Fluency tends to be a commonly overlooked skill, but you can change that by learning about strategies for teaching fluency with your elementary students!

We are headed quickly for Back to School! Summer seems to go by faster every year, don't you think? This year for one of my goals in reading as we start back to school, I

Fluency tends to be a commonly overlooked skill, but you can change that by learning about strategies for teaching fluency with your elementary students!

Phonics Activities and Worksheets. CVC fluency bundle Looking for a fun and engaging product to teach beginning phonics? This bundle of phonics activities and worksheets is exactly what you need. This CVC fluency pack enables kids to blend, decode and read in a lot of fun ways. It is a perfect companion to phonics, literacy […]

Fun Fluency Task Cards will give your students lots of practice reading the different ways to read 2 sounds of OU. After reading the sentence. Your students will write the words with the OU , while simultaneously saying the letters (graphemes). Science of Reading aligned and speech to print activity. Use in small groups, or individually at a literacy center. Another option is using one card with the entire class at a time. Students can answer on notebook paper or on the cards included and track their completed cards on the included recording sheet. An answer key is also included. These task cards will work well at literacy centers, stations, for partner work, or with the whole class using a game like Scoot. Contents of this set include: • Directions and Suggestions • 24 Task Cards • Student Answer Sheets • Answer Key

Dive into the world of literacy centers and unleash their full potential with insights from the science of reading!

Phonics Based Decodable Readers

Reading with fluency is one of the hardest reading strategies to teach, but with these 11 interventions for reading fluency, you can give your struggling...

There are so many parts to reading instruction. It can be tricky to keep them all straight if you aren’t well-practiced. Luckily I can break this one down for

Does your school use the Dibel's test? After giving the Dibels, I found that I needed to strengthen my students' fluency skills. My schedule already seemed completely full. Where would I find more time to give my students practice reading so they could become more fluent readers? One thing I found that helped with their fluency skills was making fluency centers one of my standard centers. I knew I wanted this center to have the same format each week so I wouldn't have to explain the direction. This saves me valuable class time. Plus, the center had to work with students on a wide variety of reading levels. The answer was my Sentence Shuffle Centers which I have for reading levels K-5. To honor our mothers, my Mother's Day Sentence Shuffle Center is FREE. I also have a Fluency Check Center that is FREE, too Click on the picture above if you'd like to see more Sentence Shuffle Centers organized by reading levels. Would you like to read more of my posts about fluency? Post #1: Fluency centers are great for teachers with small classrooms. Post #2: Fluency with r-controlled theme. Check out my A+ May Pinterest Board which has more fun ideas. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. How do you incorporate fluency lessons during your day? Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

A three-step process for teaching your students how to identify,

Short A is usually the first phonics sound you teach in kindergarten and first grade so I figured it'd be a great sound to show you teaching...

Grab these FREE printable Rhyming Puzzles for a low-prep and hands-on activity to use in your Kindergarten literacy centers or small groups!

Activities that boost fluency all year long…and that you only have to prep once!

Looking for fluency activities? I just updated my fluency freebie. I added some short passages. If you need longer passages, I recommend visiting Reading A to Z. This is a great site with leveled passages. There are even some free books that you can download. Click HERE to get your freebie.

If you are looking for a fun way to motivate your struggling readers or to increase engagement during your fluency interventions, consider using reading trackers and reading pointers! Trackers and pointers are fluency tools that I always keep in my literacy toolbox. Not only do they help students get excited about practicing reading fluency, but they are helpful for students who need extra support with fluency and accuracy. Keep reading to learn more about how you can use reading trackers and pointers as fluency tools to increase engagement with your students! (Please note that I’ve used affiliate links throughout this

The first few weeks of school are all about setting the foundation. We're establishing routines and procedures, encouraging a growth mindset culture, building classroom community, etc. I also like to spend some time laying the foundation for what students will need to be successful writers throughout the year, especially since writing is a focus that threads through all subject areas. In second grade especially, sentence structure is a great place to start. We review the 4 parts that every sentence has to have in order to be a complete sentence:

Like most teachers, you want your students to be successful readers. But what do you do if they struggle with reading fluency? Reading fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with

15 fun and easy fluency practice activities to get your K-1 students reading at a just-right pace, with accuracy and expression!

