1. Curriculum & Instruction TLI Grant Staff
Fluency
Fluency: The Bridge between
Word Recognition and Comprehension
Read Title
This year our goal is to raise our 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Fluency Scores with the help of the Neuhaus Fluency Routine.

2. Overview 2 main identified goals are Fluency and Comprehension
BISD Grading Procedures Appendix A-: “The ability to read with accuracy, and with appropriate rate, expression, and phrasing.”
TEA- “the bridge between word recognition and comprehension.”
*TLI GIT states that our two main identified goals for our students are fluency and comprehension
*BISD defines fluency as (read 2nd bullet)
*TEA defines fluency as (read 3rd bullet)

3. “…learning to read is NOT a NATURAL process…..
*knowing that “learning to read is not a natural process and that most children require systematic and explicit instruction” is a quote directly from BISD ‘s grading procedures-Reading Program Standard Operating Procedures Appendix A
*FOR THIS REASON BISD IS RECCOMMENDING THAT ALL students in the district receive equitable fluency instruction through a uniform DAILY
FLUENCY ROUTINE.
*The routine that is being suggested is the Neuhaus Weekly Schedule for instructional purposes only

4. Reading at a quick pace (appropriate rate) without comprehending = not fluent
Reading slowly with comprehension (adequate comprehension) = not fluent
Reading Rate
Comprehension
When I read the first bullet (read first bullet), it is very easy to understand because if a child reads too quickly, then it is easy to understand why they do not understand.
However, the second bullet was an eye opener for me. I was under the misapprehension that a slow reader would be able to understand. I remember some information about a 3rd grade student being able to pass the STAAR while reading 60 WCPM. But, do we want them to just pass? Now, let’s look at an even slower reader than 60 WCPM in 3rd Grade. A very slow reader is just worried about decoding and not paying attention to understanding what they are reading. For example, if you have
Both reading rate and comprehension must be in balance. A fluent reader is one that has both an appropriate rate for their grade level accompanied by complete understanding.

5. MONDAY Select passage of the week for COLD Read
Assess with one minute readings; mark errors/miscues discretely
Ask 2 Questions Who & What happened?
Calculate WCPM (subtract errors from total words read = WCPM) 68-7=61WCPM
Mark score on Fluency Excel Tracker
This is your REPORT CARD SCORE
Students work in groups, pairs, independently as teacher assesses on other work (not today’s story)
When you assess a Fictional passage, Ask: 1. Who is passage about? 2. What happened to _______?
When you assess a Non Fiction or Expository Passage, Ask: 1. What is the topic of this passage?/What is the passage all about? 2. Name 1 or 2 details from this passage.
You might be thinking, how do I calculate words correct per minute or WCPM? You take the total number of words the student read in one minute and subtract the number of errors or miscues. The number left is the WCPM. Page 4
This is also called the cold read because the students have never seen this passage before.
Remember, you will be working with this same passage all week.

6. TUESDAY Introduce Rapid Word Recognition Chart
Model word and give brief definition
Practice chart  Echo reading
~~~~~
Teacher reads aloud passage of the week
Not too fast and not too slow. Read it just right so that we can understand what we are reading. 10 min max
Teacher asks DOK questions as time permits.
Modeling of the passage is the key here. Students need to hear OUR own voices—NOT the recording. That is great for PRACTICE the following week!
Don’t forget to ask one or two DOK Questions!!!

7. Rapid Word Recognition Chart
salutations
affirmative
negative
angling
caught
referring
Remember, this is a one minute review. Check for a quick understanding of words. Review all rows with all students in either echo or choral. Then time ALL students. Next, time boys to see how long it takes for them to complete chart. Last, time girls to see how long they take to complete chart.
EMPHASIZE: Correct word reading

8. WEDNESDAY 1 Minute Review of Rapid Word Recognition Chart
Check for word understanding
~~~~
Teacher guides students as they highlight all punctuation
Teacher models reading paying close attention to punctuation/echo or choral read
Teacher asks DOK Questions as time permits
10 minutes max
This is a very important day for fluency. Students are taught to highlight (pay attention to) all punctuation in the passage.

