ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes a study of time-related aspects of the reading process. It shares the findings of a study of oral reading that builds on Goodman’s model of the reading process (Goodman, 2003b) and a develops hydrological metaphor for concepts that link reading and time. The study of reading flow results in key inferences about how the reading process works. Readers use time when they need to reflect on the concepts they encounter or when they need to work out the linguistic structures that they are anticipating in the text—in other words, when readers take the time they need to ponder ideas or when they need to solve problems they encounter as they read. The chapter reports some findings from a study of six readers of various ages. It investigates the nature of oral reading rate as readers read and retell whole, authentic narrative texts.
