It is often thought that fluency may be the link between decoding and comprehension. Decoding refers to a child's ability to recognize words. Word recognition skills can be taught through phonemic awareness and phonics. For many readers, problems with word recognition can lead to fluency problems, which in turn can lead to comprehension problems. According to Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn (2001), less fluent readers focus their attention on decoding words, leaving less attention to comprehension. As students begin to develop decoding skills and word recognition becomes natural and automatic, improvements in fluency and comprehension can be achieved. Fluency also allows the reader to see that meaning is not conveyed by words alone, but by expression, punctuation, and phrasing (Rasinski, 2003). Once a student learns to decode words accurately, effectively, and effortlessly, he or she can begin to read passages and stories naturally and focus on