of the gran<sup>t</sup> team, especially Paula Schwanenflugel and Steven Stahl who served as PI for the for the grant, Lesley Morrow, Elizabeth Meisinger, Barbara Bradley, Robin Morris, Rose Sevcik, and Deborah Woo who made integral contributions to the research, and the many graduate students who worked at our multiple sites across the country.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
