A student reads at a normal pace but with little expression. When stopped at periodic intervals, the student is able to accurately summarize the reading. In this case, the teacher should first target instruction in which of the following areas?

Automaticity refers to the ability to read words quickly and accurately with minimal cognitive effort. The student's ability to summarize accurately suggests that they have already achieved a level of automaticity; therefore, this area may not be the immediate focus for improvement at this stage.

Decoding is the process of translating written words into spoken language. Since the student is able to summarize the reading accurately, it indicates that they possess sufficient decoding skills to recognize and understand the words, making this an unlikely area for initial instruction.

While comprehension is crucial for overall reading success, the student demonstrates the ability to summarize the text effectively. This suggests that their comprehension skills are adequate, and thus, instruction should first address prosody to enhance their expressive reading abilities before tackling comprehension strategies further.