According to Rasinski's article, there are 3 important characteristics of reading fluency that help build a reader's comprehension:
- Accuracy in word decoding - "The reader must be able to sound out the word."
- Automatic processing - being able to sound out the words naturally and easily so the thought can be more focused on understanding the meaning of the text
- Prosodic reading - acknowledging punctuation and expressing the words
On Pinterest, I found one activity that will help students with prosodic reading.
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| http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200128777163762281/ |
When testing a student's reading fluency, Deeney's article points out some things to look for:
- accuracy
- rate
- prosody - ability to read smoothly
As teachers, we can help improve a student's fluency by rereading books, having them echo how we say a sentence, or by continuing to practice sight words.
1. Should all teachers be required to have sight words hanging around their classrooms? It can provide an easy and beneficial way for students to learn those words and improve their reading.
2. Reading aloud is a great way for students to practice fluency by hearing how you pronounce the words and decode the sentences. Is there a good technique for having time each day to read aloud to the students while also allowing them time to read aloud to one another and practice fluency?
During my time in a third grade classroom, the teacher set aside about an hour each morning for the students to read to one another and for her to read aloud to the students. She also let the students read on their own when they finished their schoolwork. Having this time set aside for read aloud gave the children a certain motivation for reading. The teacher paired up the students so that students who were struggling with reading were paired with more successful readers. I could tell that this really helped the struggling readers, while also helping the more successful readers because they could use their skills to help their partner read more accurately, which in turn helped sharpen their own reading abilities.
ReplyDeleteI know in some schools it is required to have a word wall and in others it is the teachers choice. With my experience in the classroom, I think it is a good thing to have certain words on display at all times. Children are able to refer back to the wall when they are writing and they seem to master the words that are on the wall because they see them on a daily basis. They may work better for some grades and not for others but I think they tend to be valuable.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of teachers hanging sight words hanging around the room. It could be beneficial because if you had the word chair on a chair students could familiarize themselves with "ch" sound and make the connection with the "ch" in chalkboard, and every time they saw ch they would know what sound to make!
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