How to Use Fluency Practice Books for Part 1: Fluency Practice
Make sure to assemble all the materials you will need for your tutoring session before the students arrive. You will need:
- Multiple copies of the same book (one book for you and one for each of the students) for the first session with a new book.
- Each student’s individual folder with the student’s copy of the book and your notes from the prior session for subsequent sessions with the same book.
- Erasable highlighters.
- Student bookmarks.
Before Reading Each Section of the Leveled Book: Pre-Read Pages to Be Covered
Identify a section (a few pages) of the book the student will be reading.
- Approximately one-quarter of the book (or less) will be enough pages for a section to be read three to five times during a session.
- Fluency of these few pages is the session goal.
Initially, review the designated pages with the students before reading.
- Have the students go through the section pages just “looking” for challenging words.
i. Have the students highlight words they see as possible problem words.
ii. Tell the students what these words are after they are identified, and have the students repeat each word. - Help students identify any associations with illustrations for the problem words.
- Review and flip through the section to be read, looking at the charts/graphs/illustrations.
i. Summarize charts; students do not read this auxiliary information. - Discuss/predict/review the main ideas of the text.
Just prior to reading:
- Encourage the students by pointing out to them how many words in the section they know (based on the limited number of highlighted words).
- Review the highlighted words and any additional problem words you feel would be helpful to point out to the students.
- Have students get ready to read.
i. Stretch and sit up for good breathing.
ii. Mouths ready.
iii. Students get their bookmark ready to follow along (see example of student bookmark below), starting on the first line of the section.
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During Reading of Leveled Book: Provide Repeated Opportunities for Practice to Increase Fluency (Accuracy and Pace)
Give students opportunities to re-read the section by playing three to five reading games during a session. Re-reading is essential to building fluency!
- Review game descriptions on the following pages.
- Echo reading is always the first game played as it provides the most support for students.
- Once they are familiar with the games, allow students to choose games and to go first/lead the games.
- After a minimum of three games, end with a game that affords each student a large chunk of Independent Reading to allow you to determine students’ level of fluency.
Focus on accuracy!
- Tell the students the word rather than teaching word attack strategies.
i. “Let me help you with that word. That word is ___________.”
ii. “Your turn.” (Student repeats the word.)
iii. If appropriate, guide student to look for chunks that they know that would help them to figure out the word. - Have the students “try again” with the entire sentence after being told the word(s).
- Point out context clues to help the students identify words.
- Remind students that accuracy is more important than speed.
- Keep the correct flow of the story intact by making sure the students stop and breathe at periods and pause at commas.
Have other students follow along with the reader using their bookmark and reading silently.
- Set the expectation that students not taking their turn reading aloud must still be reading.
For small groups, if one or more students are not fluent with a section after repeated reading during a session, reduce the number of pages for the group
to read during the next session.
- Reducing the number of pages read during a session allows further repetition of those pages, thus providing the students with more practice.
In the next session, repeat the process with the next section of the book.
Read from the beginning to the end of the book only after all sections have been repeatedly read over several sessions.
- Have students in small groups switch off pages to read the entire book.
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