Didactic gestures in reading fluency instruction: analysis of a teaching material for the final years of elementary school

Abstract

This article analyzes how the pedagogical guidelines in Caderno de Fluência Leitora – 6º e 7º ano, part of the Rotas de Aprendizagens material developed by the Municipal Department of Education of Fortaleza, shape the teaching of reading fluency in the final years of elementary education through didactic gestures. This qualitative documentary study examines the guidelines addressed to teachers, drawing on research on reading fluency (Rasinski, 2004; Solé, 1998) and didactic gestures (Schneuwly, 2000, 2009; Aeby-Daghé; Dolz, 2008). The analysis was organized around three axes: fluency as an object of teaching; the organization of reading activities; and the monitoring and regulation of learning. The findings show that the material defines fluency through components such as accuracy, automaticity, and prosody, linking them to reading comprehension and performance indicators. It also provides guidance for activities before, during, and after reading and presents practices involving modeling, collaboration, consolidation, and expressive reading, thereby expanding opportunities for student participation. Regarding learning monitoring, the material proposes tools to record performance, identify difficulties, and track individual progress, including observation protocols, monitoring forms, and recorded reading. The study concludes that the material incorporates didactic gestures that prescribe ways of defining the teaching object, organizing reading activities, and monitoring learning. As this is a documentary analysis, the findings concern the guidelines proposed in the material and do not establish how they are implemented in the classroom or what effects they have on learning.