Fun in First

A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard

Fluency

The Importance of Using Fluency Folders in the Classroom

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Reading fluency is an important skill for all students, even children just learning the alphabet and letter sounds. Fluency is the ability of students to read texts effortlessly without having to pause. Speed, accuracy, and proper pronunciation are the three key components of reading fluency. Several types of reading skills go into developing fluency in young readers. These include phonics, word recognition, and confidence. My favorite way to work on my students’ fluency in the classroom is with phonics-based fluency folders!

What is a fluency folder?

A fluency folder is an all-in-one place for students to work on their fluency and reading skills! I love keeping things organized in the classroom, and since teaching reading involves a ton of moving parts, fluency folders make it easy to group each students’ fluency materials.

Why is fluency practice important to use in the classroom?

If you are following a “Science of Reading” method of instruction, you’re probably well aware of why phonics-based fluency is so important for beginning readers. Phonics-based fluency practice helps beginning readers prepare to read any kind of text that is set in front of them. Instead of using context clues or photos to break down a text, phonics-based fluency gives young readers the ability to read without meaningful hints. Lots of phonics practice is also important for dyslexic children or those with other reading difficulties, as they can often get by on context clues and other tip-offs.

The Importance of Using Fluency Folders in the Classroom

Phonics-based fluency folders are a great way to tailor fluency practice to each of your students’ needs. You, parents, and students themselves can track their progress throughout the year to ensure each child stays on track and improves where needed. Plus, they can encourage students to practice fluency on their own time! I love using these Phonics-Based Fluency Folders with my students.

How can I use fluency folders with my class?

There are several great uses for fluency folders in kindergarten, first grade, and even second grade. No matter what level your students are at, here are some great ways to incorporate them into your classroom routine:

  • Beginning of the year check-in — During your back to school assessments, it’s important to get a feel for where your students’ reading abilities are at. Some of the pages in my Fluency Folder Packet work great for fluency assessments at the start of the year.
  • Differentiated fluency folders — It’s pretty rare for every student to be on the exact same reading level. After assessing your students, choose the Fluency Folder pages that each student needs to practice their skills. Then, you can print them out and create differentiated folders for your class to meet each student where they are at!
  • Centers — You can place a whole fluency folder or individual pages at a fluency/phonics/word work station during centers. Since there is a ton of practice to choose from, you can select new pages for every center time!
  • Small group practice — Fluency folders are great for targeted fluency practice with students who are struggling. Simply group students by fluency level and assign fluency practice pages to give them the practice they need.
  • Whole group practice — As your phonics-based fluency lessons progress through the year, you can bring in pages from students’ fluency folders to complete as a class. This makes it easy to let students’ folders follow along with your phonics scope and sequence.
  • Send home for extra practice — As teachers, we all know how important it is to get in extra reading practice whenever possible. Fluency folders are great for extra reading practice at home with a resource that students already have. Simply assign pages out of the folder for students’ to complete at home. You could have parents assess their work or have students self-assess.

The Importance of Using Fluency Folders in the Classroom

Conclusion

If you have yet to try fluency folders with your class, this is your sign to start! Fluency folders are a great way to hone your students’ phonics-based fluency skills and set them up to become the best readers they can be. If you’re looking for a good resource to get started, these Phonics-Based Fluency Folder pages are loaded with amazing material to help every student become an expert in fluency — and an A+ reader!

The Importance of Using Fluency Folders in the Classroom

Improve Reading Fluency with Text Phrasing

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Prosody is one of the three main components in reading fluency.  It relates to the expression used while reading.  Beginning readers typically read word by word and do not use expression when reading aloud.  A fluent reader will read in phrases instead of one word at a time.  One way to improve prosody in reading fluency is to work on text phrasing.

Text phrasing is the ability to group words together while you are reading.  This helps reading to sound more like a normal speech pattern.  It also helps increase reading speed, and ultimately, comprehension.

Improve reading fluency by teaching students how to read in text phrases. These strategies are easy to implement into your reading instruction.

How to Improve Fluency with Text Phrasing

  • Your students need to hear fluent reading as much as possible.  Every time you read aloud a book to your class, they are hearing appropriate phrasing with expression.  Along with read alouds, you will also want to model fluent reading with text that they have in front of them.  Have them follow along in stories or reading passages while you read them fluently with appropriate text phrasing and expression.  I also love using the website/app, Epic, because it has some great “Read to Me” books.
  • Demonstrate how to read with appropriate text phrasing by working together to physically mark where the phrases should be while reading.  A very common way to mark phrasing is with a / for a pause within a sentence, and // for a pause at the end of a sentence.  Nursery rhymes and poems are perfect for this.

Little Miss Muffet / sat on a tuffet / eating her curds and whey //

Along came a spider / and sat down / beside her / and frightened / Miss Muffet away //

Miss Muffet came back / to sit on her tuffet / when the spider was gone //

She ate all the food / and was in a good mood //

Then, / she started to yawn //

  • Use echo reading to practice reading fluency.  The teacher will read a sentence or a phrase from a sentence.  The student(s) will repeat it using the same expression and phrasing.  For example, read each phrase and have the students repeat after you.

