Fluency

Definition

Fluency: consists of several components including: (1) the accuracy of decoding; (2) appropriate use of pitch, juncture and stress (prosodic features) in one’s voice; (3) appropriate text phrasing; and (4) an acceptable reading speed or rate

Strategies for Assessing Fluency

• Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement: Test 2 (Reading Fluency) • The Analytical Reading Inventory (ARI; Woods & Moe, 2003) and other running record and miscue analysis methods • Audio Taping • Multi-Dimensional Fluency Scale • Oral Reading Fluency Norms

The Analytical Reading Inventory (ARI) and other running record and miscue analysis methods

When using the ARI or other informal reading inventories, the assessor can integrate how

the student’s oral reading miscues and comprehension interact to affect fluency. The

degree of ease with which the reader incorporates phrasing, pitch, stress, intonation and

punctuation can also be (albeit, subjectively) assessed. With running records, miscues

that are usually recorded include: omissions, insertions, substitutions, aided words,

repetitions, reversals, self-corrections, hesitations and ignored punctuation. The ARI

includes a Fluency Grid and Rating Scale which can be adapted for use with other

informal reading inventories. The Fluency Grid assess is a checklist of reading behaviors

and the Rating Scale is a 4-point scale describing how fluent the oral reading was.

Students will have increased difficulty reading fluently as the level of reading increases

(from instructional to frustration), however, if the student is decoding and comprehending

well, but unable to use good phrasing, pitch, stress, intonation and punctuation, then

intervention may be required.

Audio Taping

Materials One blank audiocassette tape per student A portable audiocassette recorder with an internal microphone An audiocassette tape storage case Procedure The text to be read for the audio recording should be selected based on the nature and purpose of the information needed. For instance, information needed to document students’ fluency progress over time will differ from information collected to compare one student’s fluency to another. If a teacher wants to document a student’s fluency progress over time, have the student select a favorite text to be practiced aloud or silently at least three times in preparation for audio recording. Record the oral reading of the practiced, self-selected text. Recording several reading of self-selected, favorite tests over sufficiently long period of time provide both teachers and parents with useful longitudinal information regarding a student’s fluency progress. However, there may be a need to compare a student’s fluency performance with others of the same age or grade. In this case, all students read the same text. Recording the same sample text allows for collection of comparative fluency data. Reutzel, D.R. & Cooter, R.B. (2003). Strategies for reading assessment and instruction.

Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.

The Multidimensional Fluency Scale This provides a practical measurement of students’ oral reading fluency. It should be used with a student selected passage of 200-300 words. The student should rehearse the passage at least three times before the assessment. The oral reading can also be taped for later review Zutell and Rasinki (1991) Multidimensional Fluency Scale Use the following scales to rate reader fluency on the three dimensions of phrasing, smoothness, and pace. A. Phrasing

1. Monotonic with little sense of phrase boundaries, frequent word-by-word reading. 2. Frequent 2 and 3 word phrases giving the impression of choppy reading; improper stress and intonation that fails to mark ends of sentences and clauses. 3. Mixture of run-ons, mid-sentence pauses for breath, and possibly some choppiness; reasonable stress/intonation. 4. Generally well phrased, mostly in clauses and sentence units, with adequate attention to expression.

B. Smoothness

1. Frequent extended pauses, hesitations, false starts, sound-outs, repetitions, and-or multiple attempts. 2. Several “rough spots” in text where extended pauses, hesitations etc., are more frequent and disruptive. 3. Occasional breaks in smoothness caused by difficulties with specific words and/or structures. 4. Generally smooth reading with some breaks, but word and structure difficulties are resolved quickly, usually through self-correction.

