Chatper 9: Fluency: Instruction And Assessment

Question 1

Describe instructional strategies that will improve all components of fluency.

Answer 1

Monitored Oral Reading is an effective strategy to develop all three components of fluency. Be sure you can describe a lesson using Monitored Oral Reading.

Reading is at their independent level (95% can read) and short, frequently (not always) poetry. Must include

1. Teacher model - appropriate accuracy, rate, expression
2. Student Practice
3. Teacher Feedback - select sentence the child struggled with, model for student, have reread. If student is not stopping at period point it out, “Listen for the three stops I make at each period”

Question 2

Describe specific strategies for building accuracy.

Answer 2

To build accuracy, children need to develop word identification skills, which were covered in Chapter 6.

Specific word identification skills. Younger children - explicit instruction on phonemic awareness, phonics and sight words. Older Children - structural analysis, syllabic analysis skills and orthographic knowledge.

Question 3

Describe specific strategies for building reading rate.

Answer 3

While Whisper Reading is an effective strategy for developing reading rate, I suggest you focus your attention on the instructional strategy of Monitored Oral Reading, which can develop accuracy, rate, and fluency.

Question 4

Differentiate instruction in fluency for Struggling Readers, EL, Advanced Learners.

Answer 4

Struggling Readers

1. Independent reading level - monitored oral reading
2. Additional word identification instruction - assess and research
3. Recognition of key sight words
4. Improving rate through practice - orally

EL
English Learners will need to learn the patterns and rhythms of English. To improve their accuracy, rate, and prosody, you should know how to describe an instructional activity with a strong teacher model, like Echo Reading. They also need to be taught the meaning of punctuation in English.

Advanced Learners

1. Increase pace
2. Extend current knowledge/skills - become fluent with more advanced texts

Question 5

Describe assessment devices to assess fluency and explain how to analyze, interpret, and use the results of those assessments.

Answer 5

Be sure you understand how to calculate words correct per minute (WCPM) when a child reads aloud.

1. Accuracy - minimum 95% accuracy rate
2. Rate - WCPM - subtract misses
3. Prosody - informally while students read aloud. Listen for: appropriate pitch, appropriate response to punctuation, appropriate characterization

Analyze, Interpret, and use results
1. Standards based
2. Determine why children are below expectations - 4 causes for poor fluency
(A) Weak word analysis skills
(B)Lack of familiarity with content vocabulary
(C) lack of background knowledge
(D) lack of familiarity with more complex syntactic structures

Class/Individual Profiles

Question 6

10.2 Instruction for fluency

Answer 6

Monitored Oral Reading with teacher: at students independent level model, practice, feedback

Question 7

10.3 Assessment for all factors of fluency

Answer 7

Accuracy - oral reading, teacher records errors
Rate - timed oral readings to calculate words correct per minute WCPM
Prosody - assess for appropriate pitch, response to punctuation, characterization

Question 8

10.4 Differentiate Fluency for SR and EL.

Answer 8

SR: additional practice - oral reading
EL: Phrase-cued reading