Assessing and Teaching Fluency
Name: Eliza Corn
Target Content/Lesson Topic: Fluency
State Learning Standards
Identify relevant grade level standards
and Learning Outcomes from the State
Content Learning Standards, Common
Core Standards, and school learning
outcomes.
Learning Targets/Objectives
What should the students know or be
able to do after the instruction? Use a
common format with a measurable verb
that matches the cognitive domain
standard. This should be a small piece of
the standard stated in measurable
terms.
Grouping
Describe how and why students will be
divided into groups, if applicable
(homogeneous, heterogenous, random /
based on ability, interest, social
purposes, etc.)
Differentiation
If either or both lessons are whole class,
how is the lesson(s) differentiated for
the focal student?
Grade Level: 8th grade
Date: 9/30/2023
Planning
RF.5.4 – Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
b. Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Lesson 1
• I can read with expression by communicating the emotion of the text.
• Student will be able to read with expression by using rhythm, tone, pitch, and stress to communicate
the emotion of the text.
Lesson 2
• I can use context clues to figure out the meaning of a word.
• Student will be able to use context clues and decoding strategies to efficiently solve unknown words
while reading, rereading for clarity when necessary.
Both minilessons will be taught individually to the student. Due to the students age, practicing expression in
front of peers may intimidate the student and reduce the effectiveness of the lesson. Additionally, with
smoothness, vocabulary-based difficulty at this age will vary greatly between students. Individualized
instruction will ensure that the student gets practice with words that are actually unfamiliar to them.
Both lessons will be taught individually to the student and are tailored to meet her specific reading abilities
and goals.
1

Assessment
How will students demonstrate that the
focal student is making progress in
toward their fluency goals?
Minilesson One
1. Introduction (including setting
expectations and establishing
procedures and instructions)
2. Activate/Connect To Prior
Knowledge
3. Fluency Activity (including
modeled, guided, and independent
practice, as needed)
Assessment
After the completion of these minilessons, the student will complete another reading fluency assessment. The
assessment will be based on a different text at a similar readiness level as the initial assessment and graded on
the same rubric. This will ensure that the student has a fair and adequate opportunity to demonstrate their
growth in the targeted areas.
Instruction
Introduction
Topic: Expression, 4.13 Make Your Voice Match the Meaning
- Today, we are going to practice reading with expression while reading The Amusement Park. Before
we begin talking about expression, please read the first page (words 1-226) silently to yourself.
After pre-reading page 1:
- What is expression, and how does it impact our reading?
o Makes reading sound like spoken/natural language, conversational, includes emotion,
emphasizes/stresses important words
- What visual clues can we look for in a text to help us with expression?
o Punctuation, special font (size, bold, italics), pictures (if present), paragraph breaks
- What other elements of the text can support expression?
o Genre, style, character traits, plot events, title, point of view
- After reading the first page, how would you describe the story? Think about tone, emotions, topic.
o Positive, happy, enthusiastic, excited
If student is unable to identify any of the above ideas, draw attention to them while reading.
During
- We are going to practice expression through an exercise called “Make Your Voice Match the
Meaning”. This exercise will help us learn how to read the story the way the author wants us to read
it.
- Begin reading through the first page, but out loud this time. I will listen and stop you to talk about
expression throughout.
After paragraph 2, if the student is monotone (flat pitch, no stress, missing exclamation mark in paragraph 1),
- Did how you read that make sense with the story? Does your voice match the text?
- To get started reading with expression, think back to how you described the first page of the story.
Use those descriptions to help you start reading with accurate emotion. (demonstrate if necessary)
2
After paragraph 2, if the student is doing well with expression,
- You read that last sentence with great expression. I can tell you were thinking about how the
character felt here. What emotion were you expressing and how did you know to do that?
o Cued by the exclamation point, narrator was excited by the group/counselors they were
assigned to

End of page 1,
- That was a great start to reading with expression. What elements of the text were you using to
enhance your expression?
o Allow the student to explain how and why they incorporated expression into their reading.
They should be able to reference expression cues listed in introduction. As the student
describes, have them highlight anything in the text that supported their expression.
- So far in this story, the character has been expressing positive emotions. Is it possible for emotions
to change? Can you think of an example of when a character’s emotion might change?
o Student may reference a character from other media (Spider-Man goes from confused about
his new powers to excited when he gets better at using them) or describe a general scenario.
- Now, continue on reading page 2 out loud. Try your best to use expression to reflect the meaning of
the story, and I will stop you to discuss throughout.