C. Pace (during sections of minimal disruption) 1. Slow and laborious 2. Moderately slow 3. Uneven mixture of fast and slow reading 4. Consistently conversational

Oral Fluency Norms Materials A teacher-selected passage of 200-300 words (student copy and administrator copy) Age/Grade based norms for oral reading fluency (included here is the Curriculum-Based

Norms in Oral Reading for Words Correct Per Minute for Grades 2-5) Cassette tape player/recorder Curriculum Based Norms in Oral Reading Fluency Gr. 2-5: Medians (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 1992) Fall Winter Spring Grade Percentile WCPM* WCPM WCPM 2 75 82 106 124 2 50 53 78 94 2 25 23 46 65 3 75 107 123 142 3 50 79 93 114 3 25 65 70 87 4 75 125 133 143 4 50 99 112 118 4 25 72 89 92 5 75 126 143 151 5 50 105 118 128 5 25 77 93 100 *Words correct per minute

Procedure This procedure is for a words correct per minute (WCPM) assessment. Other methods exist for calculating words (read) per minute (WPM) or miscues per minute (MPM). Say to student, “When I say ‘start,’ begin reading aloud at the top of this page. Read across the page. Try to read each word. If you come to a word you don’t know, I’ll tell it to you. Be sure to do your best reading. Are there any questions?” “Start.” Following along on your copy of the story, mark the words that are read incorrectly. If a student stops or struggles with a word for three seconds, tell the student the word and mark it as incorrect. Place a vertical line after the last word read within a one-minute time frame. Words counted as correct: 1. Words read correctly, given the reading context. Repetitions are not counted as incorrect. Self-corrections within three seconds are not counted as incorrect (they are correctly read words). Words counted as incorrect: 1. Words read incorrectly, including mispronunciations, substitutions and omissions. Words not read within 3 seconds are counted as errors. 2. Use the 3 second rule. If students struggle to pronounce a word or hesitate for 3 seconds, then tell the student the word and count it as an error.

Teaching Strategies for Developing Fluency

• Interventions for low rate of speed Timed Stories Repeated Readings Hand Pacing • Interventions for students who guess or skip over words Systematic Analysis of Unfamiliar Words Highlighting • Interventions for inability to recognize basic sight words Word Cards Sight Word Games • The Learning High Frequency Words pamphlet (included in this document or found at www.santee.k12.ca.us/carl/Document/Learning%20High%20Frequency%20Words.doc gives many example on how to build sight word vocabulary, a problem typical of students lacking reading fluency. • Echoic and choral readings help students learn how phrasing, intonation and pitch through modeling. The text being read should be displayed so all students can see it. The teacher reads part of the text (a song, poem, rhyme or short story) and the children either repeat the phrases or join in on repetitive parts. • For older students, Reader’s Theater may be a more appropriate strategy. Each student practices reading from a script and then shares his/her oral reading with classmates (and an audience, if appropriate). Opportunities for modeling and repeated practice make this an excellent strategy for developing fluency. • Five Surefire Strategies for Developing Reading Fluency http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/teacherstrat/readingfluencystrategies.htm More great strategies for working on fluency! • Supported Reading For Readers Who Lack Fluency http://www.lpb.org/education/parents/supported.html

This website describes techniques for echo reading, shadowed reading and assisted reading to improve student fluency. • The Oral Reading Fluency Handbook Includes many great classroom activities!!

http://www.illinoisreads.com/htmls/ER_Handouts/TeacherHandbook.pdf

• Fluency Instruction Website from NIFL http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1fluency.html More theory and techniques for creating fluent readers.

• Reading Fluency Tips and techniques from Learning Disabilities Online http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/reading_fluency.html

Low Rate of Speed

A student is unable to read as many words per minute as would be normal for a student in the same grade. Intervention 1: Timed Stories Use short stories at the appropriate reading level. Place in labeled envelopes. Develop norms for each envelope, such as a five-minute story, a three-minute story, etc. Have the student keep a record of the stories he/she has read. Intervention 2: Repeated Readings A student is asked to read an unfamiliar story and is timed for one minute. The number of words read and the number of miscues are recorded. The student reads the same material periodically and the results are graphed. Intervention 3: Hand Pacing This intervention is appropriate for older readers (6th grade and up). The students pace their reading with their hands. They try to move across the page slightly faster than their comfortable reading speed. It is important to remember that the hand is used to pace the eye and the reading speed.

Guesses or Skips Over Words

The student guesses at words instead of using specific strategies. A miscue analysis needs to be done by the teacher to determine the types of miscues the student is making. The teacher should ask questions of the student to determine whether he/she knows how to sound out words, use context clues, or apply other strategies. During the time the intervention is being used, a running record of miscues made during the student’s oral reading should be kept. This will provide an evaluative feedback relative to omissions, additions, substitutions, reversals, and if the student is applying word solving strategies. Intervention 1: Systematic Analysis of Unfamiliar Words Strategies for unfamiliar words should be taught to the entire class. However, some children need to be reminded frequently of these strategies and positively reinforced when they apply the taught strategies to their reading. The strategies could be posted in the room or they could be printed on a bookmark as a reminder to the students.