Planning your guided literacy time is bout to get so much easier. I get asked a lot about how to tie reading and writing together, while focusing on fluency, comprehension, phonics, vocabulary, writing, etc. I create this resource to get kids excited about reading and writing, and to make planning

Fluency is such an important tool for readers as they move ahead to reading more challenging texts. Being able to read fluently, aloud or silently in your head, is a skill that students must be able to master as good readers. So why is fluency so important? Reading fluently is the ability to read a given text accurately, quickly, and with expression. When this happens students not only comprehend what they are reading, but also better grasp character feelings and understand the mood and tone of a text, allowing for deeper comprehension. As students get older, they read silently. As a silent reader they must recall words quickly to develop an understanding of what is read. Fluency, as a silent reader, is the key to connecting both oral reading of words to comprehension of the text, all without hearing it, or discussing it immediately. While silently reading, students are left on their own, to determine the meaning of words, situations, plot, and character analysis. With strong fluency skills, students can understand all that is read in the complex chapter books that they read independently. This is why in my classroom fluency is practiced daily in a variety of ways! It is important to me that I give my students many opportunities to practice being a fluent reader each day; both as independent readers and as readers who discuss what they have read with a partner, small groups, and with the whole class, too! Here are five ways that I practice fluency in my classroom to build stronger readers who comprehend the texts that they read deeply. 1. Daily Poetry Reading Reading a poem each day is definitely the highlight of my day and my favorite way to practice fluency. When the students arrive they take the poem of the day and head to their seat. They are responsible for reading it several times independently before it is read as a whole class. Here is what they do: *First read is to read through the poem to grasp the main idea *Second read is to circle words that tricked them up and that they either have to decode or use context clues to solve the meaning *Third read is to practice fluency, pausing at punctuation and exaggerating bolded or italicized words or phrases *Fourth read is read as needed to answer comprehension questions that align with the poems After students have had enough time to do the above steps, I select one student to read the poem aloud while the class tracks their reading. Following that reading, we read the poem as a class, practicing our choral reading fluency skills. We then discuss any issues in our reading and the comprehension questions. Students keep the poems in their folders so that they have a great typed text to practice fluency independently when needed. I love using these monthly poetry books by Scholastic for our daily poetry reading. They are organized by season, making them highly engaging for students. Do not let the grades listed on the cover fool you. These poems are perfect for upper elementary fluency practice. With cute pictures and chunky fonts, students are always eager to read these. The poetry is also chuck full of great vocabulary and figurative language. Although there are no comprehension questions, it is easy enough to create a quick question, write it at the board, and have students respond on the back or in a poetry notebook. (Direct links at the bottom of this page to the resources I use to increase fluency.) You can also tie together close reading strategies with fluency practice with this set of classic poetry. Click on the image to see more! 2. Fluent Reading Anchor Chart and Student Reference Sheet Having a class anchor chart is a great way to remind the students of fluency tips during whole group and small group instruction. It especially helps students that are working independently practice what is expected as you work with other students. The anchor chart below is one that I use in my classroom. I also keep a typed version at the reading table with me, and students keep a student reference sheet of these strategies in their reading binder. You can grab it here for FREE. 3. Writer’s Workshop Stories In my classroom, practicing to be fluent readers does not just take place during reading! Writer’s workshop is a great time for students to practice their fluency skills with their own writing pieces. During our writer’s workshop hour, we take a mid-workshop break. Students meet with their writing peer partner and discuss their writing pieces. During that time, each student finds a part of their writing that the feel is written in a way that the reader would read it with expression. Each student takes a turn reading their selected segment with fluency. Not only is this a great way to squeeze in some fluency practice, but it is also a great way to break up your writing block. 4. Student Selected Reading We like to have breaks during reader’s workshop just like during writer’s workshop, and the perfect thing to do during our break time, is to practice fluency! During our reader’s workshop break, students meet with their reading partner and after summarizing what is happening in the book they are reading, they read aloud a part of the text that made them feel strong emotions. This gives them an opportunity to read with emphasis and share the mood and tone of the text with a fellow reader. My students always love this part of our day! 5. Reading Buddies Let’s face it, kids love being in charge! What better way to practice fluency than with younger students! Having reading buddies allows students to practice fluency on multiple levels. We meet with our reading buddies on Fridays. My students have all week to select a book to read to their buddy. Once they have selected a book, they have to practice reading it for fluency and create one comprehension question that they will ask their younger reading buddy. By Friday, my students have had to meet with me to share the book they selected, read aloud one page to show their fluency, and have to be able to answer the question that they created. On Friday, the students are so excited to share the book that they selected with their younger buddy. When their “lesson” is over, they then read a book that their buddy selected. This is a great way for them to practice fluent reading with a “cold read” book. As the year progresses and their younger buddy begins to read more, my students have a chance to listen to their buddy read and offer suggestions for them to become more fluent. This strategy is great especially for your struggling readers to practice fluency. It is a confidence-building experience for them and after each session, they certainly do feel proud! How do you practice fluency in your upper elementary classroom? (Affiliate links listed below for the resources that I use to increase fluency with my students.) If you liked what you read and learned something new, please share this post!

