Summer Blog Party: Fluency

I posted about fluency earlier in the summer, but I've updated my post with a few more ideas for the Reading Crew's Weekly Summer Linky Party!

Depending on the groups of students I work with, if students need extra help with fluency, I will add a poetry warm-up to our lesson.  Students receive a poem on Monday and we spend about 2 minutes a day practicing our poem.
Monday:  I read the poem and they read through it one time.
Tuesday:  They read the poem twice.  I listen to two students.
Wednesday:  They read the poem one time to themselves.  Then they read the poem to a partner.  I'm partners with a student.
Thursday:  They read the poem to themselves and then to a different partner.  I'm partners with a student.
Friday:  They read the poem to a partner.  I'm partners with the final students in the group.

By Friday, I've heard everyone read.  I tend to rotate my order, that way I don't always listen to the same students on Tuesday.

Some of my favorite books to use are:

Using Volunteers to Help with Fluency

I have found that having volunteers work with students during fluency work stations is a win-win for everyone!  To keep it organized, I like having a fluency crate.  I have copies of the pages I want students to work on.  It is just a matter of changing some of the pages from the fluency books.

1)  Our reading series has weekly fluency passages for students.  That's something they always practice twice.  They have these copies with them.

2)  There is a folder in the crate devoted to fluency phrases.  The students run through the phrases with the volunteers.  Then they can use the Voice & Expression cards from Cara Caroll.  The students love reading the cards using different expressions and voices.    (See picture below).

Other Options

Students like doing the Roll, Read, Highlight from Rock Your Fluency!

Another option are these read aloud passages from Scholastic.  These also have comprehension questions that students can work on with the volunteers.   They have their own folder in the crate.  I only put one at a time in the folder, so I know who has done which ones.

Students enjoy these You Read to Me, I'll Read to You stories.  These are another option in the crate.

At the end of the work station time, they use this rubric (download for free) to evaluate how they are doing on the fluency rubric.

Practicing fluency is a great way to keep volunteers busy, and students are able to practice reading with an adult that can be a great model for them!