How Do I Figure Out a Word I Don’t Know 1. Skip the word. Read to the end of the sentence. 2. Look at the pictures for clues. 3. Use the “finger slide” to sound it out. 4. Look for little words or patterns in the word. 5. Divide bigger words into parts. 6. When you figure out a word, always read the sentence again to

see if the word makes sense. 7. If you can’t figure out the word, ask for help.

Intervention 2: Highlighting A highlight marker can be used to identify key words and phrases. These words can become the student’s sight word vocabulary. The highlighted words can be used in isolation or used to make a word bank, study guide etc.

Inability to Recognize Basic Sight Words

The student is unable to read the basic sight words taught at his/her grade level or after all the basic sight words are taught, the student is unable to read the high utility words that make up from 50 to 65 percent of the words in most reading material. The student should recognize individual words within one second. There are many of these lists available for teachers to use, including the Frye Sight Word List or the Dolch sight word lists. During the time the intervention is being used, the results of weekly or biweekly checks should be graphed to see if there is an improvement. Intervention 1: Word Cards Have the student write troublesome words on a 3x5 card. For some children it is helpful to write over the word in glue. When the glue dries, the student can trace over the words with his/her finger while saying the word for a kinesthetic approach. Sandpaper, velvet, sand, etc. can also be used. Write a sentence and underline the word being taught on a card. The sentences can be student-generate or the teacher can write the sentences to use a controlled vocabulary. For visual learners, drawing an illustration for the word or sentence will be helpful. These cards could also be made into a picture dictionary. Words should be reviewed each day. Intervention 2: Games Most teachers have many favorite games to reinforce word recognition. Remember that most children learn better when they enjoy the activity and are having fun. Typical games are: Sight Word Bingo- Bingo cards containing relevant sight words Word Match- Make two sets of basic sight words for a deck of cards. Deal four cards to each player. Turn up five cards in the middle of the table. If the first player has a card that matches a card in the middle, he/she makes a match by saying the word. The student continues until he/she can make no more pairs. The cards in the middle are replaced and the student takes as many cards as he/she needs so that he/she has four in hand. The next student takes a turn. The student with the most pairs wins the game. Musical Chairs- Sight words are placed on the floor or chairs. When the music stops, each student says the word on his/her chair. There are many, many ways in which everyday games can be converted into sight word practice. The key is to BE CREATIVE!!!

Learning High

Frequency Words

Why Learn High Frequency Words?

High frequency words (sight words) are words that students encounter frequently in reading and writing. It is critical that readers and writers develop automaticity (automatic recognition), a skill that leads to fluency. "Students need to be able to read the first 300 Instant Words "instantly" without a moment's hesitation, because these 300 words make up 65% of all written material" (Frye). Comprehension begins to break down when students are focused on trying to decode or sound out the words. Some high frequency words do not follow regular phonetic rules. They do not follow easy spelling patterns (example: cave, Dave, save, wave, gave, have) As a result, these words are more difficult for students to master. Asking children to "sound it out" is pointless and generally causes increased frustration for most struggling readers. Beginning readers need to recognize these words as "sight words". "In order for students to retain a difficult word, they need many opportunities to experience and manipulate it (Throop). Much of our language has been adapted from other languages during its development. One sixth of the words survived from old English and almost all of those words are high frequency words. A prime example of the importance of high frequency words in a piece of text can be seen in counting the number of sight words appearing in a simple version of The Three Bears. Another reality check is looking for high frequency words in the story problems in your daily math lessons like Excel Math.

This term refers to a.) Nonphonetic words - those needing to be recognized by

sight because they can't be sounded out (e.g., was, through). b.) Frequently occurring words - those needing to be

recognized easily because they occur so often. c.) High-interest words - those recognized by sight because

they have special interest and/or emotional overtones for child (e.g., mom, dad, love, birthday, Christmas, dinosaur, etc.)

Connections

Sight words and context clues: students need to know enough words by sight in order to have enough context to help identify other words:

The went to the to and had a .