Literacy center activities and ideas for Kindergarten and 1st grade for all subjects like writing, phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension activities to use in your classroom or intervention groups.

Practice decoding, fluency, and comprehension with this fun activity. Students will read a text, visualize what they read, and create a scene

Does your school use the Dibel's test? After giving the Dibels, I found that I needed to strengthen my students' fluency skills. My schedule already seemed completely full. Where would I find more time to give my students practice reading so they could become more fluent readers? One thing I found that helped with their fluency skills was making fluency centers one of my standard centers. I knew I wanted this center to have the same format each week so I wouldn't have to explain the direction. This saves me valuable class time. Plus, the center had to work with students on a wide variety of reading levels. The answer was my Sentence Shuffle Centers which I have for reading levels K-5. To honor our mothers, my Mother's Day Sentence Shuffle Center is FREE. I also have a Fluency Check Center that is FREE, too Click on the picture above if you'd like to see more Sentence Shuffle Centers organized by reading levels. Would you like to read more of my posts about fluency? Post #1: Fluency centers are great for teachers with small classrooms. Post #2: Fluency with r-controlled theme. Check out my A+ May Pinterest Board which has more fun ideas. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. How do you incorporate fluency lessons during your day? Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

If you are looking for a fun way to motivate your struggling readers or to increase engagement during your fluency interventions, consider using reading trackers and reading pointers! Trackers and pointers are fluency tools that I always keep in my literacy toolbox. Not only do they help students get excited about practicing reading fluency, but they are helpful for students who need extra support with fluency and accuracy. Keep reading to learn more about how you can use reading trackers and pointers as fluency tools to increase engagement with your students! (Please note that I’ve used affiliate links throughout this

With so many of my BIG KIDS struggling with fluency, I worked to make it a part of my daily work with students, a Tier 1 intervention that the majority of the class could benefit from. Reading fluency incorporates three main components: speed, accuracy, and prosody, which directly impact comprehension. While I have shared a great deal about incorporating 6-Minute Solutions, here are a few other ways I worked to make fluency fun for my 6th graders.

Over break I have had a couple of my students on my mind and their lack of letter recognition. They have learned some letters and sounds, but not all of them yet. I have Richard Allington's guide in

This post shares 3rd grade literacy center ideas that work with any Language Arts curriculum and last the entire school year + FREE printable

math fact fluency activities and games for kindergarten and 1st grade. Flash cards and game that are self checking for your classroom! Addition and subtraction included.