My big brother

loves to read

books about animals.

Then, put the phrases together to read the whole sentence with appropriate phrasing.

My big brother loves to read books about animals.

  • Work on rereading to practice text phrasing.  These Fluency Sentences are great for individual or small group practice.  The students begin by reading each word.  Then, they reread using phrasing.  Finally, they read the entire sentence.  Click on the picture below to check these out.

Appropriate phrasing is such an important aspect of reading fluency. Readers need to be able to group words into phrases to make their reading sound more smoothly and like a their normal speech pattern. These fluency sentences are perfect for practicing text phrasing while reading.

Need more ideas for improving reading fluency, check out this blog post as well, Improve Accuracy While Reading.

Improve reading fluency by teaching students how to read in text phrases. These strategies are easy to implement into your reading instruction.

Improve Accuracy While Reading

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We all know that reading fluency is an important part of becoming a good reader, but there are many components to fluency.  One of those important pieces of reading fluency is accuracy.  Having good accuracy is the ability to read the text with very few or no mistakes.  Accuracy truly is the most essential skill of reading fluency.  If a child is “reading” a passage quickly, but they are skipping over or changing every other word, they are not getting the full meaning and will not be able to comprehend what they have read, which is the main purpose of reading.

One important piece of reading fluency is accuracy.  Having good accuracy is the ability to read the text with very few or no mistakes.  Accuracy truly is the most essential skill of reading fluency.  If a child is "reading" a passage quickly, but they are skipping over or changing every other word, they are not getting the full meaning and will not be able to comprehend what they have read, which is the main purpose of reading.

This post contains affiliate links.  Items purchased from these links do not cost you any extra money, but they do help to support this blog.

There are many factors that go into improving accuracy. 

First and foremost, students need to be able to decode and read words quickly.  Explicit phonics instruction is so important in improving accuracy when reading.  If students cannot quickly decode words, they will continue to struggle while reading.  Students also need to be able to quickly read undecodable sight words in order to improve their accuracy.

  • Develop letter-sound fluency.  Students must know letter sounds quickly.
  • After students are fluent with letter sounds, they need to know how to blend them together to read decodable words.
  • Students need to be able to quickly recognize and read sight words.

Strategies and Tips for Improving Accuracy 

  • Use letter sound timing sheets and word timing sheets to help students increase their fluency.  Grab these FREE Letter & Word Timing Sheets.
  • Practice sight word fluency.
  • Use fun pointers, finger highlighters, highlighter strips, etc. to help students stay focused on the word they are reading.
  • Encourage students to look for parts they know in a word.
  • Do not let students practice reading words incorrectly.  If you are focusing on accuracy, immediately stop a student when they mispronounce a word.  Say the word correctly.  Then, have the student repeat that word before continuing.
  • Teacher Tap Method – While listening to a student read, tap a pencil or your finger on the table when the student makes a mistake.  When they hear the tap, they will go back and reread to fix their error.  Praise the student for the correction.
  • Students need to listen to themselves read.  If they do not know that they are making mistakes, they will not be able to fix them.  Whisper Phones are great for letting students hear themselves read.  It’s also very helpful to record them reading and have them listen to it.

Here are some materials that I use in my classroom to help students with improving accuracy in their reading.

PHONICS READING MATS

Phonics Reading Mats are a great way to work on phonics and reading fluency. This packet includes 52 reading mats that are perfect for small group reading or a reading fluency folder.

SENTENCE TREES

Sentence Trees are an effective way for students to practice reading fluency. This bundle includes many phonics skills as well as sight word practice. These allow students to build confidence with their reading.

FLUENCY PHRASES

Building reading fluency allows students to make the shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Students need to be able to read accurately and quickly. These fluency phrases allow students to practice reading short phrases using the 220 Dolch sight words, as well as the Dolch Noun list.

As students become stronger at reading sight words and phonetically spelled words, they will not have to invest all of their thinking into decoding.  They will be able to transition into improving their reading comprehension.

One important piece of reading fluency is accuracy.  Having good accuracy is the ability to read the text with very few or no mistakes.  Accuracy truly is the most essential skill of reading fluency.  If a child is "reading" a passage quickly, but they are skipping over or changing every other word, they are not getting the full meaning and will not be able to comprehend what they have read, which is the main purpose of reading.

Christmas Reading on the Move

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We all know that it is nearly impossible for 6 and 7 year olds to sit still for too long, but especially during the holiday season.  We can have all the procedures and expectations in place, and then…December hits.  We have to be able to find ways to keep our students engaged, but still learning.  These Reading on the Move passages are a great way to get students up and moving, all while practicing their reading fluency skills.

Christmas Reading on the Move is the perfect way to combine fluency with physical exercise. Children love and need to get up and move. In this Reading on the Move series of products, students will be moving as they read. It is the perfect way to add fun to fluency practice.

This Reading on the Move packet includes 3 differentiated levels of passages.  This makes it work so easily for the different levels of readers in your classroom.

How does this work?

