Working on Fluency

Working on Fluency

We use Read Well as our Reading program at my school.  During the guided reading part of Read Well the students have to be able to say the sounds, blend words, know sight words, and read the passage fluently.  I have noticed that my kiddos are struggling with the fluency part so I have been on a mission to help them.  Here are some of the things I have been doing with them.

I copied all of the homework our reading program has.  I clipped them together and everyday I pull for reading groups the students start at the beginning and read as far as they can for five minutes.  I mark where the students left off and then the next day we compare where the end up.  We see if it is further or at the same spot.  I stress to the readers that if they are missing words that they are not helping themselves, so they need to make sure they are reading accurately.  Here is one of my kiddos doing this. 

 

With this reading program there are two types of reading we do each day.  One is the story I read the little words and the students read the big words.  Then after that story there is a solo story for the students to read.  I usually have the students read it all together first and then I call them one by one to read it out loud while the others point and follow along.  Here is a sample of one of my kiddos reading the solo story.

Everyday we practice smooth and bumpy blending.  There are always sounds and words that the kiddos practice.  There are also sight words on the sheet that they practice.  I go back and do the previous pages each day.  I have the students read the words and if they have trouble reading it, they can blend it to figure it out.  I think that repetition is key when working on reading and especially reading fluently.  Here is an example of a student completely the practice pages. 

Every third day in a unit for small group reading the students play a game.  The students LOVE these games.  They ask if they can play the game everyday.  One of the games is like Chutes and Ladders.  The other game is a bingo game.  I usually play the bingo day differently.  Sometimes I say a word or blend a word and the kiddos have to find the word and put a manipulative on it.  Sometimes I have them read and blend each box.  These games are great practice for blending and reading the sight words.  Here is a video of one of the students playing the game.  I have learned with the Chutes and Ladder game that if I flip the dice it keeps the game moving faster.

 I feel fluency is always difficult for students.  The more practice I can do with the students on fluency the better readers and writers they will be.



I am going to leave you with my son singing the ABC's.