Fluency, Read Naturally, Braille & Low Vision Readers Summer Institute 2016 August 2 & 3 Iowa Braille School Chris Short, Braille & Low Vision Literacy Consultant

About me Chris Short 14 years in general education- 3 rd grade 16 years as a TVI Masters in Special Education – Visual impairments Masters in Orientation & Mobility Reading endorsement Currently braille & LV literacy consultant

About you Name Position Student Why this session? What do you hope to learn?

WHAT IS READING FLUENCY? The ability to read  accurately  quickly  with expression

WHAT IS FLUENT READING? Read fluently with adequate speed, phrasing, intonation; their reading sounds like they’re speaking.

Fluency and Comprehension Fluent reading allows the reader to attend to the meaning of the text rather than the mechanics of decoding. Fluent readers construct meaning as they read as evidenced by their phrasing, intonation and expression. 6

Factors Contributing to Fluency Reading Speed Reading Speed A slow rate may be symptomatic of other reading problems

Factors Contributing to Fluency Prosody Expressiveness

Factors Contributing to Fluency Accuracy # of words read correctly Total # of words read = % Accuracy

Accuracy Level of Challenge% of Accuracy Independent Reading Level97% or greater *Instructional Level94-97% Frustration Level93% or Lower

Factors Contributing to Fluency FLUENCY Accuracy Prosody Reading Speed

Theory of Automaticity More Fluent Readers direct relatively little effort to the act of reading, allowing them to focus active attention on meaning and message. Less Fluent Readers must direct considerable effort to the act of reading, leaving little attention for reflecting on its meaning and message. Foorman & Mehta, 2002; Samuels, 2002

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WHO ARE THESE STUDENTS? DESCRIPTORS:  Read haltingly  Slow, laborious readers  Read word—by—word  Uncertain of sight words  Ignore punctuation

WHO ARE THESE STUDENTS? They can be:  Students who read braille  Students with low vision

Fluency Teaching Strategies Model Fluent reading - Teacher read-alouds “What did you notice about my voice? “How did my voice help you to understand or pay attention” How did I use my voice to show happiness (or excitement or anger)? Model phrasing or “chunking”

Fluency Teaching Strategies Coaching & feedback You got the words right, but is was so fast, it made it hard for me to keep up. I liked how you paused slightly between sentences. It gave me a chance to think about it. I like how you used your voice in this section! I knew the character was really angry.

Fluency Teaching Strategies Provide Fluency Support and Assistance (Scaffolding) Read-aloud as student’s follow silently Then group read

Reading Strategies Repeated Readings Repeated reading is an evidenced-based strategy designed to increase reading fluency and comprehension

Repeated Readings Purpose: to help their students develop fluency and comprehension while reading. This method was designed to help students who have little to no experience with reading fluently to gain confidence, speed and process words automatically.

Fluency Programs Read Naturally --designed for struggling readers. 1. Read along with tape of fluent reading, student reads the same story 2. Practice individually and time themselves until goal is reached 3. Student graphs reading scores

What is Read Naturally? It is research based ◦ Teacher modeling ◦ Repeated Readings ◦ Progress Monitoring

The Read Naturally Strategy Teacher Modeling Repeated Reading Progress Monitoring

Read Naturally Encore

Read Naturally ase/how-to/24/245 ase/how-to/24/245 Listen for the instructional strategies behind Read Naturally.

Read Naturally Placement Process ase/how-to/24/255 ase/how-to/24/255 Listen for the steps in placement within the Read Naturally program. 26

Steps for Initial Placement 1. Estimate the reading level. 2. Find the placement story. 3. Time the student for one minute. 4. Calculate the number of words read correctly. 5. Calculate the accuracy – you want 95% accuracy. 6. Determine whether the level at which the student read is appropriate. 27

Steps for Initial Placement 6. Placement Table 28 Placement Testing Level Scores in this range indicate a fit 1.0 to – 60 wcpm 3.5 to – 80 wcpm 5.6 to to 100 wcpm to 140 wcpm

Steps for Initial Placement 6. If the level is not a match, continue to test. 7. Select level. 8. Set an initial goal. 29 Set Initial Goal Grades 1-4 Add 30 to Placement Score Grades 5+Add 40 to Placement Score

Calculating Accuracy 60 words read in 1 minute 8 errors = 52 cwpm # of words read correctly = % Accuracy Total # of words read 52 = 86% Accuracy 60

Implementing the Steps 1. Select a story 2. Key words 3. Prediction 4. Cold Timing 5. Graph Cold-Timing Score 6. Read Along 7. Practice 8. Answer the questions 9. Pass 10. Graph Hot-Timing Score 11. Retell the Story 31

Oral Reading Fluency Scale Spring Fluencies for print readers 1 st Grade cwpm 2nd Grade cwpm 3rd Grade cwpm 4th Grade cwpm 5th Grade cwpm 6th Grade cwpm

Oral Reading Fluency Scale print readers vs. brl readers 1 st Grade cwpm 56 2nd Grade cwpm 71 3rd Grade cwpm 81 4th Grade cwpm 90 5th Grade cwpm 97 6th Grade cwpm 100

Let’s Practice 1. Select a story 2. Key words 3. Prediction 4. Cold timing 5. Graph Cold-Timing Score

Let’s Practice 6. Read Along with teacher 7. Practice – read together 8. Questions 9. Pass 10. Graph Pass Score 11. Retell

Ordering Read Naturally All levels available in EBAE ◦ 1.0 & 1.5 ◦ 2.0 & 2.5 ◦ 3.0 & 3.5 ◦ 4.0 & 4.5 ◦ 5.0 ◦ 5.0 & 5.8 ◦ 6.0 ◦ 7.0 ◦ 8.0 Order from Sue Shananan at the IBS library

Ordering Read Naturally - UEB TVI orders through IDB TVI may download LP and PDF files from IBS DropBox

Selecting Materials to Build Fluency Are passages within the learner's decoding range? (95% accuracy or higher) Is there an explicit strategy for teaching students to transition from accuracy to fluency?

Selecting Materials to Build Fluency Is there daily opportunity for fluency building? Is there overlap in words (i.e., words show up multiple times in different text)? Are target rates identified?

Other Uses for RN Timed Writing Listening Comprehension

Timed Writing Use RN to dictate to student Student brailles story 3-minuted timed writing Divide number of words by 3 to get wpm

Listening Skills May use RN for aural comprehension Adult reads story aloud to student Reads questions Begin one level below reading level ◦ % comprehension on 3 out of 4 stories, move to end of level

Listening Skills Option #2 Use RN recordings Begin 2 levels below reading level Start at normal speed 3 out of 4 stories at 100% Next 4 stories bump up speed till you reach 100% Next 4 stories bump up speed

Questions Chris Short