For the above sentence, it is more difficult to predict the words than in the following:

The child went to the to play and he had a .

Sight words and prior knowledge - already knowing the pronunciation and meaning of spoken words makes it easier to recognize and remember written words.

Sight Words

Importance of sight words for independent reading

♦ Enables use of context clues. ♦ Increases fluency and ease of reading ♦ Children can read greater amounts and for longer periods. ♦ Focus can be more on comprehension than on decoding.

Instructional Implications for Teaching High Frequency Words

Learning is the key to knowing how to write these words. Children need to see the words, make the words with plastic letters, and write the words many, many times before they will know them. To encourage their learning, you may consider some of the following activities. Ø Use plastic letters. Make the word, read the word, and break

the word. Later, encourage them to make the word, read the word, cover the word, write the word, check the word, read the word. (Children may peek at the word if necessary while they are learning to write it correctly.)

Ø Use dry erase boards or magic slates. Write the word over and

over until it is learned, erasing each time. This is a writing task, not a copying task. If the child is using paper and pencil, fold the paper over each time or use another paper or card to cover the previous word. If the child needs a model to start with, provide it. Then cover it and allow the child to peek if necessary. Then remove it altogether. Encourage the children to make sure the words are in their heads.

Ø Keep a list of high-frequency words in the back of each child's

writing journal for reference. Each time the child writes the word correctly, the more habituated it becomes.

Ø I Have, Who Has?

Make cards for this game to practice sight words: I have "the," who has "from?"

Ø Making and Breaking (Reading Recovery) Going from the known to the unknown using onset & rime:

i.e., from at to cat and sat using magnetic letters (also useful for prefix/suffix, medial vowel changes) Familiar words: Break the word apart and make it say "the" again Check it with your finger.

Ø Flexible Practice/Taking high frequency words to fluency: Write several times on the practice page Rainbow writing Magnetic letters Write on the white board Write in the air, on the carpet Write on a Magna Doodle Write on a chalkboard Write words with a wet sponge or brushes on a chalkboard

Ø Provide a guided reading creative response that requires the

children to write the word in a meaningful context. Give the children a sentence starter to copy and complete. For example:

I like the part when . My best character was .

Make sure the children copy the sentence starter because in this way they are practicing the high-frequency word

Ø Commercial Games/Activities: any games with cards to read or

letters to manipulate: Scrabble Go Fish Bingo Boggle Clusters Lotto Chunks Word Search Hang Man

Ø Vocabulary Cards or Word Banks

Words on rings or in a box: word on one side, use in a sentence on the other, underline the high frequency word, illustrate.

Ø Can You Find and Frame? After a child reads a passage, ask him/her to frame one or two high frequency words.

Ø Word Wall Activities Read the word wall quickly. Read it backwards from z to a. (All

go at the same speed!) Pick one letter list. Read it fast. Read it faster. Read it faster. Chants What's My Rule Guess the Rule: 4 clues, 4 guesses

Teacher or student gives a word clue (i.e., I'm thinking of a word that starts with b) from the word wall. Students write their first guess on their individual white boards. Provide a second clue (It's a noun.) Students write their second guess. Continue with clues/guesses (examples: It ends with a silent e. It has two syllables. It rhymes with, etc.). By the fourth clue, everyone should have the correct word. You will need to model this activity.

Timed by whole group I'm Thinking of a Word

This is a good activity for developing scanning skills. However, be sure to build in success for all. You need to have many words on the word wall for it to be effective. I'm thinking of a word. It rhymes with, means the same thing as, is the opposite of, we use this word when, etc.

When you know it, raise your hand. Kids can provide the clues later.

Ø Flash Card Activities to engage all readers (including expert

readers) Whisper/Shout: teacher/parent directed using cards As you go through the stack of cards, students read words

in a whispery voice. After several words, "Say it louder." Students gradually move up to a gentle shout for the last few words.

Funny Voices:

As you go through the stack of cards, ask the children to read in the following voices: baby robot (monotone ) goofy scary mad old

Making Sentences: This is a good activity to use once a week for the whole class or in a small reading/skills group. Start by giving each student 2 cards face down. Each child thinks of a sentence that uses those two words. When a student recites his/her sentence, ask the class, "Can we guess what the two words are?" Students may look at the word wall for help. Gradually move up to more words.