If page 2 paragraph 1 lacks expression, stop and discuss how to read it. Provide demonstration with
contrasting expressions (one accurate, one inaccurate) if necessary.

After page 2 paragraph 3,

- What do you predict is going to happen in the next paragraph?
o If the student is able to sense the shift in tone/emotion, ask them to describe how they might
adjust their expression to match it. If not, allow the student to move forward reading.

At the end,
- What was different about the last paragraph of the story? Did your expression change? How and
why?
o Student should be able to identify that the emotions shifted from positive to
scared/anxious/exhilarated. Student should describe what they did differently to express
this emotional shift.
o If student did not adjust their expression for the final paragraph, discuss the shift and have
them reread, trying for more expression this time.

3
 Wrap-Up

- What emotions was the author trying to communicate in the story?

- What tools did you use to guide your expression while reading?
- How can we read with expression when reading a text that we haven’t read before?
o Make an inference about the tone from the title, think about events that influence a
character’s attitude, punctuation
- What other strategies can you use to push yourself to read with more expression?
o Read like you’re reading to a child, read like you’re an actor in a movie, test out different
expressions before deciding on the one you think is best

Minilesson Two Introduction

1. Introduction (including setting
expectations and establishing Topic: Smoothness, 4.1 Read It Like You’ve Always Known It
procedures and instructions)
2. Activate/Connect To Prior
- Today, we are going to practice reading with smoothness while reading. Smoothness refers to our
Knowledge
3. Fluency Activity (including
ability to read without having to take big breaks to decode or figure out unknown words.
modeled, guided, and independent - When you are reading and come across a word you don’t know, what do you do?
practice, as needed) o Skip over the word, decode through breaking into parts, syllables, analyzing affixes, etc.

Provide written example excerpt: “I’m going to visit a cardiologist after school today.”
o Allow the student to take time decoding the bolded word, supporting as necessary.
- What strategies did you use to decode the word “cardiologist”?
o Have the student describe their process for figuring out how to read the word.

Provide extended written example excerpt: “I’m going to visit a cardiologist after school today. I’ve been
feeling pain on the left side of my chest and want to get it checked out just in case.”
- Here is some more information for you. Now that you know how to say cardiologist, read this
statement with confidence, and try to guess what it means.
o Using the added context clues, students should roughly be able to define the word
“cardiologist”. If not, teacher will model the process of identifying context clues (I know that
a cardiologist is somewhere or something you visit. I also know from the new sentence that
it has something to do with pain in the chest. My heart is in the left side of my chest, so
maybe it has something to do with the heart. Maybe a cardiologist is a heart doctor.”).

4
 - When we are reading and come across an unknown word, it’s important to figure out how to say it,
as well as what the word means. If we only figure out how to say it, we won’t be able to fully
comprehend what the rest of text is about. If we only figure out what it means, we won’t be able to
add that word to our vocabulary and use it in conversation.
o Why do we need to comprehend?
o Why is it important to be building our vocabulary?

During

- Now, I want you to read this short story, Earthquake. This is an informative text, and informative
texts usually include topics and words that we aren’t familiar with.
- Begin reading through the text out loud. When you come across a word that you aren’t familiar with,
pause and repeat that process to try to solve it. I will be listening and here to help along the way.

Teacher must ensure that there is unknown vocabulary in the text for lesson to be effective.

Student should begin reading the text. Possible challenge words are:
- Droughts, catastrophic, concrete, evacuate, navigate, beams, inaccessible, precaution, or any others.
Student and teacher should be making a written list of challenge words experienced.

When the student stops at a word,

- I notice you’ve stopped to figure out that word. The first step is to figure out how to say the word.
Use your word recognition skills to help you.
o Teacher may support the student if necessary.
- Now, go back and read the whole sentence, reading the challenge word like you know what it means.
Reread the sentence a few times if necessary to help you understand the meaning of the word.
o Student should read the sentence without having to decode the challenge word and use
context clues to find its meaning. Teacher may provide support or point out additional clues
they could have used if necessary.
- Great job. Continue reading and stop to repeat the process if you find another unknown word.

