1. What is Fluency?

2.  Speed + Accuracy = Fluency  Reading quickly and in a meaningful way (prosody)  Decoding and comprehending simultaneously  Freedom from word identification problems  Fluency is derived from the Latin word fluens which means “to flow”  Smooth and effortless reading

3. Indicators of Fluency  Reading with expression  Recall/Retelling  Words per minute

4. Some Factors that Inhibit Fluency...  Unfamiliarity with text  Limited vocabulary  Difficulty with syntax  Decoding breakdown

5. Questions to Guide Diagnostic Assessment Is your student dysfluent because she…  is slow?  Decodes letter by letter?  Takes too many tries to read the words?  Doesn’t read words automatically?  Doesn’t understand what she is reading?  Is making a speed-accuracy trade off in favor of accuracy?

6. Questions to Guide Diagnostic Assessment Is your student dysfluent because she…  is inaccurate?  Missing phonics skills?  Lacks phonemic awareness?  Doesn’t know many high frequency sight words?  Doesn’t have the oral vocabulary to match her decoding attempt to?  Not using all sources of information in the text to determine the right pronunciation  Not monitoring?

7. Questions to Guide Diagnostic Assessment Is your student dysfluent because she…  lacks prosody?  doesn’t notice punctuation?  lacks syntactic knowledge?  doesn’t notice phrase boundaries?  isn’t paying attention to the meaning?  can’t pay attention to meaning because of attention to decoding?

8. Keep in Mind…  All three areas of reading fluency are intertwined  Working on one area will most likely improve the others  Attention to a single aspect of fluent reading such as rate does not preclude teaching attention to prosody and meaning.

9. Improving Prosody  Reading with recordings  Partner reading  Reader’s Theatre

10. Partner Reading  Two students or a student and a tutor are paired to read the same text aloud  Readers take turns reading  Pair a more capable with a less capable reader; the more capable reader provides a model and offers support and feedback  Equally capable readers reread text after hearing teacher read aloud, or after reading the passage during instruction  Can also be done as repeated readings

11. Readers’ Theater  Choose a pre-written script or adapt your own from a narrative, expository passage, poem, speech, or other interesting text that is rich in dialogue.  Make sure the script is at the right reading level for your students and adapt as needed.  Highlighting tape can be used to identify roles, lessening the need for writing scripts.  Read aloud the text on which the script is based or the script to provide modeling.  Discuss characters’ feelings and how they might sound as they speak.  Practice the script  Perform the play.

12. What Do I Do for Students Who Do Not Reach Fluency Targets?  Determine whether the problem is accuracy or fluency. Look for possible patterns: Look for possible patterns: oMore than 1 error every 10 words indicates a need to look at accuracy. oFew errors but low rate - work on fluency. oRates less than 30–40 wpm typically indicate a need for word recognition instruction. If students are not firm on word recognition skills, focusing on increasing speed will be counter productive.If students are not firm on word recognition skills, focusing on increasing speed will be counter productive. (Simmons/Kame’enui 1998)

13. Designing Word Recognition Instruction  Identify word recognition error types.  Provide systematic word recognition instruction on specific skills.  Pre-teach word types in the text prior to reading.  Structure time for student to practice the text with a peer, adult, or tape.  High frequency/site words: is, be, to, us, am, in  High frequency phrases: by the dogby the dog for the dayfor the day on the bedon the bed over the topover the top

14. Reading Decodable Text and Phrases  The bad cat  The bad cat sat.  The mad cat sat.  The mad cat’s hat  The sad cat’s black hat  The black cat’s sad dad

15. If the Problem is Fluency... Students who read significantly below fluency targets will require:  Fluency instruction and modeling  Daily fluency practice

16. Teacher Instruction and Modeling  Read aloud  Think aloud  Echo reading  Choral reading

17. To develop fluency, students need to:  Develop a high level of accuracy in word recognition  Maintain a rate of reading brisk enough to facilitate comprehension  Use phrasing and expression so that oral reading sounds like speech  Transform deliberate strategies for word recognition and comprehension into automatic skills

18. If it weren’t for students impeding our progress in the race to the end of the term, we certainly could be sure of covering all the content.” However, the question should not be whether we are covering the content, but whether students are with us on the journey.” Pat Cross “Give me a fish while you’re teaching me how to catch my own. That way I won’t starve to death while I’m learning to tie flies.”

19. The challenge of continuing growth in fluency becomes even greater after third grade 4 th, 5 th, and 6 th graders encounter about 10,000 words they have never seen before in print during a year’s worth of reading4 th, 5 th, and 6 th graders encounter about 10,000 words they have never seen before in print during a year’s worth of reading Furthermore, each of these “new” words occurs only about 10 times in a year’s worth of reading Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to correctly guess the identity of these “new words” just from the context of the passage

20. Teaching Reading is Urgent A student at the 10 th percentile reads about 60,000 words a year in 5 th grade A student at the 50 th percentile reads about 900,000words a year in 5 th grade Average students receive about 15 times as much practice in a year (Anderson, R. C., 1992)

21. Closing the gap in middle and high school: the fundamental challenge Each year, the demands of text become more challenging New words appear for the first time Sentences become longer and more complex Correct interpretation requires a broader range of knowledge The length of what you are expected to read increases How do you “close the gap” when the requirements for “grade level proficiency” increase every year?