ABC Order: Each child gets four or five cards to put in ABC order on the floor in front of them. They check with a partner, combine cards and put in ABC order. Add another pair, etc.

Slap Each group sits in a circle on the floor. The leader of each group has a stack of high frequency word cards. He/she lays

the cards on the floor as students say the words. The leader starts the game by giving a clue such as "I'm thinking of a word that starts with . . ." Students put their fingers on their shoulders before the clue is given by the leader (otherwise they hover over the word cards). Whoever touches the correct card first gives the next clue. Rotate card stacks through the groups for practice with all the current words.

Note: Model this activity in small groups before attempting it with your entire class. Slapping the floor is much quieter than slapping the table!

Ø High Frequency Words and Daily News: Encourage the children to spell the high-frequency words for you to write in the Daily News story or your specific writing demonstration. Have children come and write the high-frequency words directly into the news story for you.

Ø Swat!: Write a list of words on the board. Divide the class into two teams. Give a flyswatter to the first child in each team. Say a sentence that includes one of the words. The first person to touch the correct word earns a point for his/her team. Ten points is a winner!

Ø High Frequency Word Sentence Building Choose a paragraph from a content area text or from a recent story. Write each sentence on sentence strips, using a different colored marker for each sentence. Cut up each sentence and give small groups time to reconstruct the sentences. (Keep the punctuation with the sentence.) Read the reconstructed sentences together and sequence in a pocket chart. (This is a good way to model and practice paragraph

formation with main idea, detail sentences, and concluding sentence.)

Ø Highlight high frequency words: Have children go through the

poem of the week, worksheets, math homework, etc. and highlight the sight words of the week.

Ø Circle, Circle, Underline: Circle the prefix, circle the suffix,

and underline the vowels in the root word. This makes multi-syllabic words more manageable, breaking them into chunks of meaning.

Ø Simple spelling cards: Provide lists for the children to use.

Ensure that in the early stages words that look alike are not on the same card. Number the back or color code the cards in order of difficulty. You may want to demonstrate to the class how to use the cards and then place them in the reading center for students to use independently.

Using the Spelling Cards

Introduce the first card to the children Tell the children the words on the card. Explain the steps for learning the words.

Steps for Learning the Words

• Say the word. Ask someone if you don't know it. • Look at the word. • Say the word. • Trace the word with your finger, saying the word as you

trace it. • Copy the word, read it, copy it again, read it.

• Place your hand over the word and see if you can write it. Peek if you need to.

• Check the word you have written. • Read what you have written. • Keep writing the word without coping until you know it. • Say the word each time you write it. • Take a picture of the word with your invisible camera and

put it in your head. • Shut your eyes and see if you can see it. • Write it again. • When you think you know all the words on the card, ask a

friend to check you. Your friend says the word, and you write it. Your friend will let you peek if you need to.

• When you can write all the words on the card without peeking, come and show the teacher how clever you are.

• After the teacher has checked, he or she will give you the next card.

Note on a master list which words each child has mastered. Expect to see evidence of this correct spelling in the children's writing. If you do not, insist that the children correct these misspellings for themselves.

Beyond the Word Bank

Once words are taken from a meaningful context and are displayed on a chart, word bank cards can be made. Individual, paired or small group interactive learning games may include: Ø Match cards whose word begins with the same letter or

syllable.

Ø Match cards whose word ends with the same letter or syllable.

Ø Match cards whose word is the same.

Ø Match cards whose words rhyme.

Ø Arrange cards according to alphabetical order.

Ø Arrange cards according to the number of syllables in each

word.

Ø Make up sentences using the words on the cards.

Ø Make up a story using all the words on the cards.

Ø Find synonyms, antonyms or homonyms.

Ø Find cards whose words have the same root or base word.

Ø Find cards whose words have prefixes or suffixes.

Ø Find cards with compound or derived words.

Ø Arrange cards by the stress on the words.

Ø Make up a story or poem using all or most of the words on the

cards.

Recommended Reading/Resources

Frye, Edward, 1000 Instant Words, Laguna Beach Educational Books. Throop, Sara (1999) Success with Sight Words: Multisensory Ways to Teach High Frequency Words, Creative Teaching Press. Behr, Donald, et al, Words Their Way

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