Students read the passage.  Then, they roll the dice and perform the corresponding “Christmas themed” movement.  After completing the movement, they color in a Christmas light.  Then, they reread the passage, roll, and color for a total of 5 readings.  This helps to take away the dread of rereading.  (If you need a Winter Theme instead, check out my Winter Reading on the Move packet.)

What are teachers saying about Reading on the Move?

“Oh my! The kids were so excited about reading. It really added to the fun on those days before break. Thanks so much.”

“These are awesome!! The kids practice fluency but they’re having so much fun they don’t even know it!”

“My kids loved these…perfect for all those wiggly little bodies!”

Check these out by clicking on the picture below.

Christmas Reading on the Move is the perfect way to combine fluency with physical exercise. Children love and need to get up and move. In this Reading on the Move series of products, students will be moving as they read. It is the perfect way to add fun to fluency practice.

 

Fluency Poems

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Reading fluency is the ability to read accurately and with expression.  What better way to practice reading fluency than by using poetry?  Poetry has a rhythm and melody that is perfect for practicing reading fluency.  We all know the importance of rereading when it comes to practicing fluency, but rereading can be boring.  Using cut apart poems is one of my favorite ways to have my students practice reading fluency.

Do you need a fun and creative way for your students to work on reading fluency? These cut apart poems are perfect. You will provide the students with the mixed up poetry strips. They have to keep rereading the poem over and over again to figure out the correct order. Poems are a great way to work on expression and rhythm while reading as well.

I give each student a mixed up poem.  They cut the strips apart and work to put the poem into the correct order.  Guess what they have to be doing the entire time that they are working on putting the poem in order?  They have to be rereading it and rereading it over and over again.  They also reread it with a rhythm and expression that helps them to figure out the order of the poem.  While they are putting these in the correct order, we can discuss rhyming words and how they will align in a poem.  This activity also lends itself to discussing capitals and punctuation.  The students can get clues about the order of the lines by looking at where the capitals and ending marks are on each strip.

Want to try using fluency poems in your classroom?

I created a packet of 20 fluency poems that can be used in whole group, small group, or in an independent work station.  Each rhyming poem comes with a color and black/white version of the completed poem, mixed up poetry strips, and a matching sheet for gluing on the final poem.

Do you need a fun and creative way for your students to work on reading fluency? These cut apart poems are perfect. You will provide the students with the mixed up poetry strips. They have to keep rereading the poem over and over again to figure out the correct order. Poems are a great way to work on expression and rhythm while reading as well.

I personally always begin using these in a whole group setting.  After students get the hang of it, I like to copy the poems and put them in an independent work station.  The strips can be laminated and reused if you want to save on paper usage.

Click on any of the pictures above to head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and check out these poems.

Reading Warm Ups

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Time spent in small reading groups is so important, and we have to make the most of our time while I have them at my reading table.  I like to start with some type of quick warm up to get their brains working before we get into our lesson.  I was constantly scrambling to come up with ideas, or I was stuck on doing the same things, so I came up with Reading Warm Up Cards.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

These cards are full of quick reading warm ups that we can use in our small reading groups, as a whole group, or when we have a couple of extra minutes in our day.  They are also great to use before lining up for lunch or recess.  I printed, laminated, and placed each set on a metal ring.  This way, they are easy to grab and use.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

I created five sets of Reading Warm Up Cards to reach many aspects of teaching reading and language arts; Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Grammar.

Phonological Awareness is the ability of hear and manipulate sounds.  I like to remember that phonemic awareness can be done with your eyes closed.  It truly is the foundation for learning to read.  This set includes cards for Sentence Segmentation, Rhyming, Alliteration, Syllables, Onset & Rime, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Segmentation, and Phoneme Manipulation. (48 Warm Up cards in all)

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

The Phonics Warm Up cards include 120 cards in all working on Letter Sounds, Short Vowels, Beginning Blends, Ending Blends, Digraphs, Long Vowels, R-Controlled Vowels, and Dipthongs.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

The Vocabulary set includes 80 vocabulary warm ups.  These cards include a variety of vocabulary words as well as work with synonyms, antonyms, prefixes, and suffixes.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

The Fluency Warm Ups include 124 fluency cards working on Letter Fluency, Sight Word Fluency, Short Vowel Fluency, Long Vowel Fluency, Blend and Digraph Fluency, R-Controlled and Diphthong Fluency, Expression, and Short Story Fluency.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

Grammar Warm Ups include 104 cards working on Sentence Structure, Word Order, Sentence Fragments, Ending Marks, Nouns, Plural Nouns, Possessive Nouns, Proper Nouns, Irregular Plural Nouns, Verbs, Present-Tense Verbs, Past and Future Tense Verbs, Commas, Contractions, Adverbs, Combining Sentences, Adjectives, Pronouns, and Abbreviations.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

I have also bundled all 5 sets, 476 Warm Up cards in all, which includes the Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Grammar sets.  Click on the picture below to take a closer look and to download the preview files.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.

If you have any questions or comments, let me know.  I love hearing from you and knowing how things are going in your classrooms.

Reading Warm Up Cards are a great way to begin your small group or whole group reading lessons. This set includes warm up cards for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Fluency (476 cards in all.) Simply print, laminate, and place on a metal ring.