Fluency

What is Fluency?

• The ability to read a text _______, _________, and with proper __________– _________: ease of reading– _________: ability to read without errors

Why is Fluency Important?Research says:Successful readers…

o rely primarily on the __________ in the word rather than context or pictures to identify familiar and unfamiliar words.

o process virtually every letter.o use ______________________ to identify

words.o have a reliable __________ for decoding

words.o read words for a sufficient number of times for

words to become automatic.

Automaticity with Code• Definition:

– Reading words with no noticeable cognitive or ____________. It is having mastered word recognition skills to the point of overlearning. Fundamental skills are so “____________” that they do not require conscious attention.

– Skills that are automatic:• shifting gears on a car• writing your name• playing a musical instrument

Students who are automatic with the code…

• Identify ________________________ accurately and quickly.

• Identify familiar spelling ________________ to increase decoding efficiency.

• Apply maximum resources to the difficult task of blending together isolated phonemes to make words.

• Apply knowledge of the ______________ to identify words in isolation and connected text fluently.

What do fluent readers look like?

• More fluent readers… Need to direct relatively little effort to the act of reading, allowing them to focus active attention on ________ and ________________.

• Less fluent readers… Must direct considerable effort to the act of _____________, leaving little attention for reflecting on its meaning and message.

How Fluent?

• It is not enough for students to simply meet a goal; they must meet the goal by a specified time period so that they can make the necessary progress they need to develop into lifelong readers.– End of 1st grade: ___ cwpm (correct

words per minute) or more– End of 2nd grade: ____ cwpm or more– End of 3rd grade: ______ cwpm or more

Instructional Approaches

• _________________– Repeated reading procedures– Paired reading

• _______________– Silent reading

• Accelerated Reader• Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.)

** Research has not yet confirmed independent silent reading as a means of improving fluency and overall reading achievement

Teaching Fluency: Critical features of Fluency

instruction

Effective Fluency Instruction

• Three decisions:– Selecting appropriate

__________________(i.e., letter sounds students can produce accurately but not fluently).

– Scheduling sufficient ____________ (multiple opportunities per day).

– Systematically increasing the ________ of response.

Passage Reading

• Structured activity in which students can read stories or connected text designed to provide practice and application of ____________ and ________________ skills. Passage reading provides students the ____________ to become accurate and fluent.

Levels of Challenge

Independent Level: ____% Instructional Level: _________% Frustration Level: _____% or lower

For fluency building, materials should be at ________________ level or above.

(Modified from Hasbrouck, 1998)

How to Determine Appropriate Level Text

• Select text that students read with 95% accuracy

# of words read correctly total words read

Example: 100 words read correctly 125 total words read

80% accuracy ________________ be appropriate for fluency building

% accuracy

80% accuracy

Fluency programs and materials

• What you should look for in materials to build fluency:– Are passages within the learner's decoding range? (95%

accuracy or higher) – Is there an ______________ strategy for teaching students

to transition from accuracy to fluency? – Is there _____________ opportunity for fluency building? – Is there ____________ in words (i.e., words show up

multiple times in different text)? – Are target rates identified?

Oral Reading Fluency Programs

• Reading Mastery (focus on fluency checkouts)– Individual oral reading fluency checkouts

scheduled every 5 lessons beginning at lessons 108, Level 1.

– Target rates and error limits are established systematically

– Student performance is graphed every 5 lessons documenting whether students reached reading criterion.

What is PALS for Beginning Readers?

• Peer Assisted Learning Strategies • A ___________________ program to

practice beginning reading skills• All students work in _________

several times each week for reading practice activities

Purpose of PALS

• To develop important ________________ skills for young children

• To provide teachers with a practical and effective means of meeting early literacy needs for all students in _________________________

PALS

• Peer Assisted Learning Strategies– K PALS– 1st grade PALS– 2nd-6th grade PALS

– High School Pals• FLUENCY & COMPREHENSION!

Important Features of PALS• ______________ (Coaches and Readers)• _______________ activities• _______________ support• More time engaged on task • Includes __________ students• Opportunities for ___________ for all

students • Encourages positive ________________• Practical AND effective • Opportunities to _________ student

progress

Benefits of PALS

• Meets the needs of increasingly diverse population in classrooms

• Strengthens general education’s capacity to meet academic needs of broader range of children

• Uses empirically validated instructional practices

• Read Naturally (supplemental fluency building program for grades mid 1-6)– A supplemental tape-recording program that

build on three primary practices: model oral reading, repeated readings, and progress monitoring.

– Students are place in appropriate level text and practice listening to and reading with tape-recorded passages.

– Comprehension questions are included for each passage.