Fluency Finds

This semester I’m taking a class on a reading assessment I’ve been giving for the last 6 years.  Since I changed counties last year, I have to be retrained.  Unfortunately, none of the homework assignments are the same, so I can’t even cheat.  This week my homework is to write an informational letter to parents about fluency.  So I thought I’d focus on fluency this week, and turn in my blog. 

Fluency is the way a child sounds when she reads.  It includes reading words correctly, quickly, and with phrasing and expression.  It’s the bridge between decoding words and understanding the story.  When you think about what your brain does as you read, your eyes are moving 3-4 words ahead of your brain as you decode the words.  You’re also attending to punctuation and grouping words together into phrases that make sense, and all the while your brain is turning the visual information into a meaningful story.  That seems like a lot to teach our kids, but not if we read with them.

I’ve spent the last couple weekends, with two 2-year-olds.  My niece “reads” in a silly, high pitched voice, but she imitates the inflections we use when we read.  My friend’s son reads the last word of every line in The Cat and the Hat and never misses the rhythm.  These kids have been read to since birth, and they are already showing signs of early literacy.  Every time a child asks you to reread a favorite book, you’re increasing her fluency.

There are also some books designed to build fluency in kids.  Poetry and rhyming books are perfect examples.  My favorite children’s poets now are Shel Silverstein, Kali Dakos and Jack Prelutsky, but as kids, my sister and I loved Dr. Suess’s Oh, Say, Can You Say?  It’s a book of tongue twisters that made our parents crazy, but brought us endless joy.  Mary Ann Hoberman has a series called You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You.  They’re collections of stories and poems designed to be read aloud by two people.  Kids love them.  Books written like comics with speech bubbles also lend themselves to fluency work.  It encourages kids to read the way they talk.  I like Yo! Yes! by Chris Raschka, Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, and the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems.  Also by Willems is Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale.  It’s about the dangers of taking your favorite stuffed animal every where you go, and it’s written with a short phrase on each page.  And if you like the first one, you can enjoy the whole trilogy: Knuffle Bunny, Too and Knuffle Bunny, Free.  No, David! by David Shannon is another great option, because “No, David,” is repeated on each page with varying degrees of passion.  Reading to, by and with our children is the best way to build fluency. 

 

Books for Building Fluency

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman

Yo! Yes! by Chris Raschka

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

The Elephant and Piggie Series by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Series by Mo Willems

The Knuffle Bunny Series by Mo Willems

No, David! by David Shannon

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

If You’re Not Here Please Raise Your Hand by Kali Dakos

A Pizza the Size of the Sun by Jack Pretulsky

The Cat and the Hat by Dr. Suess

Oh, Say, Can You Say? By Dr. Suess