I have this love hate relationship with reading fluency. My building uses DIBELS for all our primary students but only use the DRA decoding rubric for the intermediate students. Both of these assessments have speed ranges are the bare minimum of how fast students need to be reading.

Now factor in Common Core. Fluency is addressed starting in kindergarten with standard RF 1.4 RF.K.4 with students reading emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. And the standard changes in first grade with RF.1.4 where students have to read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. It remains the same through fifth grade. Common Core doesn't address in detail what that looks like. The key in reading fluency is finding that perfect balance of accuracy and understand what is being read. Common Core wants students to understand what they are reading and then have meaning deep conversation about what they are being taught. This is a hard balance and a tough shift this year for me.

It's the readability and the depth in which students have to understand material that really counts. This has more to do with Lexile Measures than DRA or Fountas and Pinnell levels than anything else. This makes for some very fun shifts in what students have to read and what they need to be able to read. The focus needs to stay on text just slightly harder than their independent reading level (at 96% to 98% accuracy and 90 to 125 wcpm) to have a conversation with the depth needed for them to demonstrate that they really understand what they are reading. The shift is in the text complexity. Check Common Core Appendix A for more information on what the Lexile expectations look like.

I'm not sure this is a huge problem for my student's who struggle with reading fluency but I do know that if they can't read fast enough, they won't finish the test. Students should not see difficult material for the first time on these tests. They have to be prepared to closely read, examine, decode, and digest material that is not within their “fluency” or comfort range.

I'm not sure if the best way to accomplish this is by giving them more challenging texts or by guiding students through have a more in-depth conversation about what they are reading.  If students can talk about what they are reading, then they can write about it.

Close Reading where students markup the text is a great way to support students. I have had student do this but I'm having problems with them transferring this idea outside of their time with me. Plus, our new assessment will be on the computer. No marking the text. Markup the text has helped them find the evidence to support their thinking which is I've been told is way more important. They need to work on telling why they picked that specific chunk of text though.

Why Fluency is important:

As great as close reading of complex text maybe for instruction, we should not measure independent reading. Also from Appendix A (p.4):

Students need opportunities to stretch their reading abilities but also to experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading within them, both of which the Standards allow for…. Students deeply interested in a given topic, for example, may engage with texts on that subject across a range of complexity.

It's the reading easy material that a student enjoys a book and builds fluency. For independent reading recommendations, students need to read and enjoy whatever they choose, at whatever level for independent reading. That is how to build lifelong readers.

I have a couple of students this year that have not moved much in the last year or so. At our weekly, team meetings we talk about about these guys. As a group we try to figure out why they aren't moving. It tends to be asking lots of why and right when you think you've got it; you ask why again. Sometimes we need to come back and collect a specific data point. Other times a plan is hatched and put in place. Think of these as questions and does the evidence show that the student has it.

Last year, my building moved to Backwards Planning all units. This takes time. Lots of time. So I decided to get ahead start. Maybe save myself a day or two of planning down the road. If you're not familiar with backwards planning, it comes from Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins about ten years ago.

I have started by getting Step 1 complete: Desired Results. This is where I get my learning targets and essential questions. The key What should students know, understand, and be able to do? What is the ultimate transfer we seek as a result of this unit? What enduring understandings are desired? What essential questions will be explored in-depth and provide focus to all learning?

Step 2 is Determine Assessment Evidence. This changes unit to unit because I may need for assessment data or I may not. The key here is How will I know if students have achieved the desired results? What will we accept as evidence of student understanding and their ability to use (transfer) their learning in new situations? How will we evaluate student performance in fair and consistent ways?

Step 3 is daily planning. The key being How will I support learners as they come to understand important ideas and processes? How will I prepare them to autonomously transfer their learning? What enabling knowledge and skills will students need to perform effectively and achieve desired results? What activities, sequence, and resources are best suited to accomplish our goals?

The pros to planning this way--I hit all the standards by the end of the unit. I know that students are getting it because of either the progress monitoring or student self-assessment. What I dislike-is this takes time. Time is not something I have tons of in special education. But by spending the time I know that students will have the skills and knowledge to be stronger in class.

Freebie time--this is one unit for intermediate reading with Step 1 completed and a template you can print to complete Steps 2 and 3 based on your students and need. This will be the first unit that I will teach next month. It was planned using backwards planning. Have a great weekend! If you're traveling-safe travels.

A couple of years ago my school created a kindergarten through four grade benchmarking norms for reading sight words. We have a list of five hundred words that we think that all our students should know by the spring of their four grade year.

What we don't have in writing is what does sight word fluency sound like. In the Wilson Reading System, fluent is a no more than 2 seconds a word with the first thing that comes out of your month counting. So, in talking with my special education team, we decided that if a student could read this list of 500 sight words correctly with the first thing out of their month counting taking no more than 5 seconds a word that we would consider that fluent.

To do this, I created a Google presentation that flashes the word for 5 seconds and then moves no to the next one. I did this 1) so I wouldn't have to time the student and 2) so it could be used with fidelity with the same idea being used with all our identified students or students needing their sight word fluency check. We also created benchmark scores for grades Kindergarten through Fourth grade with recommendations for Fifth and Sixth as to where to take students sight word knowledge. Have a great week!

My school district uses The Daily Five, by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser as the structure for our Reading Workshop.“The Daily Five is a series of literacy tasks (read to self, read with someone, writing, word work, and listening to reading) which students complete daily while the teacher meets with small groups or confers with individuals.” The book “explains the philosophy behind the structure,” and it shows teachers how to train “students to participate in each of the five components.” Each grade level creates what their reading block looks likes-some do all fives while others only do three.