At the next challenge word, allow the student to work through reading and understanding the word on their
own. If they work through it in their head, ask them to verbalize what context clues they used to come to their
conclusion (How did you figure that out? What information helped you?). Only provide support if needed. This
process will repeat until the end of the text.

5
 Wrap-Up

Review the list of challenge words, having the student read the word and then give their own rough definition.
- How did you figure out how to say the word?
- How did you determine the meaning of the word?
- Are there any words on the list you’re still not confident about?
- Did taking the time to figure out the meaning of each word support your understanding of the text?
- What strategies can you use to solve an unknown word?
o Students should be able to identify context clues and rereading as valuable strategies.

Instructional Materials, Minilesson 1

Equipment and Technology - Activity resource
List equipment or technology that needs - The Amusement Park (1 copy, printed)
to be available. Attach a copy of ALL - Highlighter
materials the teacher and students will
use during the lesson; e.g., handouts, Minilesson 2
questions to answer, overheads,
- Activity resource
PowerPoint slides, worksheets.
- Earthquake (1 copy, printed)
- Notebook or other paper
- Pencil

Assessment
- Poem
- Rubric

6
 Fluency Reading Assessment Report

On September 26, Aliyah completed a standard fluency reading assessment, which

compares her current reading ability to standard grade level reading expectations and helps us

to monitor her fluency development and progress over time. This fluency assessment monitors

4 different components, including expression and volume, phrasing, smoothness, and pace. To

complete the assessment, I made note of strengths and challenges while listening to Aliyah read

the poem “The Hollow” and used my observations to assign her a score of 1-4 (with 4 being the

highest) in each of the components.

During the assessment, Aliyah demonstrated great strength in phrasing. Phrasing

involves attention to punctuation and strategic pausing for breath to properly group words

together while reading. For example, Aliyah properly adhered to punctuation throughout the

poem by stopping to breathe at the end of each line, and used proper intonation to indicate

that each stanza, or group of lines in the poem, was ending with a period. In doing this, she

demonstrated her ability to identify a complete phrase. Her accurate use of phrasing directly

contributed to her additional strength in pacing. Proper pacing occurs when the reader reads at

a consistent, relaxed pace that doesn’t feel rushed or too slow. Throughout the entire reading,

Aliyah read at a pace that felt conversational and natural. After pausing to decode the word

“gnarled” in line 13, she returned to that same pace and continued it through the end of the

poem. These strengths together contribute to Aliyah’s overall ability to communicate complete

ideas when reading and are essential to support Aliyah’s deep understanding of the text.
 Aliyah demonstrates room for improvement towards the component of expression and

volume. Expression is the use of pitch, tone, and emphasis or stress on specific words to reflect

the meaning of the text. Although she is making great strides in her ability to make reading

sound like natural language, there is room for growth in her use of pitch and stress to enhance

the meaning of the text and begin to express the emotions intended by the author. For

example, Aliyah read lines 21-22 in a monotonous tone, similar to the one she had been reading

in for the rest of the poem. These lines feature the climax of the story, and when read with

varied use of pitch and stress on words like “hooves of a horse”, would be a great opportunity

for the reader to express the fear and anxiety felt by the protagonist/narrator. Aliyah also

demonstrates occasional challenge with smoothness. Smoothness refers to the reader’s ability

to read without stopping to decode words. For example, in line 13, Aliyah restarted the line

twice (repeating “I walked”), then paused to decode the word “gnarled”. In line 18, Aliyah

paused to decode the word “perch”, but recovered quickly after decoding and self-correcting.

Errors in smoothness were not frequent but did produce breaks in Aliyah’s rhythm and

impacted her overall understanding of the poem.

On the rubric, Aliyah received a score of 3 for expression and volume, 4 for phrasing, 3

for smoothness, and 4 for pacing, for an overall score of 14/16. This means that Aliyah is at or

closely approaching grade level expectations in all components of fluency and is on track to be

fully meeting those expectations in the upcoming months. I have identified expression and

smoothness as learning goals for Aliyah as we continue building upon her fluency skills.
• To help with expression, Aliyah will be practicing reflecting the meaning of a text through

an activity called “Make Your Voice Match the Meaning”. In this activity, Aliyah will use

what she knows about genre, characters, and plot events to make her voice reflect the

emotions and tone of the story.

