Fluency is the ability to read text accurately and quickly and bridges word decoding and comprehension. While comprehension is understanding what has been read, fluency is a set of skills that allows readers to rapidly decode text while maintaining high comprehension.
There are a number of instructional activities to strengthen fluency in the classroom including assisted reading, echo reading, paired reading, partner reading, structured repeated reading, choral reading, reader’s theater, and radio reading. As teachers we need to foster a love for reading as the only way to really have students conquer fluency is to continue to enjoy reading at home as ardent readers. The more they read, the more successful they will become. Practice, practice, practice, except they need to see the pleasure “jouissance” in reading.
As a teacher, it is our role to find specific strategies to assist less fluent readers by determining their reading rate and providing ongoing assessment and intervention as needed and described above. These assessments need to be constant, especially at a young age as children will become faster and more confident readers if we guide them while they are young.
We most also remember that reading can be very intimidating, especially for those who have entered Grade K with no schooling and very little prior experience in comparison to their peers. It’s important to remain sensitive and observant to each child’s needs and create confident students that can participate in class activities and learn in a safe environment that encourages everyone to learn and read.
Fluency Links:
http://www.professorgarfield.org/parents_teachers/links/fluency_links.html
http://www.time4learning.com/readingpyramid/fluency.htm
http://www.meadowscenter.org/vgc/3Tier/components/fluency_activities.asp
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6354
http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/fluentreading/helpfularticles_1.html
Monday, March 22, 2010
Reading Comprehension Article
This supposed “fourth grade slump” is interesting as there are definite indicators as to when children either get it or they don’t and similar studies with different subjects such as math in young girls who lose interest in 5th grade. With research like these we know that early intervention plays a critical role and elementary school teachers have a great responsibility when it comes to assessment and providing the appropriate instructional strategies.
The article indicates a valuable piece of information that the reading tests make comprehension gap seem much greater in fourth grade because the tests used in earlier grade are heavily focused on early reading skills and not vocabulary. Comprehension is an area we need to pay close attention to as we develop fluent readers.
When you become a fluent reader you mind has more room to learn and concentrate on comprehension. In turn, the more you free your brain space up, the more vocabulary you learn and so on. We need to build consistency with that development at a young age. Unfortunately research consistently shows how hard this is for low income children who do not have the access or environment to develop or continue their learning at home and therefore school is very important.
An interesting fact I liked was that “children who can sound out nonsense words quickly and accurately ha mastered the decoding process and is on the road to freeing up her working memory to concentrate on comprehension of meaning”. This goes to show you that books should always be fun for children. Exposure to different books is important as is domain knowledge, also known to us as prior knowledge.
Each article emphasizes the same key concepts, which clearly indicates to me that we need to use this knowledge to offer the best research based strategies for our students.
The article indicates a valuable piece of information that the reading tests make comprehension gap seem much greater in fourth grade because the tests used in earlier grade are heavily focused on early reading skills and not vocabulary. Comprehension is an area we need to pay close attention to as we develop fluent readers.
When you become a fluent reader you mind has more room to learn and concentrate on comprehension. In turn, the more you free your brain space up, the more vocabulary you learn and so on. We need to build consistency with that development at a young age. Unfortunately research consistently shows how hard this is for low income children who do not have the access or environment to develop or continue their learning at home and therefore school is very important.
An interesting fact I liked was that “children who can sound out nonsense words quickly and accurately ha mastered the decoding process and is on the road to freeing up her working memory to concentrate on comprehension of meaning”. This goes to show you that books should always be fun for children. Exposure to different books is important as is domain knowledge, also known to us as prior knowledge.
Each article emphasizes the same key concepts, which clearly indicates to me that we need to use this knowledge to offer the best research based strategies for our students.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Week 5 ELL Book Project Update
Book Project Update:
1. According to the SOLOM Matrix my student's Comprehension measured a 4, Fluency measured a 2 in class and a 4 in her ESL class, Vocabulary measured a 4, Pronunciation measured a 3 and Grammar measured a 3. On the Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners Observation Rubric my student measured at the Mid Intermediate level for Listening, Low Intermediate level for Speaking, High Beginning level for Reading, and High Beginning level for Writing. Her reading and writing levels were included in Week 4.
2. The book we have decided to use was "To The Beach" by Thomas Doherty, author and illustrator. My cooperating teacher calls this a mentor text method. The book has a beginning, middle and end. Our prompts will be: If you could go anywhere where would you go? What would you bring and How would you get there?
