Fluency and Comprehension Boot Camp!

Introduction

• Recruit two student volunteers to demonstrate a reading fluency procedure: one person will be the reader and the other will be a timer.
• On your signal, have the reader begin reading the passage aloud and the timer will call "time" at 30 seconds, signaling for the reader to stop. The class will listen closely for which word the reader ends on.
• After "time" is called, evaluate the number of words the reader covered in 30 seconds and multiply that number by two. Announce that this is the reader’s words-per-minute score. Note there is no credit for words skipped in the reading!
• Announce to your students that during this lesson, they will practice reading a passage with a partner to find out their own fluency score. Fluency is the term we use to describe reader clarity, pacing, and intonation. This is the opposite of no fluency: choppy, slow, monotone.
• Demonstrate to your students strong and weak fluency by reading 2-3 sentences using the appropriate affect.