Improving Reading Fluency Parson Hills Elementary “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” ~Emilie Buchwald

What is reading fluency? Reading fluency is a set of skills that refer to a student's speed, accuracy, and ease of oral reading. A fluent reader … recognizes most words by sight. is able to read aloud easily, smoothly, and with the rhythm of natural speech. decodes unknown words quickly. attends to punctuation. reads with proper expression. Fluent readers gain more meaning from the what they read and enjoy reading more than students who devote all their energy to sounding out words.

Learning reading fluency is like learning to ride a bike. Do you remember learning to ride a bike? Did you take off quickly the first time? Did it get easier the more you practiced? Initially, you needed to concentrate hard On pedaling and steering Staying upright Going fast enough not to fall over Going slow enough to not tumble Learning to read is a similar experience!

Why is this skill necessary? Being able to read the words accurately, quickly, and with expression allows the reader to focus on the meaning of the text rather than each word. Children who are weak in the skill of fluency read slowly, even word by word. They focus on figuring out the words instead of understanding the meaning of what they read. The National Reading Panel concluded that repeated oral reading procedures that included guidance from teachers, peers, or parents had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across grade levels.

Timed Readings… Practice reading for Speed. Set a timer for 1 minute. Mark any words your child misses as s/he reads. At the end of 1 minute, talk to your child about what word(s) s/he missed. Practice reading for Expression. Set a timer for 1 minute. Mark any words your child misses as s/he reads. At the end of 1 minute, talk to your child about what word(s) s/he missed.

How do we calculate reading fluency? Total Number of Words Read Words Correct per Minute (WPM) Number of Errors The student is given an appropriately leveled passage and timed for exactly one minute. Fall WPM Winter WPM Spring WPM 3rd Grade 79 93 114 4th Grade 99 112 123 5th Grade 105 118 130

How do we calculate reading accuracy? Correct number of words read Total number of words read Percent accuracy Independent level (95%-100% accuracy) Instructional level (90%-94% accuracy) Frustration level (<90% accuracy)

What can you do? Practice reading Sight Words and Phrases with speed and accuracy. Provide many opportunities to practice reading out loud to you or another family member. Reading fluency develops as a result of many opportunities to practice reading. Encourage your child to reread a text up to 4 times out loud to you or a family member. Research shows that re- reading text up to 4 times produces optimum results. *Presenter notes* Sight words are critical to reading not only because they are used so frequently, but also because many of them cannot easily be sounded out or illustrated. They are used so often it is important that readers be able to recognize these words on sight (hence the term “sight words”). When a reader masters sight words she is able to understand at least half of the words in a particular text.

During reading, your child is practicing… Accuracy: reading the words correctly. Automaticity: recognizing words without conscious decoding. Pace: not too fast, not too slow, but just right to sound like natural speech.

Activities to Practice Fluency For students still learning their basic sight words Repeated Reading: Practice the same book repeatedly in order to increase speed of word recognition. (Usually 3 - 4 readings) Echo Reading: Parent reads a phrase or sentence while emphasizing their expression and intonation. (Increase number of sentences as reading improves). Child repeats, trying to mimic the parent’s speed and expression. Ex: Help! My dog is lost. Can you help me look for my dog. Timed Repeated Reading: Have your child read the same passage for 1 minute 3-5times (3-5). The adult counts how many words the child read in 1 minute. Try to beat your score each time! Tape Assisted Reading: Child reads aloud or silently with a book or tape. Make sure your child is tracking the text as they listen.

During reading, what can you do to help?

Activities to Practice Reading Fluency For students who have developed a basic sight word vocabulary Choral Reading: Read a book aloud to your child. Then have your child reread the book with you. Student-Adult Reading: Read one-on-one with your child. You read first, providing your child with a model of fluent reading. Then have your child read the same passage to you. Partner Reading: Parent and child can take turns reading aloud to each other. Independent Reading: Your child engages in independent silent reading with minimal guidance and feedback. Don’t forget to ask your child questions about what they read.

During reading, you are modeling… Expression by varying your voice tone, pitch, and volume to reflect the meaning of the text. Pausing for punctuation. Experienced readers take short breaths for commas, voice stopping and going down for periods, and stopping and going up for question marks. Smoothness by avoiding pauses, hesitations, sound-outs, repetitions, and multiple attempts for the words in the text. Stress by creating emphasis (louder tones) on particular words, like “Did you see my adorable puppy?” or “I LOVE reading!”

Ask them questions about what they have read. If your child is already reading independently ... hold them accountable! Ask them questions about what they have read. Encourage them to try books from other genres. Still have them read aloud to you at least two times a week to keep them growing as a reader too.

References: UT Systems and TEA, 2002, Effective Fluency Instruction and Progress Monitoring. http://www.slideshare.net/artman75/fluency- presentation Buzz Worthy Ideas, Amy Anastas, 2015, What is Fluency? https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What- is-Fluency-1936492 Reading Rockets, 2012, Fluency Matters http://www.readingrockets.org/article/fluency-matters

Research shows… “Repeated reading procedures that offer guidance and feedback are effective for improving word, recognition, fluency, comprehension, and overall reading achievement through 5th grade.” ~National Reading Panel, 2000