Read Fast!!

When I was a classroom teacher, I didn't notice much about what was happening in other classrooms. Mainly because I was in my classroom.  I was busy.  I was tired.  I was the only one with kids who couldn't do whatever it was, and I was trying like crazy person to fix it BY MYSELF, because that's what I did!(Yes...said in a 6 year old whiny voice!)            Plus, EVERYONE else had it together, they were rockin' this teaching thing. I wasn't about to admit I couldn't do something.

Then along came coaches. Thank GOODNESS!!

And now I'm an instructional coach, and I get to see and hear things that the teachers don't. 

Like today....

Three teachers at DIFFERENT grade levels came to me about fluency. Their kids aren't fluent. And the teachers have the fluency checks to prove it. They didn't talk to each other, but those smart teachers did ask their coach. :) 

So, I'm thinking if it's a question on my campus, other teachers may be wondering what to do, as well!

Another interesting thing was that two of the teachers were talking about super D-dooper slow reading. And one teacher was talking about "speed reading". WHAT???? Reading really, really, really fast will never show up as a concern in our "fluency checks". But.....it sure does show up in COMPREHENSION! MEANING!! (That reason we read in the first place.)

And on that note, in a research study on a fluency reading program that can be purchased, when students were asked what "good reading" is, they answered "reading fast". So, BE AFRAIDl! BE VERY AFRAID!! Watch that in the quest for "fluency", you don't create speed readers, who just skip over the hard words and keep going, so they can get their "word count" up. Read this paragraph again. 

Fluent reading is reading the way the author intended the reader to read. Stopping at punctuation. Exclaiming at exclamation points. Rising voice at question marks. Quotation marks showing students where to "read it like the character would say it". PHRASING!

And, we may as well admit it...."Reading speed and reading fluency are linked to increasing improvements of reading test scores in older readers." (Marie Clay, Literacy Lessons 2)

Kuhn and Stall researched fluency and concluded that fluency instruction generally seems to be effective (direct teaching). It has more to do with assistance from a teacher, demonstrating and encouraging the reader to listen to himself, and less to do with repetition. Fluency instruction is especially helpful for children in the late first and second year of school. 

So do we need to purchase a program?  Nope!

Here are a few fluency strategies that can help you help your students.

1. Drop students at LEAST two levels.  I know...that hurts. (A lot.) But, let me tell you why.  You want your student working on reading fluently. You don't want them working on word solving. You really don't want them doing any work at all, except fluency. 

2. When you introduce the book, give the meaning, let them do the book walk and discuss what's happening in the story. Maybe even choose a book they know WELL. (Fairy tales come to mind.)

3. Speaking of fairy tales (and folk tales)....books with repetitive text are really great for building fluency. The students still need to attend to the print, but "Run, run, as fast as you can...." gives you a great opportunity to praise that fluency!

4. Poems are GREAT tools for fluency building. You know that.  They are being read every day in your classrooms! I would have mine read the poem TOGETHER by table groups on Friday, then as a class. Put those poetry notebooks in their book boxes for independent reading time. Let them read those poems to a partner. Practice, practice, practice....we want fluent reading to be a habit! (Shared reading!)

5.  Read a story to a child, demonstrating fluent reading. Be sure to tell children to listen to HOW you read. (Read-alouds!)

6. Read a story on the child's level to her. Then reread it with the child, with your voice stopping mid or end of sentence, allowing the child to end the sentence fluency. 

7. Make sure known words are in the book selection, and that those known words are really fast! Perhaps flash cards, writing the word fast, locating the word in text quickly before reading, would help with this.

8. To encourage looking ahead, you can push across the text with a small card. Fluency has as much to do with fast looking as with language.

9. You can frame phrases, and tell the student to "Put those words together".

10. Using prompts so children know what you mean, such as "Make it sound like I am reading the book",  "How would Baby Bear say that?", or "Make it sound like a movie". 

11.  Reader's Theatre....small group, leveled plays  There are also several guided reading books that are written as plays.  You can find some Reader's Theatre professional books. 

 Or Google free Reader's Theatre. There are some great resources there. Hey, why not have your students write their own plays!!

12. And have children WRITE, write those fast words fast, slowly articulate through unknown words and THEN say the word quickly and smoothly again, and then REREAD their writing so it sounds like they are talking! 

Try these things this week with your students! And be aware of your teaching possibly slowing down the fluency.  Don't accept word by word reading, don't make them think that reading is only about words and letters (Sound it out....Tap it out...., etc), don't interrupt the reading frequently, and don't let the child interrupt her own reading frequently!

Again...my warning! Don't let children think that reading "fast" or reading "sound by sound" is reading. Just DON'T!

Enjoy the beautiful reading from your students!

What fluency strategies have worked with your students? Let me know and add it to the list!!