•10 Fun and original Reader’s Theater Plays •2 roles per Reader's Theater play with a highlighted script for each character •Perfect for your independent Literacy Centers, Language Arts activities, fluency practice, as Read to Someone during Daily 5 and much more! •Each Reader's Theater comes with a Common Core aligned comprehension activity •Bright and colorful puppets accompany each Reader's Theater. •Each Reader's Theater is 3 pages long. Great for file folder storage! A list of Reader's Theater plays and topics: "The Wiggly Tooth"- The Tooth Fairy has to brainstorm other things to collect while waiting for a tooth to fall out. -Comprehension Activity- Creative writing activity where the student draws and writes about a collection they would like to start. "Clean as a Pig"- Pig and Frog learn to try something new...and discover they actually like compromising. -Comprehension Activity- Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two main characters. "The Surprise Party"- Penguin shows what a good friend he is by planning a birthday treat for his buddy. -Comprehension Activity- Students practice making a list of supplies they will need to throw penguin a party. "Who Was Here First?"- Dinosaur and Alligator don't always see eye to eye until they decide it is more fun to be on the same team. -Comprehension Activity- This activity is all about finding the setting of the play. "The Lost Treasure"- What do two pirates do with a big treasure? They put it to a good cause. -Comprehension Activity- Where is your treasure buried? The students will map out their ideas and then write about what they would do with the treasure. "One Small Hoop"- A funny story of an elephant more interested in eating peanuts then performing a trick. -Comprehension Activity- The students will draw a picture of a trick they would teach the elephant and then describe the trick. "Monster's First Day"- Purple monster is nervous about his first day of school. Green monster makes him realize that being different is cool. -Comprehension Activity- Students will make a text to self connection with the nervous monster. "The Missing Cookie"- Cat Detective is on the case to find Dog's missing cookie. They search high and low until it is found. -Comprehension Activity-Students will sequence the story with a fun cookie activity. "The Long Wait"- Butterfly helps Caterpillar see the beauty of being green. -Comprehension Activity- A bubble chart is used to practice brainstorming describing words of the main character. "The Sleepy Owl"- Owl is in quite the predicament! He can’t decide what to do about the bright sun when he is so sleepy. They come up with a smart solution by working together. -Comprehension Activity- Students will come up with solutions for the owl to catch some zzz’s. Check out the preview for an idea of the finished product. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at: [email protected] Links to other Reader’s Theater plays from Playful in Primary (please note that all of the holiday Reader’s Theater plays are in the Holiday & Seasonal Year Long Pack and saves you 33%): 15 Reader’s Theater Plays-Holiday and Seasonal Year Long Pack 15- 2 person Reader’s Theater plays perfect for buddy reading through the holidays! Make sure to check out our best selling Author Study Mega Bundle. Author Study Mega Bundle SAVE 50% by purchasing all at once. This pack highlights 27 picture book authors and 16 chapter book authors from our best-selling Pack 1, Pack 2 and Chapter Book Pack plus bonus authors! This huge pack also comes with a book pendant display to spice up your classroom library! Valentine’s Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts Your students will feel the love with these 2 Reader’s Theater Plays! Earth Day Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts Celebrate this important holiday with 2 Earth Day Reader’s Theater Plays! St.Patrick’s Day Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts The luck of the Irish is with these 2 Reader’s Theater Plays! Springtime Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts Spring has sprung with these 2 Reader’s Theater Plays! Winter Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts Your students will stay warm inside practicing fluency with these 3 Reader’s Theater Plays! Thanksgiving Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts Who doesn’t love a talking turkey?! Halloween Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts These Reader’s Theater plays won’t have your student’s shaking in their boots Beginning of the Year Reader’s Theater Play: 2 Parts These Reader’s Theater plays are the perfect way to start the year!

The Science of Reading is like a recipe for success in literacy. And just like a recipe, it requires multiple ingredients to make it work. Phonics is an important ingredient, but it's not the only

Click to find out how I run this low-prep math fact fluency center in my classroom all year long!!