9. THURSDAY 1 Minute Review of Rapid Word Recognition Chart
Check for word understanding
~~~~
Teacher guides students as they look at phrasing as they read
Students follow as teacher marks pencil swings under words that have been grouped together as in a phrase.
Teacher models reading in phrases
Allow students to read to each other paying close attention to punctuation and phrasing 14 min max
Pencil Swing Day!!!!!
Use your finger to draw an imaginary pencil swing under the phrases as you read. Your phrase may not be like someone else—but it is still in phrase form.
We phrase as we read to glean meaning from text. This is really a very powerful tool because we are explicitly showing our students that reading for meaning is the only way to read.

10. FRIDAY Reassess student rate - Final Read
Check student weekly progress growth
Praise all efforts great or small
Suggestion: Create Monday – Friday Graphs 
You can place the final read on a chart together with the cold read so that students can actually see how much they can accomplish with practice and patience. We want to make reading fun, enjoyable and as painless as possible! 
REMEMBER—This is NOT the Report Card score!!!!

11. Middle School Fluency Plan

12. How to Score Fluency Mispronunciations-pronounces word incorrectly
Errors include:
Mispronunciations-pronounces word incorrectly
Substitutions-replaces correct word with different word
Omissions-skips a word
Reversals-reads adjacent words in the wrong order
Hesitations-The student pauses for longer than 3 seconds or takes longer than 3 seconds to sound out a word. In these cases, provide the word and count it as an error.
These errors/miscues are taken directly from the TPRI/Tejas Lee Assessment

13. Items NOT Considered Errors
How to Score Fluency
Items NOT Considered Errors
Insertions-adds word not in text
Self-corrections-corrects own errors
Repetitions-reads same word over again
Loss of place-skips a line or loses place. Redirect to correct place  clock continues
If student reads same word throughout incorrectly, count each incorrect word as a separate error.
Page 6 of booklet

14. Oral Reading Fluency Goals for 1st – 12th Grades
I would like for you to Notice that oral reading rates beyond the 8th grade level are the SAME as that of the 8th grade level.
This is due to the fact that when we read aloud, we generally do not read faster than what we can read at an 8th grade reading level.
These oral reading rates can be used as a guideline when discerning appropriate reading rates for students. Adjustments to these reading rates could be made to accommodate English Language Learners and students with reading difficulties (Hasbrook & Tindall 2006, in Optimal Reading Rates).

15. Calculating Accuracy Fluency Rate
After determining WCPM, divide that number by the total number of words in passage
Sample Using 1st Gr.
Total Words in Passage: 62
Student Read:
Errors:
WCPM (60-1=59)
Accuracy (59/62=95%) 95
Sample Using 6th Gr.
Total Words in Passage:
Student Read:
Errors:
WCPM (155-15=140)
Accuracy (140/165=84%)
How to calculate Accuracy

16. Accuracy Score for Classroom Use
Percentage
Accuracy Level
Grade Level Determinant
94-100%
INDEPENDENT
Able to read grade level passages independently
On grade level
89-93%
INSTRUCTIONAL
Needs help reading grade level
passages
Able to read current grade
level with assistance
0-88%
FRUSTRATIONAL
Unable to read grade level passages
Reading 1-2 grade levels below current grade level
This chart describes the Accuracy Attributes. An INDEPENDENT student is one who is able to …read 1st part of chart
A student at the INSTRUCTIONAL Level is one who …. Read 2nd part of chart
A student at the FRUSTRATIONAL Level is one who … Read 3rd part of chart
Texas Primary Reading Inventory Assessment

17. Six Weeks Fluency Excel Tracker
This tracker was provided to you by Bertha Elizondo, TLI Teacher Specialist from Sharp Elementary
BGE 2013

18. Sample of MS Tracker

19. EFFECT OF DISTRICT FLUENCY INITIATIVE ON 1ST GRADE NON READERS (NR)
TPRI
G01 BOY 2013
G01 EOY 2013
G01 BOY 2014
G01 EOY 2014
#Tested/NR
School A
161/123
161/55
145/100
145/35
School B
132/89
132/30
102/60
102/16
School C
68/43
68/28
69/40
69/13
This graphic came about this year due to the fact that our district did not meet their Fluency goal for either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Grade classrooms. We wanted to find another way to highlight how the Fluency Initiative did help some campuses with their End of Year 1st Grade Non Reader Counts. We took 6 campuses (3 large, 3 medium and 3 small sized campuses) but only place three campus results.
The chart reads across; School A at G01 BOY 2013 out of 161 students tested 123 were NON Readers. Keep going across at EOY for the same year the number of students that could NOT read had dropped to 55. If you continue to that same campus for the following year, the same holds true but just a little bit better results.
Look at School B and School C. Notice any trends

20. Information for
No Gains in the 2012/2013 or the /2014TPRI/Tejas Lee Results in Fluency or Comprehension.
BISD is suggesting that the Fluency Routine be implemented systematically and with fidelity, every other week – K-5 all students
BISD is suggesting that the fluency Routine be implemented systematically and with fidelity, weekly for 6-10 Tier 2 or T3 students
Routine Card for Elementary and Secondary
Fluency Pamphlet for Elementary and Secondary
Weekly Parent Letter Elementary
So what do you need to know for this school year?
First Bullet  Although we did not have gains in fluency for this past school year, many schools did show a decreas is numbers of students that were non readers in 1st grade
Continue reading all bullets

21. If we dream it
and believe it
We can achieve it!!!!
All children can succeed!