• To help with smoothness, Aliyah will focus on building automaticity, or the ability to

recognize words quickly and with little effort, through an activity called “Read It Like

You’ve Always Known It”. In this activity, Aliyah will practice decoding and then rereading

the entire sentence or phrase until she is confident and no longer feels the need to stop

and decode.

Additional practice in expression and smoothness will support Aliyah’s overall ability to

comprehend while reading and will help her take those final steps towards completely

meeting grade level expectations. If you are interested in working on these skills with Aliyah

at home, listed below are a few easy activities that are very impactful, but don’t require you

to be an expert reader!

• Read with feeling. For this activity, you will want to find a text that includes dialog or

first-person narration. When you come across dialog in the text, stop for a moment and

brainstorm different emotions the character may be feeling. Once you have a list of 2 or

more emotions, reread the dialog a few times, each time practicing a different emotion.

Try to agree on which emotion best fits the dialog, supporting your choice with evidence

from the text.

• Preread and reread. Before reading a sentence or passage, scan the text for unknown

words. Do your best to decode and practice saying the word until you feel comfortable

reading it in a sentence. Then, read the passage as normal, trying your best to read

without stopping to decode. Finally, reread the passage and look for context clues to

figure out the meaning of the word. (If you wish to take it one step further, make a DIY

dictionary of unknown words you come across. If you are unable to figure out the

meaning of the word, look it up, or send it back to school and we will use it as

vocabulary exploration in class!)

Most age-appropriate texts of all styles and genres will be suitable for these activities.

Poetry is a great way to practice fluency skills in short sessions, so I am sending home a few

high-quality poems that can be used if desired. If you are in need of additional support,

resources, or advice on how to support your child’s fluency development, please do not

hesitate to reach out to me at any time by phone or email. Thank you for your care and

support of your child’s learning.

Best,

Ms. Corn
Eliza Corn

EDU 443 – Teaching Developmental Literacy 3-9

Dr. Shannon Prince

September 30, 2023

Assessing and Teaching Fluency Reflection

The process of completing this assignment has informed me a lot about the role of

fluency in reading. The student chosen for the assessment was recommended by my mentor

teacher. She loves to read and is very willing to work with me but has been previously identified

as needing fluency support. This was important because I knew she would put effort into the

reading, which would provide a more accurate representation of her fluency abilities. If I were

to do this assessment with a student who didn’t want to work with me, the pressure of the

situation likely would have negatively impacted their performance. The poem used for the

assessment was provided by my mentor teacher. The students were going to be reading it in

class that day, so the student was unfamiliar with it. The student did a great job with the

reading, demonstrating tons of strength but still areas for us to focus learning on. There was

honestly so much good in her performance that it was challenging to identify areas of need, but

I think that made this process of analyzing and planning intervention even more of a learning

experience for myself.

Aside from being a great learning experience, the students’ performance on the

assessment really emphasized why it is important to assess fluency, even beyond the grades

that it’s emphasized in. This student loves to read and frequently reads books at a high
comprehension level. Despite this, this assessment shows that she is not completely where she

needs to be with her oral fluency, which is no longer an area of focus in her literacy learning.

Just because fluency leaves the standards after 5th grade doesn’t guarantee that every student

has completed their fluency development, and we should continue to assess students in all

aspects of literacy to ensure that students are not being left behind.

Creating minilessons to support the student ended up being much easier than I

anticipated. The rubric provides a really good guide that lets you know exactly what to look for.

For some components, like expression and volume, there are multiple indicators within them

that must be accounted for. It’s easy to dial in on the specific indicators within each component

when it’s laid out for you like in the rubric. The reading strategies that I chose from the textbook

were super adaptable and allowed me to draw inspiration while leaving a lot of room for me to

be creative and design my own lesson. Overall, this assignment taught me a lot about the

process of assessing and supporting fluency development and revealed the importance of

assessing fluency into middle adolescence.