Grade 2: Fluency The material in this Institute has been modified from the Florida version of the original reading academies that were developed by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts. The copyright to these materials is held by the Texas Education Agency. The copyrights of individual articles included within the academies is held by the original publishers of the articles, and they are included here with permission.

Survey of Knowledge Accuracy Automaticity Fluency Grade-level texts Independent level Instructional level Frustrationallevel Prosody Rate Reading level WRC Handouts 1 & 2 Activity

Fluency combines rate and accuracy requires automaticity includes reading with prosody Fluency:reading quickly, accurately, and with expression Handout 4 Activity

Effective Reading Instruction Fluency is vital to comprehension! Fluency is a critical bridge and has a domino-like effect on the development of reading skills.

North Carolina Standard Course of Study Competency Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts Read aloud with fluency and expression any text appropriate for early independent readers. Activity

Measuring Students’ Fluency Example: If a student reads 66 words and has 8 errors, the student reads 58 words correct per minute Always encourage students to do their best reading. One-Minute Reading Total Number of Words Read Number of Errors Words Read Correctly Per Minute (WRC) Handout 5

Setting Fluency Goals Determine the number of words Michael needs to improve each week to reach an end-of-year goal of 91 WRC Set a goal for Michael to reach by the middle of the year Establishing baseline fluency scores helps determine students’ fluency goals. Recommended weekly improvement = 1.5 to 2.0 WRC Given that Michael reads at 42 WRC and there are 33 weeks remaining:

Procedures for Assessing Fluency Having students read three unfamiliar, instructional-level passages and recording and graphing the median WRC is more reliable than using a fluency score based on one passage. Handouts 6-8 Activity

Second Grade Snapshot: Michael Hi! I’m Little Bill. This is a story about a boat that12 I made all by myself. I named it The Moby Dick.23 One Saturday morning, I woke up and saw that it was34 bright and sunny outside. Hurray! I could go with43 my brother to the park and sail my new boat.53 VIDEO 3:24 Handout 9

Hi! I’m Little Bill. This is a story about a boat that12 I made all by myself. I named it The Moby Dick.23 One Saturday morning, I woke up and saw that it was34 bright and sunny outside. Hurray! I could go with43 my brother to the park and sail my new boat.53 Second Grade Snapshot: Michael

Fluency Instruction Fluency instruction begins when students can read connected text with 90% or better accuracy (usually by the middle of first grade).

A Closer Look at Reading Levels To determine a student’s reading level for a specific text, calculate: Correct number of words read Total number of words read Percent Accuracy ÷ = Ex: 48 ÷ 50 = (.96) 96% (Independent Level) Handout 10

What We Know From Research Repeated and monitored oral reading improves fluency Repeated reading can benefit most students throughout elementary school, as well as struggling readers at higher grade levels

Repeated Reading Partner Reading Pair students to practice rereading text Computer-Based/Tape Assisted Reading Students listen, read along, or record their own reading, point to text, subvocalize words, and reread texts independently Readers Theatre Small groups rehearse and read a play

Partner Reading involves pairing students to practice rereading text increases the amount of time students are reading and provides a model of fluent reading Handouts 11 & 12

An Example of Partner Reading Pair up Select one of the narrative children’s books you brought to the institute Decide who will be Partner A and who will be Partner B – Partner A will read first Partner A: Ask Partner B the “after-reading comprehension questions” Use at least two of the highlighted prompts from the handout “Providing Instructional Feedback”

Repeated-Reading Practices Computer-Based/Tape-Assisted Reading Model the proper phrasing and speed of fluent reading Readers Theatre Involves small groups of students reading and rehearsing text that lends itself to dialogue and expression Handout 13 Activity

More Fluency-Building Practices Choral Reading Actively involves students as they read in unison Chunking Involves reading phrases, clauses, and sentences by parsing, or dividing text into chunks VIDEO 7:58 Activity

Consider Diversity: Limited English Proficient Students Fluency practice for Limited English Proficient students involves Listening to models Repeated readings Choral reading Partner reading

Students with Special Needs Students with special needs usually benefit from: Repeated reading practice, especially in expository or informational texts More time on task Paired reading and rereading Additional feedback and progress monitoring

Monitoring Fluency Progress Students: Independently read unpracticed text to the teacher and graph their WPM Practice rereading the same text several times Independently read the text again to the teacher Graph score in a different color

Remember... Fluency is increased when students: Develop instant, efficient word recognition (automaticity) Practice repeated reading of texts Receive feedback and guidance