22. Thus, its important to have reliable decoding strategies to improve the accuracy with which “new” words are identified when they are first encountered in text. If they are to continue growing in their ability to fluently read passages at higher levels of difficulty, children must add large numbers of words to their “sight vocabulary” every year.

23. What we know about the factors that affect reading comprehension Proficient comprehension of text is influenced by: Accurate and fluent word reading skills Oral language skills (vocabulary, linguistic comprehension) Extent of conceptual and factual knowledge Knowledge and skill in use of cognitive strategies to improve comprehension or repair it when it breaks down. Reasoning and inferential skills Motivation to understand and interest in task and materials

24. Knowledge and Strategies for Linguistic comprehension Word reading fluency and accuracy Motivation and interest X X = Reading Comprehension

25. The problems of our poorest readers: 1. Cannot decode novel words accurately because they are weak in phonics skills, and cannot read fluently because their “sight vocabulary” is restricted. 2. They frequently have relatively weak vocabularies because they have not been able to read widely during previous school years- broad knowledge deficits 3. They have not practiced comprehension strategies because of limited reading experience, and because of their struggle with words 4. They frequently have given up on the idea of ever becoming a good reader

26. The problems of mid level readers (grades 4-6) Can usually “sound out” short novel words with reasonable accuracy--frequently stumble on multi-syllable words They are relatively non fluent readers because they have not had enough reading practice Vocabulary is frequently relatively low because of lack of broad and deep reading-other knowledge deficits as well Comprehension strategies are usually inadequate because of lack of instruction and practice They often say they “don’t like to read” because reading is still relatively difficult for them

27. Because reading in middle and high school is “thinking guided by print,” helping students meet grade level standards in reading is a job for all teachers, not just “reading teachers.”

28. It’s at least as much about building content knowledge, vocabulary, and thinking skills as it is about helping struggling readers learn to read accurately and fluently

29. Building Reading Fluency  Model fluent reading, then have students reread the text on their own.  Provide guided, oral, repeated reading practice.  student-adult reading (parent, tutor, paraeducator)  partner reading (small group, class-wide)  tape-assisted reading  computer-assisted  reader’s theater Osborn & Lehr, 2003 Put Reading First, 2001 Rasinski, 2003

30. Guided, Oral, Repeated Reading  Guided  benefits from feedback  feedback from peers or adults  Oral  student engagement  Repeated three or more repetitions or to specified criterionthree or more repetitions or to specified criterion motivating activitymotivating activity

31. Repeated Reading: Student- Adult  Significantly increases reading rate, accuracy, and comprehension  Works with older students as well as elementary children  Fosters fluent word recognition through multiple exposures to words

32. Repeated Reading: Partner Reading Before using partner reading for repeated reading, do the following: 1. Designate reading partners. 2. Select appropriate reading materials. 3. Assemble materials. 4. Implement the program.

33. Step 1: Designate Partners a. Rank order students according to results of survey-level assessment. b. Split the list in half to form pairs. c. Pair top-ranked reader of the higher- performing half with top-ranked reader of the lower-performing half; do the same for the two students who are second on each list and so on until all students are paired.

34. Step 2: Select Reading Materials a. Identify materials appropriate for the lower reader’s instructional reading level (90%-94% accuracy). b. Have both partners read the same passage from the same material. c. Have enough materials selected for two new passages per week.

35. Step 3: Assemble Materials  What Teachers Need  timing device  list of partner pairings  description of partner roles  What Students Need  reading partner  reading material  folder

36. Step 4: Implement Partner Reading  The stronger reader reads aloud; this models fluent reading.  The less fluent reader reads aloud the SAME text for the same length of time.  After both partners have read, one partner asks the other to:  identify the sequence of the key ideas.  tell the main idea.

37. Tape-Assisted Reading  Purpose: To give students support and a sense of the proper phrasing and speed of fluent reading.  The student:  listens to text read at 80-100 wpm by a fluent reader and follows along by pointing to the text.  reads aloud in sync with tape subvocalizing the words.  reads same text independently following repeated reading procedures.

38. Reader’s Theater  Use of scripts (plays, poetry, expository text)  No costumes, props, or scenery  Multiple opportunities for meaningful practice

39. Reader’s Theater Weekly Activities  Select or write a script (see Resources)  Monday: Introduce activity; assign parts.  Tuesday-Thursday: Have students practice.  Friday: Have students perform. Rasinski, 2003

40. Guided, Oral, Repeated Reading Two essential features: Opportunities for Practice Guidance and Feedback

41. Monitoring Fluency Progress Graphing Fluency Progress Making Instructional Decisions Determining WCPM

42. Graphing Fluency Progress  Adult Monitoring (teacher, paraeducator, tutor)  Student Self-Monitoring As part of a repeated reading program, the student may record the wcpm of their first “cold” reading on a graph. On each subsequent reading, the student records the increase in fluency.

43. © 2004, Pearson Education, Inc. Quick Reads