Curriculum Portfolio

Here are some possible ways to build fluency:

Repeated Reading

Students repeatedly read the same text (or part of a text) multiple times in order to meet certain fluency criteria. This can be done verbally and silently. In this activity, students read part of a passage or the entire passage over and over until they meet rate and comprehension criterion levels established by the teacher. For example, students could try to read a 100-word paragraph four times in two minutes. Furthermore, a text could be divided into manageable sections. Students could repeatedly read the first section until they meet the criterion, and then do the repeat the process for all subsequent sections. Once all sections have been read at the determined rate, the students could then read the entire passage at the determined rare. Although criterion levels may vary depending on level and text type, a good goal to aim for is 200-250 words per minute at 70% comprehension for silent reading. 

Speed/timed Reading 

Students time themselves as they read a passage. They then answer comprehension questions associated with the reading. They record their progress. 

For this activity, the Reading Horizons Library books 1-4 (at ELC), SoftRead (at ELC), and other speed reading materials can be used. Here are the basic steps for this activity.

1. Give out the reading passage, comprehension questions, and the progress record sheet for recording times and comprehension scores.
2. Display an online stopwatch or ask students to use a stopwatch on their phone.
3. Tell students when to start.
4. Students read as quickly as they can without stopping to look up unfamiliar words.
5. When they reach the end of the passage, they look up and write down their time.
6. They then turn over the paper and answer the questions without turning back to the passage.
7. When they finish answering the questions, they check their answers.
8. They record their time and comprehension score on the progress record sheet.

Combined Repeated and Speed/Timed Reading 

Students time themselves as they read a passage. They then scan for and look up unfamiliar vocabulary. They time themselves as they read the passage again. They then answer comprehension questions associated with the reading. They record their progress.

This activity also uses the Reading Horizons Library books 1-4 (at ELC), SoftRead (at ELC), and other speed reading materials can be used. Here are the steps:

1. Before reading, students record the date and the title of the passage on their fluency progress sheets .
2. Students set and write a words-per-minute goal for the first reading of the passage. At the beginning of the term, students are generally not aware of their reading abilities in terms of words per minute and struggle to set meaningful goals. Therefore, I encourage students to set a goal of 200 wpm for the first two to three readings. For subsequent readings, I encourage students to consider the text difficulty, topic and their performance up to that point in the term before setting a words-per-minute goal.
3. Students read the passage in its entirety, silently, as quickly as possible, and without stopping to look up words. In order for students to time themselves, display a stopwatch for all to see, or have students time themselves individually using a stopwatch on their cellphones.
4. Students record their reading rate in words per minute. Materials that are specifically designed for these activities usually have charts that make the conversion from time to words per minute simple. If a chart is not available, this formula can be used: (total words in passage / time in seconds) * 60.
5. Students then scan the text for any unfamiliar vocabulary. They look up the definitions and record these new words in a notebook. This ensures that the subsequent reading will be easy because there will not be any unknown vocabulary.
6. Students set and write a second words-per-minute goal.
7. Students again read the passage in its entirety, silently, and without stopping to look up words. Like in step 3, the time is tracked either by displaying a stopwatch for the entire class or having students use a stopwatch individually on their cellphones.
8. Students record their reading rate in words per minute for the second reading of the passage.
9. Without referring to the text, students answer comprehension questions about the passage. Materials that are specifically designed for these activities already have questions. If you are using materials without questions, you will need to create 4-10 multiple-choice questions that focus on the main idea(s) of the passage.
10. Students check their answers and record their comprehension score.

Reading rate build up

Students read as much as they can for a short amount of time and then strive to read more in subsequent attempts in the same amount of time. This activity can be used with materials already used in class or with new materials not yet used in class. Starting at the beginning of the passage, students have 30-60 seconds to read as much as possible. At the end of the designated amount of time, students write the number 1 at the spot in the text where they ended. This process is repeated 3-4 times total with the exception that students write a number 2 after their second time, 3 after their third time, and 4 after their fourth time. It is important to encourage students to read more than they did on previous attempts. To help with comprehension, students could quickly share with a partner one new piece of information learned after each reading of the text.

Word and Phrase Recognition Activities

Students can engage in various activities that promote rapid word, phrase, semantic, and lexical recognition and connection. Such activities promote fluent reading and will lead to better student comprehension. A simple description of example activities can be found here; a more detailed yet accessible article can be found here.

Assessment

Measuring fluency regularly (once a week) will aid students in recognizing their progress and evaluating their comprehension and abilities. However, a formal assessment connected to students' proficiency grade is not required.

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