This year has brought up questions of accountability within Daily 5 and what that looks like. Everyone in my building has different way that they make students accountable to what they do during each rotation but could it be tighter and help teachers with documentation that doesn't create more work for teachers.

I was asked by a teacher who has a couple of my more impacted students with learning disabilities to help her increase the accountability for not just these two students but her whole class during her Reading Workshop. She wants to use an iPad or two but also the computers in her room. After collaborating with her, we decided that setting something up that could go a week before making any changes would be best for her class.

After looking at our options, we decided that using MentorMob would be better than writing each on its own direction page like I do for math. Each rotation has its own step. The directions tell students what other materials they need to be "on task." This will be the first full week-so we'll see how it goes.

I think this is a good first step to help teachers create accountability that doesn't create more work for them. Adding any form of tech to their students day-where they are not using it to play games is a HUGE step in their thinking. Students do all their work in their writing journal or on a computer. For me its about showing teachers that computers and iDevices can be used to make life easier.

My students are hopping through the days to break. It's snowing today in Colorado. Not like I'm wanting a snow day or anything :) As many of you know, my students LOVE anything that involves a timer and the possibly of beating me in a game. Run Cookie Run has become a fast favorite of my students--I'm sure your students will find it to be one of theirs too.

• Guided Reading – to enhance comprehension
• Self-Selected Reading – to build fluency
• Word Block – to develop spelling and word decoding
• Writing – to teach how to write

• Look over your classroom and see if there are any modifications for making language visible and to encourage reading.
• Try setting up an interactive bulletin board or word wall with a picture and word match activity.
• Set up baskets or boxes with various levels of reading materials. You can include books, magazines, maps, menus, training booklets or just about anything that has words on it.
• Set up a writing center with different types of writing tools (paper, pens, pencils, crayons, letter stamps, magnetic letters on cookie sheets, etc.)
• Consider adapted books based on language experience of the classroom routine.
• Take digital pictures of the daily activities
• Insert the pictures into a PowerPoint slide show.
• Write a sentence for each picture
• Adapt with Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) to make language visible.
• Print and Enjoy Reading!
• Encourage students to use literacy materials in their dramatic play. For example, in the home area place food packages, appliance instructions, and menus.
• Read aloud to your students and use pictures to insure comprehension.
• For primary students that are progressing on a reading program, Teach Me Language, by Sabrina Freeman and Lorelei Dake have published a language program that incorporates reading. 

Getting kids to read over the summer is hard. The last two years, we have sent all kids in our building home with 6 "just right" books to read over the summer. We do this in the hopes that all of them will read over the summer because we know that not every student has books at home or a way to get to the library.

No matter how hard I plead with parents and my kids to read, it never seems to work. As they begin the final countdown to Summer Break, I remind them how important reading is and try to hook them up with authors they might like. Plus making sure they all have a library card.

A couple of years ago, I came up with BINGO Summer Reading game to take them through different genre and places they could read over the summer. The ones that do come back get a prize and its added to our PTA sponsored drawing; for student's who did read over the summer.

How do you encourage students to read over the long break? I'd live to hear about your ideas!



Summer Reading Bingo

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

In August 2010, Colorado rewrote the State Standards from preschool to twelfth grade to reflect that adoption of Common Core. The state standards and Common Core define mastery and help students and teachers achieve clearer results in order to guide schools to greater outcomes.

State academic standards are the expectations of what students need to know and be able to do. They also stand as the values and content organizers of what Colorado sees as the future skills and essential knowledge for our next generation to be more successful. State standards are the basis of the annual state assessment. Standards are not the same as lesson plans or curriculum. They are the content understandings and abilities that lead a student to success beyond school.

The content areas include Mathematics, Science, Reading and Writing, Social Studies, Music, Visual Arts, Theatre, Dance, Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, and World Languages. In addition, the state had developed standards for Expanded Benchmarks and English Language Learners.

Colorado Academic Standards are created to support an aligned P-20 system which provides an inclusion of early school readiness expectations and postsecondary competencies. Historically, these standards have been organized by grade spans but have evolved to be articulated by grade. Additionally, state standards reflect workforce readiness and 21^st century skills such as critical thinking and reasoning, information literacy and invention. The ability to take responsibility for additional learning, self-direction and interaction with others to learn new information quickly and more naturally is the new emerging direction of our work.

What is P-20 Education?

P-20 Academic and Career Pathways in the following areas:

• Arts & Communication
• Business
• Health Sciences
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Math

What are P-20 Academic and Career Pathways?
Academic and Career Pathways are an integrated collection of learning experiences intended to develop students’ core academic skills; and provide them with continuous education and employability credentials; in order to place them in high-demand, high-opportunity jobs.

Common Core Standards-Reading Foundational Skills

K-2 Math Common Core

I stumbled upon this website this weekend, created by James Patterson. At readkiddoread.com you'll find that he has gathered more than 100 stories plus author and celebrity interviews, seasonal booklists, and suggestions for easing reluctant readers into good books.

I believe that students should be able to decide what books they are going to read, including those we read together. My goal is to get students to read, to get students excited about reading. In valuing their opinions, even about the books we share in class, they learn that I their preferences are as important as mine. I came across the "The Rights of the Reader," by Daniel Pennac while I was reading The Book Whisper this summer. Though I will not be posting it on the room, I wish to share it with my parents so they can begin to understand how I take their children who hate reading to children who can't wait to finish the book and have another one lined up to read.

The Book Whisper by Donalyn Miller is a wonderful eye opening view into how one teacher takes on the daily challenge to turn all students in readers. She helps her students to discover the rewards of reading no matter how far behind students may be. Donalyn Miller writes an ongoing blog for teachermagazine.org. Reader Rights