 Sarah Lynn |
According to the National Reading Panel (2000), the four components of reading are: comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and alphabetics. As ESOL teachers we know how to teach vocabulary and comprehension, but fluency and alphabetics are terra incognita.
There are the great classic fluency activities: Read Along, Echo Reading, Choral Reading, and Paired Reading. For a primer on the classics, check out my blog: http://teachertwoteacher.wordpress.com
In this article, I want to feature four fluency activities that focus more tightly on specific skill development.
Please note: All fluency activities occur after students have read the text silently and demonstrated their comprehension.
1. Mismatch Read Aloud
What:
This approach was developed by reading expert Thomas Stitch. The teacher supplies students with a printed text and reads it aloud, occasionally substituting a different word for a word students see. Students circle the mismatched words.
Note: The teacher substitutes words close in meaning, for example: pink for red, or location for place.
Why: Encourages fluency AND accurate decoding.
2. Timed Reading
What: Students read the same text from the beginning in short bursts (1-3 minutes). Students mark how far they get each time. With multiple re-readings, students get further and further along in the text.
Why: Encourages rapid reading, forces repetitive reading, builds automaticity in word recognition, and strengthens students’ confidence.
3. Recorded Reading
What: Students record themselves reading a text. They listen to themselves and record again until they are satisfied with their delivery.
Extension: The teacher listens to the student’s recording and marks errors in the printed text. The teacher records a model of the marked words or phrases so that the student can listen and record again.
Why: Encourages repetitive reading, builds accuracy, and requires students to self-assess.
4. Performance reading
What: In small groups, students prepare a performance of a poem, skit, story, or article. Students divide the text up into sections and practice reading their parts aloud to each other. Then students perform for the class.
Why: Provides a natural motivation for re-reading and lively expression.
Again, for more information on other activities, please go tomy blog: http://teachertwoteacher.wordpress.com/
 |
.
