2.  SONG – DON’T HURRY, READ SMOOTHLY  WHAT IS READING?  FLUENCY – 3 easy, well-researched ways to develop it.  VOCABULARY – 2 ways to learn  COMPREHENSION – The Great 8

3. To the Tune of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” performed by Bobby McFerrin from the movie “Cocktails”. “Don’t Hurry, Read Smoothly” When you get a book to read You might want to read it accurately So don’t hurry, read smoothly Try to make the words come alive With prosody, phrasing and all that jive So don’t hurry, read smoothly Chorus Fluency is reading nice With expression – don’t sacrifice So don’t hurry, read smoothly Fluency helps us comprehend Knowing vocab makes us grin So don’t hurry, read smoothly Chorus To make reading really great You need to really articulate So don’t hurry, read smoothly So just remember what fluency is So you can be a little reading wiz Don’t hurry, read smoothly Chorus Break it down (no music, just speak the last verse, this time “rapping” it) So just remember what fluency is So you can be a little reading wiz Don’t hurry, read smoothly!!!!!

4.  Reading is DEVELOPMENTAL  Reading is DECODING plus COMPREHENSION

5.  Four Stages  1. Learning about Print – Pre-Reading  2. Breaking the Code – Levels A – E  3. Going For Fluency – Levels F - Z  4. Reading to Learn and For Enjoyment – Levels F – Z+  *A lot of PRACTICE reading at correct level moves students faster through the stages.  Correct Reading Level  Independent – relatively easy text for the reader, misses 1 or less words out of 20, 95% success.  Instructional – Challenging but manageable text for the reader with adult help, no more than 1 out of every 10 words are difficult, 90% success.  Frustrational – More than 1 in every 10 words is TOO DIFFICULT for the reader (less than 90% success). NEVER practice reading at this level. Instead, listen to the text on tape/cd, or have someone read it aloud to you.

7.  Decoding is matching sounds and letters to make words and practicing this skill enough, in text that is on an independent or instructional level, to be accurate and fluent. *****NEVER practice reading in frustrational text. If text is frustrational, listen to it on tape or have someone read it out loud to you.  Comprehension is knowing what the words mean. It is knowing the vocabulary and how text works, and strategies to unlock the text - the Great 8 Comprehension Strategies.

8. Important components of comprehension

9.  Fluency is the ability to read text naturally, at a nice rate with satisfactory accuracy for your level, with phrasing, intonation and expression. (UURC – University of Utah Reading Clinic; NRP – see below)  Research has shown that there is a close relationship between fluency and comprehension (National Reading Panel Report, 2000)

10. There are three well-known methods for helping students improve their reading fluency:  1. Re-read: have your student re-read a little book, a paragraph or page they have just read 4 times (can time and chart for motivation).  2. Easy Reading: The student reads text at his/her independent level. The focus is on improving phrasing and speed with text that can be read with very few errors.  3. Echo reading/Choral Reading: A parent/adult reads the first paragraph, modeling fluent reading, then the student reads the same paragraph, copying the parent /adult; or, both read the same paragraph or page together, with the parent/adult modeling the fluent behavior.

11. Learn in two ways: DIRECT and INDIRECT

12.  1. Activate or Build Background Knowledge  2. Monitor Comprehension and Clarify  3. Determine Importance  4. Visualize  5. Predict  6. Ask Questions  7. Infer  8. Summarize