Assessments and Strategies for Reading Fluency and Vocabulary

1. Welcome! • How would you respond to this parent’s question? • “I’ve seen teachers use stopwatches to train students to read faster. How do you make sure my son is reading fast enough?”

2. Session 2Assessments and Strategies for Fluency and Vocabulary Fort Bragg Schools “Elements of Literacy” October 14, 2008

3. Phonemic Awareness Phonics, Word Study Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension Elements of Literacy

4. Phonemic Awareness Phonics, Word Study Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension Conventions Conventions Sentence Fluency Word Choice, Voice Ideas, Organization Elements of Literacy

5. Today’s Topics include…Fluency and Vocabulary

6. What is “fluency?” • Fluency includes speed, accuracy, and phrasing • “Reading is not a race. It’s about making sense of the words and ideas on the page.” (Garan 102) • “There is no cruise control for smart reading. Good readers vary their speed according to the text and their needs.”

7. 2 Volunteers… • Reader • Timer • Passage from Garan p. 105

8. Questions Garan 105-6 • Did you read the passage fluently? • Do you have any idea what you read? • Would reading it any faster than you just did help or hinder your comprehension? • Even if you had the needed background knowledge to comprehend this passage, do you think you’d understand it better if you read it more slowly rather than faster? • Did the fact that you were being timed with a stopwatch help or hinder your comprehension? Did it shift your focus from meaning to speed?

9. What impacts fluency?White p. 126

10. Why are some students fluent and some aren’t? White p. 128 • Discuss possibilities at your table

11. Why are some students fluent and some aren’t? White 128 • Hypotheses by Richard Allington (1983) • Fluent children have fluent models • Successful readers can focus on expression while poor readers are focusing on word recognition and phonics application • Fluent readers get more opportunities to read • Fluent readers are often reading at their instructional or independent level. Struggling readers are often reading at their frustration level. • Fluent readers understand the goal of reading is to make meaning rather than to only pronounce words accurately.

12. Related Read Alouds • Any books that lend themselves to repetition would be good to use to develop fluency: • “easy” readers • chapter books with conversation • books with plays • You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman (there are several of these) • Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman

13. What is “vocabulary?” • Oral vocabulary – words we recognize in speaking and listening • Reading vocabulary – words we can read and understand • “The development of a child’s oral vocabulary contributes to the development of a child’s reading vocabulary” (White 81).

14. Vocabulary…White 81-82 • Is related to phonics ability • Is a key component of fluency • Has its biggest impact on comprehension • Includes sight words • (ex: said, the, like) • Includes general reading vocabulary • (ex: enormous, disappear, foolish)

15. Vocabulary’s impact on comprehension… White 81 • Volunteer reader  • You’re going to read the next slide aloud to the group • You’ll probably be able to pronounce and define all of the words, but will you understand the words in this context???

16. Vocabulary’s impact on comprehension… White 81 • The opening pair were both out for ducks. Inverarity viciously pulled Brown into the gully but was sent retiring to the pavilion by a shooter from Cox. Jones in slips and Chappell at silly mid on were superb, and Daniel bowled a maiden over in his first spell. • (Adapted from Brian Cambourne, The whole story: Natural learning and the acquisition of literacy in the classroom. Auckland, New Zealand: Scholastic, 1988, p. 161).

17. Vocabulary’s impact on comprehension… White 82 • Who was winning? • Do you care? • What sport was the article about? • A passage where words and meanings are unfamiliar to you cause frustration – which is why many of our students quit trying…

18. Sight words Important for beginning readers Must be known by sight Frequently occur in beginning reader books Students with poor sight word vocabularies will have poor accuracy, fluency, and comprehension General Reading Vocabulary Precise labels for known concepts Descriptions of new ideas Sometimes occur outside a child’s speaking vocabulary Students use word-learning strategies to figure out the meaning Types of Vocabulary White 82

19. Types of Word-Learning Strategies White 84 • Sentence context • Referring to visuals (pictures, diagrams) • Structural analysis (un + happy = not happy)

20. Related Read Alouds • Any books that use descriptive language would be useful to illustrate vocabulary concepts: • Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies • The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow • The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

21. Articles • We are going to break into 5 groups • You can choose your article, but try to spread your school out so everyone from your school is in a different group, reading a different article • When you are in your group (20 minutes), • Read/skim the article • Come up with 3-5 discussion questions related to the article • Write the questions on chart paper • Prepare to share a brief summary of your article and your questions (< 5 minutes)

22. Articles • Group 1 • “What Aaron Taught Me About Fluency” by Max Brand • Group 2 • “5 Surefire Strategies for Developing Reading Fluency” by Lisa Blau • Group 3 • “Words Are Wonderful” by Margaret Ann Richek • Group 4 • “Integrating Curriculum Through the Learning Cycle: Content-Based Reading and Vocabulary Instruction ” by Brenda Spencer and Andrea Guillaume • Group 5 • “Building Word Consciousness” by Jeff Barger • “What if they can say the words but don’t know what they mean?” by Pat Cunningham

23. Articles • When you are in your group (20 minutes), • Read/skim the article • Come up with 3-5 discussion questions related to the article • Write the questions on chart paper • Prepare to share a brief summary of your article and your questions (< 5 minutes)

24. BREAK • Door prizes • School packet

25. Related Assessments from Deborah White’s book Assessment First • Fluency p. 129-134 • One minute timed readings (at child’s instructional level) • Read 180 Topic Software Teaching Resources • Scales (holistic and multidimensional) • Vocabulary p. 87-96 • Sight Word Assessment • General Reading Vocabulary Assessment • Specific Reading Vocabulary Assessment • Word-Learning Strategies Assessment

26. Activities • We are going to break into 4 groups • You can choose your activity, but try to spread your school out so everyone from your school is in a different group, participating in a different activity • When you are in your group (20 minutes), • Follow the task card for your activity • Think about why this activity would be useful in developing fluency or vocabulary • Think of other ways this activity could be adapted • Write the usefulness and adaptations on chart paper • Prepare to share a brief summary of your activity and your other thoughts (< 5 minutes)

27. Related Activities • Group 1 • “Scripting” for Reader’s Theater • Group 2 • Punctuation emphasis • Group 3 • 4 boxes • Group 4 • Non-fiction Conventions

28. Activities • When you are in your group (20 minutes), • Follow the task card for your activity • Think about why this activity would be useful in developing fluency or vocabulary • Think of other ways this activity could be adapted • Write the usefulness and adaptations on chart paper • Prepare to share a brief summary of your activity and your other thoughts (< 5 minutes)

29. Long a (play) Long e (see) Long i (ice) Long o (no) Long u (you) /ow/ (cow) /oo/ (two) /oy/ (boy) Short a (apple) Short e (elephant) Short i (igloo) Short o (octopus) Short u (umbrella) Rhythmic PhoneticsCluster 1+ (long vowels, diphthongs, short vowels)

30. Rhythmic PhoneticsCluster 2 (“Quick” consonant sounds) • /b/ bean • /d/ duck • /t/ team • /p/ pot

31. Wrap-Up • Feedback • Comments, Suggestions, Questions • Next session on October 21: • Comprehension and Read Alouds • If you’d like to bring a read aloud you particularly enjoy, feel free  • Thank you for your participation today 