Fall Fluency for Teachers
by Lesley Mandel Morrow, Rutgers University
This Fall mark the beginning of a new school year with these fluency activities which teach reading, phonics and language art skills.
Fall marks the beginning of a new season and a new school year. It is a time when teachers and students seem ready and eager to try new ideas. About three years ago, the federal government organized a group called The National Reading Panel. The panel's purpose was to study existing research about literacy development in order to determine the most important elements in the teaching of reading. One of the elements identified was fluency. Fluency is defined as the ability to read automatically with accuracy. A fluent reader reads at an appropriate pace, with expression and good phrasing. Fluency demonstrates that a student can figure out words using phonics and other language study skills, as well as understand or comprehend what he or she reads. Activities to practice fluency are fun and easy to do. Here are some fluency activities to try throughout this new school year.
Echo Reading can be done with an entire class, in small groups, or with two individuals. To echo read, the teacher, or a more capable reader, reads one line of a poem or story; then the child, or less capable reader, reads the same line. As the child's reading improves, the number of lines read at one time can be gradually increased. To be sure the child is looking at the words, ask him or her to "finger" follow the print. Try to incorporate echo reading at least once a week.
Choral Reading involves reading a text together. Select a story that a child has read before or one that is easy for him or her to read. Determine a signal for beginning; for example, count to three and then start. The teacher should take the lead with expression and pacing. Try to choral read twice a week. A variation of choral reading is antiphonal reading. Here the group is divided in half or into thirds. Give the groups names, such as A, B, or C, so you can call on a specific group. Be sure everyone understands what to do, and then read together.
Reader's Theater is a read-aloud activity. Assign roles and have students read when it is their character's time to talk. This should be done with materials that are easy for the students to read. Fables are often good pieces of literature for reader's theater because they are short and have definitive characters.
Partner Reading involves two students. One person reads the first page in a book, then the other reads the next page, and so on. Start partner reading by having student pairs read just a sentence or perhaps half the page. As their reading improves, have them read entire pages. Try partner reading once a week.