Today-we read the book and talked about what they observed and predicted.
We asked them to think of where they would go as a take away thought.
Next-we plan to do a graphic organizer and do another read aloud without stopping.
The cooperating teacher wants to work with them on a collage book and I will supply Lulu publication and link for teacher to post on her site. She expressed concerns that the illustrations can take long so we will use kidspiration or cut outs. We estimate 6 weeks upon completion and she would like to have all finished products by May 12.
1. According to the SOLOM Matrix my student's Comprehension measured a 4, Fluency measured a 2 in class and a 4 in her ESL class, Vocabulary measured a 4, Pronunciation measured a 3 and Grammar measured a 3. On the Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners Observation Rubric my student measured at the Mid Intermediate level for Listening, Low Intermediate level for Speaking, High Beginning level for Reading, and High Beginning level for Writing. Her reading and writing levels were included in Week 4.
2. The book we have decided to use was "To The Beach" by Thomas Doherty, author and illustrator. My cooperating teacher calls this a mentor text method. The book has a beginning, middle and end. Our prompts will be: If you could go anywhere where would you go? What would you bring and How would you get there?
Today-we read the book and talked about what they observed and predicted.
We asked them to think of where they would go as a take away thought.
Next-we plan to do a graphic organizer and do another read aloud without stopping.
The cooperating teacher wants to work with them on a collage book and I will supply Lulu publication and link for teacher to post on her site. She expressed concerns that the illustrations can take long so we will use kidspiration or cut outs. We estimate 6 weeks upon completion and she would like to have all finished products by May 12.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Week 4 Types of Assessments
After speaking with my cooperating teacher regarding assessment she informed me that due to the fact they receive so much assessment in class via DRAs (3x a year) she really tries not to over do it in her sessions with them as they need motivation and time to express themselves without being judged.
The ESL teacher is also going to need to begin preparing them for their annual NYSESLAT test in Spring which consists of 4 modules.
She did express that she does informal assessments using Dolch site words and constantly changes them. Ms. Miniero stated, "The more site words they know the more space frees up in their brains to learn and comprehend more."
The ESL teacher was hired by the state and goes back and forth between two schools. She sees her students 5x a week.
The girl I am observing is in 2nd grade. Her name is Shelley and she is first generation. There is no English spoken in the home and her parents have very little involvement. She is very outgoing in her ESL instruction but I am told in class she is mute and barely speaks a word to the teacher. She is identified as slightly mute.
She is rated a level 12 based on her last school assessment and should be a 24, reading chapter books at Level L. She is reading with comprehension at this point at midgrade 1. According to Fountas & Pinnell she is at a level G.
The day's lesson consisted of a writing workshop using I am not, and they filled in the blank with an animal word or another word from their recent word list. They also had a chance to write in their weekly journal which is targeted to their parents on what they enjoyed and learned in school that week. It appeared that Shelley really enjoyed that and is making great strides in her writing.
The ESL teacher is also going to need to begin preparing them for their annual NYSESLAT test in Spring which consists of 4 modules.
She did express that she does informal assessments using Dolch site words and constantly changes them. Ms. Miniero stated, "The more site words they know the more space frees up in their brains to learn and comprehend more."
The ESL teacher was hired by the state and goes back and forth between two schools. She sees her students 5x a week.
The girl I am observing is in 2nd grade. Her name is Shelley and she is first generation. There is no English spoken in the home and her parents have very little involvement. She is very outgoing in her ESL instruction but I am told in class she is mute and barely speaks a word to the teacher. She is identified as slightly mute.
She is rated a level 12 based on her last school assessment and should be a 24, reading chapter books at Level L. She is reading with comprehension at this point at midgrade 1. According to Fountas & Pinnell she is at a level G.
The day's lesson consisted of a writing workshop using I am not, and they filled in the blank with an animal word or another word from their recent word list. They also had a chance to write in their weekly journal which is targeted to their parents on what they enjoyed and learned in school that week. It appeared that Shelley really enjoyed that and is making great strides in her writing.
Week 3 Challenges encountered
I met and spoke with my cooperating teacher on Friday 2/12. She is keen on the project but will need to present it to the principle and review it over the break so I won't see her til next Friday.
According to Phyllis Hunter, a nationally recognized educational consultant in reading, reading is “the new civil right.” Literacy is the key that allows us to access our rights as Americans, including the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.
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