Every reader is expected to read not only all the words on a page correctly, but also

to read those words with voice and intonation (personality) and at a comfortable, flowing

pace. These skills fall under the category of fluency. The key to fluency is NOT just speed!

The key is being able to chunk groups of words together so the reading sounds like speech,

use punctuation as a guide, and to use expression. (Being able to also include character

attitude and personality is a wonderful sign of comprehension, too!) When a student does

these things well, then his/her speed automatically increases!

Although fluent reading is more than just fast reading, the easiest way to assess

fluency is through one-minute timed readings. As students progress as readers, the number

of words they read correctly per minute (wcpm) should increase even if the difficulty of the

text is increasing. EVERY student, regardless of reading ability, benefits from fluency

support and practice.

Part ofeach child’s homework is to read aloud a passage every night. They will read

the same passage every night for a week and answer three or four questions about the

passage. I am asking that an adult or older sibling time the student reading for one minute,

help correct any errors, record their work together and model fluent reading for the student.

These are the steps for this nightly assignment:

1. Student reads the entire passage to him/herself.

2. Student reads aloud the passage to the adult/parent, who is

timing them for EXACTLY one minute. During this time the

parent is also keeping track of (counting up) any errors the child makes while

reading, BUT does NOT try to correct the child at this time.

3. Adult/parent records on the homework sheet the number of words read in a

min. (use the numbers at the end of each line to help you add quickly) and the

number of errors.

4. Adult/parent NOW points out and corrects the errors made to the child.

5. Adult/parent might consider reading the passage to the child as well.

This process should be repeated every night Monday-Thursday.

Thank you for your help. If you have any questions, please contact me.