1. EDC423 Fluency: Freeing the Mind for Comprehension

2. TURN & TALK: What is fluent reading?

3. Three aspects of fluent reading (EAR) Expression (Prosody) – phrasing, word emphasis, musical aspects of language Accuracy – correct and automatic without effort or thinking power Rate – oral and silent rates

4. Recommended Fluency Rates Instructional Level Oral RateSilent Rate Grades 1-250-10075-100 Grades 2-370-110115-140 Grades 3-480-140130-175 Grades 4-5100-150160-200 Grades 5-6110-160185-225 Grades 7-8130-180200-250

5. Fluency – Developing Automaticity Why is fluency so important? Automaticity: the ability to read without consciously thinking about it Readers no longer need to use their working memory to decode the words – they can use that memory for things like interpretation, comprehension, and critical thinking. Thus, increased fluency can foster increases in reading comprehension!

6. Assessing Fluency Oral Reading with DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) One minute tests

7. Assessing Fluency with DIBELS Potential Problems? (Fluency = expression, accuracy, and rate) Bringing words to life in the context of a story… (storytelling vs. reading isolated word lists) Importance of changing rate and phrasing to match the purpose for reading (When might you need to slow down?)

8. How can we help children monitor and improve their fluency? Advantages? Disadvantages? More Engaging Alternatives?

9. Instructional Practices for Improving Fluency NOT Round Robin Reading Use Repeated Reading Use Shared Reading / Choral Reading Use Partner Reading Authentic ways to integrate these oral reading practices?

10. Poetry Feast & Favorite Poem Project

11. Reader’s Theatre Grade 1

12. Reader’s Theatre Grade 1

13. Reader’s Theatre Interpretive voice-only performance – goal: to expressively read a text so that the audience can visualize the story Oral, volume, intonation, pitch, & timing Requires deep understanding of a character’s emotions and the plot Implementing for as little as 10 weeks resulted in consistent gains in comprehension of more than one year! (Griffith & Rasinski, 2004; Martinez et al, 1999) Purposeful matching with technology motivated children even more! (Vasinda & McLeod, 2011)

15. Reader’s Theatre

16. Reader’s Theatre Script Choices Help! Hilary! Help! (Hilary gets the change to show just how helpful she can be.) Which Shoes Do You Choose? (With so many kinds of shoes at the store, how can Katie ever choose?) Casey at the Bat (It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day…)

17. Audacity