Summary of Unit of Work:
Fluency is one of the Big 5! Research has shown the five skills students need in order to read effectively are fluency, comprehension, phonetic awareness, phonics and vocabulary. Any skill students learn needs to be taught specifically and in small attainable steps. This fluency unit breaks down fluency in to six components; phrasing, pausing, stress, expression/intonation, rate and integration. Each component is clearly defined with examples and activities to help students have an understanding of the specific components.
A fluency rubric is integrated through the unit to monitor student understanding. To assist teachers the lessons are on a PowerPoint in slide show format, ideally for teachers to use as mini-lessons at the beginning of reading in a whole class setting. This series of lessons can be used in any year level by varying the text the students use to assess their understanding of the components of fluency.
Australian Curriculum Links:
English – Literacy (Interpreting, Analysing, Evaluating):
- Foundation Read decodable and predictable texts, practising phrasing and fluency, and monitor meaning using concepts about print and emerging contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge (ACELY1649)
- Elaboration reading aloud with attempts at fluency and intonation
- Level 1 Read decodable and predictable texts using developing phrasing, fluency, contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge and emerging text processing strategies, for example prediction, monitoring meaning and re-reading (ACELY1659)
- Elaboration reading aloud with developing fluency and intonation
- Level 2 Read less predictable texts with phrasing and fluency by combining contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge using text processing strategies, for example monitoring meaning, predicting, rereading and self-correcting (ACELY1669)
- Elaboration using grammar and meaning to read aloud with fluency and intonation
- Level 3 Read an increasing range of different types of texts by combining contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge, using text processing strategies, for example monitoring, predicting, confirming, rereading, reading on and self-correcting (ACELY1679)
- Elaboration: reading aloud with fluency and intonation
- Level 4 Read different types of texts by combining contextual , semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge using text processing strategies for example monitoring meaning, cross checking and reviewing (ACELY1691)
- Elaboration: reading aloud with fluency and expression
Learning Intention and Success Criteria:
Learning Intention and Success Criteria (also displayed as a slide in the PowerPoint)
Learning Intention (Why are we learning this?)
- To improve student’s fluency by helping them understand; pausing, phrasing, stress, expression, rate and integration.
- To give students activities specifically related to pausing, phrasing, stress, expression, rate and integration to help them complete a self-assessment and monitor their own reading.
Success Criteria (How do we know if we have learnt?)
- Students have a greater understanding of the components of fluency ie. pausing, phrasing, stress, expression, rate and integration
- Students have greater fluency when reading.
- Students are able to complete a self-assessment.
- Students’ reading level improves.
Learning Progression:
Brief description of each slide:
- Slide 1 Title page
- Slide 2 Learning Intention and Success Criteria
- Slide 3 The Big 5 Essential Components of Reading diagram
- Slide 4 Learning Progression
- Slide 5 Overview – What is fluency? Oxford dictionary definition of fluent. Fluency moving mind map.
- Slide 6 Fluency rubric modified from Fountas and Pinnell
- Side 7 Pausing – definition, examples and a picture book
- Slide 8 Pausing – Understanding of what we as readers need to do for each punctuation mark
- Slide 9 Pausing – example without punctuation (Charlotte’s Web)
- Slide 10 Pausing – example with punctuation (Charlotte’s Web)
- Slide 11 Pausing rubric with self-assessment
- Slide 12 Phrasing definition and activities
- Slide 13 Phrasing rubric with self-assessment
- Slide 14 Stress definition and activity
- Slide 15 Stress activity
- Slide 16 Stress rubric with self-assessment
- Slide 17 Expression/ Intonation definition and why we need to use expression in our reading. Rap song ‘Don’t Read Like a Robot
- Slide 18 Reader’s Theatre links
- Slide 19 Expression rubric
- Slide 20 Rate definition and examples of reading too fast and slow
- Slide 21 Ideas to help monitor reading rate
- Slide 22 Fluency rate rubric
- Slide 23 Reading quote – Dr Seuss
- Slide 24 Integration – How are you going?
- Slide 24 Teacher resources
Assessment Ideas:
- Rubric modified from Fountas and Pinnell – included in PowerPoint
- Running Records / Benchmark Reading Assessment
Resources:
Download all of the unit-related resources below:
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