Fluency

Improving Fluency in Young Readers -- Fluency Instruction What is fluency? According the National Reading Panel (2000), fluency is the ability to read text with speed, accuracy and proper expression. Fluent readers: Recognize words automatically Read aloud effortlessly and with expression Do not have to concentrate on decoding Can focus on comprehension Why is fluency important? “Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.” Fluency doesn’t ensure comprehension, but comprehension is difficult without fluency. When students make gains in reading fluency, they are able to put their energies into comprehension and are able to analyze, interpret, draw conclusions, and infer meaning from texts. The 3 Components of Fluency Accuracy: Also known as automaticity, it refers to the person's ability to read words in a text. In order to implement fluency teaching into reading instruction, teachers need to be aware of the three components of fluency. Fluency Instruction Model fluent reading.

Understanding and Assessing Fluency Let's cut through the buzz around fluency and review what reading fluency is, why it is essential to ensure that our students have sufficient fluency, how fluency should be assessed, and how to best provide fluency practice and support for our students. We'll start by defining fluency. While the National Reading Panel's definition of fluency as the ability to read text with accuracy, appropriate rate, and good expression (NICHD, 2000) is widely accepted among fluency researchers, these experts continue to debate the more subtle aspects of fluency (Stecker, Roser, and Martinez, 1998; Wolf and Katzir-Cohen, 2001). However it is defined, this much is certain: Fluency is necessary, but not sufficient*, for understanding the meaning of text. When children read too slowly or haltingly, the text devolves into a broken string of words and/or phrases; it's a struggle just to remember what's been read, much less extract its meaning. Student placed vocal emphasis on appropriate words.

Reader's Theater Scripts and Plays for the Classroom Reader's Theater Scripts and Plays Readers Theater is a dramatic presentation of a written work in a script form. Readers read from a "script" and reading parts are divided among the readers. No memorization, costumes, blocking, or special lighting is needed. Presentations can easily be done in a k-3 classroom. Scripts are held by the readers. "Reader's Theater proved to be almost a magic solution for Griffith: In just 10 weeks of using RT, every child in her class had gained a full grade level in reading. Update - July 08

Fluency Practice Passages Why Use Fluency Practice Passages Fluency is a key foundational skill that helps students read complex text with greater understanding. When students read with accuracy and expression at an appropriate reading rate, their fluency supports their comprehension. Repeated reading practice with short passages improves word recognition and automaticity. How to Use Fluency Practice Passages Passages are provided from Levels F to Z. Timed Reading Procedures You will need: Two copies of the assessment passage—one for the student and one for the instructor Stopwatch or clock Pencil Clipboard (so students will not see what you are writing) Administer a one-minute reading, starting the stopwatch when the student begins the first word of the passage (student will not read titles). During the reading, resist the urge to correct mistakes. Follow along on your copy word by word with your pencil. Timed Reading Scoring Example:

Primary Press: Presidents and a Sight Word Freebie We are working like crazy this week to get in all of our presidential fun! You can get the sight word centers here {for free!}. Please let me know if you are able to use these! They go along with the 100 most common words that we use in our small groups. You can get my Presidents' Day workshops and thinking maps here.

Another great practice for fluency, Reader's theater! A variety if options. Reader’s Theater Editions are free scripts for reader’s theater (or readers theatre) adapted from stories written by Aaron Shepard and others—mostly humor, fantasy, and world tales from a variety of cultures. A full range of reading levels is included, with scripts aimed mostly at ages 8–15. The scripts may be freely copied, shared, and performed for any noncommercial purpose, except they may not be posted online without permission. As noted in the listing, some scripts come also in a “Team Version,” scripted for four readers with at least two females. These scripts are offered primarily for smaller groups such as after-school programs and homeschoolers, as well as for college and professional readers. Special features are available for many scripts.

20 iPad Apps To Teach Elementary Reading As anyone with a toddler knows, iPads are addictive for children. They seem to have some sort of special radar that lets them know when an iDevice is within their reach, and they’ll do anything they can to get their hands on them. Resistance is futile, but instead of lamenting excessive screen time, you can make your child’s iPad addiction a productive one with educational apps, including those that promote early reading. With these 20 apps, children can learn how to write letters, improve phonics fluency, and even write their own books. Read on to find the very best iPad apps for developing young readers, and feel free to share your own favorites in the comments. ABC PocketPhonicsKids can develop skills in letter sounds, writing, and first words with ABC PocketPhonics.

ELLs and Reading Fluency in English Fluency is the ability to read words accurately and automatically with expression. Because fluent readers do not have to slow down in order to concentrate on decoding the individual words in a text, they can focus their attention on the text's meaning. In this way, fluency acts as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension, and this relationship is reciprocal. That is, when a student understands the meaning of the text he/she is reading, it is much easier to read that text with expression. Prosody is a term that is frequently heard in discussions of fluency. How fluency relates to ELLs Instruction in fluency can be particularly beneficial for English language learners because activities designed to enhance fluency in reading can also contribute to oral language development in English. Assessing reading fluency As with any type of instruction, fluency instruction depends upon ongoing assessment to identify individual students' strengths and needs. Assessing reading accuracy