So now you have the WHY you need to teach fluency, and the STRATEGIES for teaching fluency, but how about some TOOLS for practicing fluency?
Let’s talk about some FREE resources and tools for teaching fluency!
1.) Be explicit in your instruction.
Some students will need more instruction that just a model or repeated readings. Echo reading is perfect for thinking aloud why a passage or poem is read a certain way.
Consider discussing and thinking aloud:
- how punctuation affects your voice
- how to “scoop” phrases together instead of reading word by word
- emphasising bold or italicized words when appropriate
- matching your voice to a character’s voice in dialogue
- pausing in poetry- attending to commas
Love these anchor charts!
2.) Use fluency phrases to teach students how to “scoop” words together.
According to this website, “One criteria for fluent reading is the ability to group words into grammatical entities to promote proper intonation. This practice supports students who read word by word rather than grouping into subject and predicate phrases. Many students benefit from explicit instruction in this technique that not only addresses dysfluent reading but also teaches students about sentence structure.”
The same website shared this example of how to scoop groups of words together using the poem “Whale.”
3.) Create a fluency folder for practice.
A fluency folder can either be used in the classroom or at home as homework for families. I have written differentiated passages for each month (for 2nd grade). Students can reread the passages multiple times. I also have questions for students to find text evidence, as well as seasonal poems with word work practice for each month.
I hope this post gave you some fabulous and much needed resources! If you would like more ideas from me, be sure to follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the freebies and ideas and more!
Mandy Gregory is a 2007 and 2012 Teacher of the Year. She has taught Kindergarten- 4th grades in both the general education and inclusion settings. She is currently a 1st grade Special Education teacher. She is the owner and creator of Mandy’s Tips for Teachers website (www.mandystipsforteachers.com) and has over 13 years of teaching experience. She is married with two beautiful children.
I love the idea of "scooping" the words! I've never worded it that way. Thank you so much for sharing my fluency posters, too! What an awesome surprise to read your post and find my posters mentioned!!
Thank YOU for sharing them, Deb! They are fabulous!!!!!!!!!!