1. Maine Department of Education 2006 Maine Reading First Course Session #11 Fluency Research and Assessment

2. Maine Department of Education 2006 Key Learning Goals Session 6 Fluency Research and Assessment To provide a theoretical understanding of the research supporting the development of reading fluency in children, including: The elements of fluent reading (reading rate, word accuracy, and prosody). understanding the role of fluency in word recognition, oral reading, silent reading, and comprehension of written text. Matching children the appropriate texts to promote fluent independent oral and silent reading. To enable class participants to use scientifically based assessments to determine a student’s development in fluency, including timed oral reading fluency checks. To enable class participants to use assessment data to inform instruction that meets the diverse needs of students.

3. Maine Department of Education 2006 What Do I Already Know About Fluency? Think-Ink-Pair-Share What is fluency? Why is fluency important? How do you assess fluency in your classroom? How do you help your students improve their reading fluency?

4. Maine Department of Education 2006 What is Reading Fluency? (Put Reading First, 2001) Reading fluency is the ability to read words quickly, with accuracy and expression. Fluency is composed of: Rate—the speed at which text is read Accuracy—the ability to read words correctly Automaticity—quick and accurate reading of letters and words, and Prosody—the appropriate use of intonation and phrasing

5. Maine Department of Education 2006 Fluency Bridge Word Identification Comprehension

6. Maine Department of Education 2006 Why is Reading Fluency Important? (Put Reading First, 2001) Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. Fluency positively impacts comprehension as it increases, and is highly correlated to reading comprehension (.82). Fluent readers are able to identify words accurately and automatically, allowing them to focus their cognitive resources on comprehension. Nonfluent readers focus their attention primarily on decoding, leaving little attention free for comprehension. More fluent readers focus their attention on making connections among ideas in a text, and between those ideas and their background knowledge. Fluent readers can process text more quickly, allowing them exposure to more books and texts thereby increasing their reading volume, exposure to vocabulary, and opportunities to practice fluency and comprehension.

7. Maine Department of Education 2006 Is Fluent Reading Only Quick and Automatic? (Put Reading First, 2001) No, fluent reading includes prosody. Prosody is the appropriate use of intonation and phrasing, or reading with expression. Prosody includes knowing where to place emphasis, where to pause, and attending to punctuation.

8. Maine Department of Education 2006 Changing Emphasis of Five Essential Elements

9. Maine Department of Education 2006 How Does Reading Fluency Develop? (Put Reading First, 2001) Reading fluency develops gradually through practice. Fluency is not a stage of development—it changes with the reader’s familiarity with the text. Automatic word recognition is a necessary, but not sufficient, fluency skill. Fluency develops as a result of many practice opportunities. Research has demonstrated that repeated oral reading and guided repeated oral reading improves reading fluency. Round robin reading is not an effective method of guided repeated oral reading.

10. Maine Department of Education 2006 Why Isn’t Round Robin Reading an Effective Fluency Strategy? (Opitz & Rasinski, 1998) Round Robin Reading…. Provides limited engagement Gives an inaccurate view of reading Promotes faulty reading habits instead of effective strategies Invites inattention and disruption Consumes valuable classroom time Causes anxiety and embarrassment Hampers listening comprehension

11. Maine Department of Education 2006 What Factors Influence Fluency? (Bourque & Andrews, 2003) Material being read Difficulty level of the text Flexibility of the reader’s strategies Reader’s knowledge of the content or meaning Language match Reader’s purpose Word recognition

12. Maine Department of Education 2006 Methods for Assessing Fluency Accuracy Levels Oral Reading Fluency Rate Checks Repeated Oral Reading Graphs Fluency Rubrics

13. Maine Department of Education 2006 Accuracy Levels Reading LevelDescriptionAccuracyPurpose for Reading Independent Level No more than 1 in 20 words are difficult for reader 95-100%Students reading independently, little or no support needed Instructional Level No more than 1 in 10 words are difficult for reader 90-94%Students need instructional support before, during, & after reading Frustration Level More than 1 in 10 words are difficult for reader Less than 90%Only when extensive support is provided by teacher

14. Maine Department of Education 2006 Calculating Accuracy Levels # of Words Read Correctly ÷ Total # Words Read = Percent Accuracy Example: 95 words read correctly ÷ 103 total words read = 92% (instructional level)

15. Maine Department of Education 2006 Calculating Reading Fluency Rates Reading fluency is calculated based on the number of words read correctly in one minute. Total Words Read – Errors = Words Read Correctly per Minute (WRC) Example: If a student reads 53 words and has 7 errors, the student has read 46 words correctly per minute (53-7=46). Reading fluency rates can be tracked over time on different texts or on repeated readings of the same texts.

16. Maine Department of Education 2006 DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency There was a robin’s nest outside our kitchen window. The nest was in a tall bush. The mother robin sat in the nest all day long. One day when I was watching, the mother bird flew away. I saw the eggs she was sitting on. There were four blue eggs. I watched and watched. The eggs moved. I watched some more. The eggs started to crack. Finally, the eggs hatched. I saw four baby birds. The baby birds opened their beaks wide. I heard them peeping. Soon the mother bird came back. Then the mother robin put worms in their mouths. Every day I watched the baby birds and their mother. Pretty soon the babies were so fat there was no room for the mother. Then one morning the nest was gone from the bush. Materials Student Copy of Passage Examiner Scoring Sheet Clipboard Stopwatch Red pen/pencil

17. Maine Department of Education 2006 Fluency Rubrics Fluency rubrics help describe the quality of the reading fluency of a reader. Qualities of fluency that are rated include: Rate/Speed Accuracy Phrasing Attention to punctuation Intonation

18. Maine Department of Education 2006 Let’s Practice Determining Reading Accuracy Determining Oral Fluency Rate Scoring with a Fluency Rubric

19. Maine Department of Education 2006 3—2—1 3—things worth remembering 2—things to learn more about 1—burning question