Six Minute Solution

Stephanie Lemmer

Agenda• What is Fluency?• Research and Rationale• Assessments • Selecting fluency partners and instructional groups • Introducing the fluency concept • Establishing partner behavior • Training students in the partnership model • Managing materials • Student progress and record keeping • Comprehension and writing strategies • Conclusion : more than six minutes a day.

December 2006 3

Is automaticity the same thing as fluency?

Automaticity is…

Performance of a skill without conscious thought.

• Necessary for proficiency.

• Improved through practice.

Automaticity in Reading

• Frees up cognitive space for comprehension and critical thinking.

• Leads to enjoyable reading.

Definitions of Fluency

“rate and accuracy in oral reading”(Hasbrouck and Tindal Davidson and Towner, Torgeson, et al., 2001)

“accurate reading at a minimal rate with appropriate prosodic features (expression) and deep understanding”

(Hudson, Mercer, and Lane, 2000)

“ reading smoothly, easily, and quickly.”

(Carnine, Silbert, and Kame’enui (1997)

Describe a dysfluent reader?

Strategies for Fluency

• Phrase-cued Reading

• Alternate Oral Reading

• Simultaneous Oral Reading

• Repeated Readings

Why could these be considered less effective strategies?

• Reader’s Theatre

• Choral Reading

• Round Robin Reading

December 2006 12

Is automaticity the same thing as fluency?

Six Minute Solution Overview (p.1)Time Materials Procedures

1 minute TimerFolder containing two copies of the same passage, two copies of the fluency graph, on dry erase marker and cloth

Get ReadyTeacher announces that fluency timing will begin

1 minute Partner 1 Reads

1 minute Partner 2 Gives Feedback

1 minute Partner 2 Reads

1 minute Partner 1 Gives Feedback

1 minute Students put away materials

Rereading to Build Fluency

• “Practice Makes Perfect”• Repeated Reading Research (Levy, Nichools,&

Kroshen, 1993; Meyer & Felton, 1999; Samuels, 1979)

Partnering Students to Build Fluency

• One student reads while the other follows along and tracks the words read correctly.

Decoding and Fluency

• In order to read fluently the reader must be able to decodes the vast majority of words automatically with approximately 95% accuracy.

• While fluency helps improve decoding it is not sufficient to remediate an underlying decoding problem

Comprehension and Fluency• High correlation between reading

comprehension and reading fluency • Comprehension suffers when a student lacks

fluency– (Farstrup & Samuels, 02)

Independent Reading & Fluency

• Students that are fluent generally find reading to be pleasurable and therefore read more

• Reading more increases reading related skills, vocabulary, background knowledge, decoding, and fluency skills

• The rich get richer and the poor get poorer

In 10 minutes of independent reading… A fluent reader might

read 2,000 words. A struggling reader might

read only 500 words.

Equal practice time, unequal practice

Work Completion &Fluency

• Think of the amount of reading assigned in upper elementary, middle school, and high school

• Both students are assigned the same amount of reading

• The student who reads 180 wpm will complete their work in 2 hours while a student who reads 60 wpm will need six hours to complete the same text.

Reading Achievement and Fluency Practice

• The National Reading Panel found that Repeated oral reading accompanied by feedback and guidance, resulted in significant reading achievement.

• I do it, we do it, y’all do it, you do it

Reading Achievement and Fluency Practice

• We have the tools to change the statistics! (44% of fourth graders were not fluent according to NAEP scores)

• Fluency improves----

Assessment

• Give each student a one minute timing on a grade level passage to determine oral fluency rate

• Give each student a test to determine instructional reading level (91-96%)

- San Diego Quick, silent reading test or a passage placement accuracy test

What do you need

• 1-2 hours• Two copies of a grade-level passage• Data sheet for the teacher to record correct

wpm• Timer• Materials to determine instructional reading

level

Guidelines for Counting WCPM

Errors

• Mispronunciations and dropped endings

• Omissions

• Out of sequence (count as two errors)

• Words supplied by teachers

• Substitutions with synonyms

• Repeated errors are counted each time

Not Errors

• Mispronunciations or dropped endings due to dialect or speech problems

• Repetitions

• Insertions

• Self-corrections

Count a word read correctly as correct. Don't say the correct word after the student has said an incorrect

word. Wait three seconds before supplying a word to a student who is

stuck.

Curriculum-Based Norms in Oral Reading Fluency

*WCPM = Words Correct Per Minute

Hasbrouck, J., & Tindal, G. A. (2006, April). Oral Reading Fluency Norms: A Valuable Assessment Tool for Reading Teachers. The Reading Teacher, 59(7), 636–644.

Conducting a One-Minute Timing

Selecting Fluency Partners

• Partnering appropriately is essential to the success of the program

Selecting Fluency Partners

Materials:Fluency data for each studentA student ranking sheet

Estimated Time 1 hour

Selecting Fluency Partners

• Fluency rates should be withing 10-15 words of each other

• Rank by fluency and by instructional reading level

• 1 and 2, 3 and 4 would be partners, and so on

You try it!

Troubleshooting partners

• Absenteeism• Odd number of students• One child who is far below all the others in

reading ability• Students who read less then 40 cwpm• Noise Level

Selecting Instructional grouping

• Small groups• Individual fluency programs• Parent-student partnerships• Cross-age partnerships

Introducing the Fluency Concept (p. 25)

1. Set aside 30 minutes for lesson2. Select the Practice Passage (match lowest

level of readability)3. Introduce the concept of fluency page 26-30

using activity procedure or scripted procedure.

Establishing Partner Behavior

• Set aside 10 minutes• Instruct on appropriate fluency behavior• Providing appropriate corrective feedback• Noise level• Use activity procedure or scripted procedure

page 32-33

Training Students in the Partnership Procedure

• Set aside 30 minutes for 3 days at least!• Put students in any partnership• Model the fluency partnership using an

overhead with a student• Model the procedure of marking errors and

noting the stopping point• Model the error-correction procedure• Model how to calculate the cwpm

Let’s talk about management• Materials• Page covers• Zip lock bags• Dry erase markers• Erasers• How to use these materials and put away

materials• The 6 minutes• Monitoring• accountability

Student Progress and Record Keeping

• Check for reading progress at the instructional level not at grade level

• Check students Fluency Graphs for -Is adequate progress being made?-Do students have the appropriate passage?- Are the partnerships appropriate?- Is it an appropriate time to increase the difficulty level of the practice passage being used by partners?

Let’s Practice

• Page 42-43• Example 1: Kevin’s Fluency Graph• Example 2: Sarita’s Fluency Graph

How to help a student who is not making progress

• Check instructional reading level• Read the practice passage with the student to make

sure that the student is placed appropriately• Provide additional practice with the word lists• Go a grade level below• Check decoding skills• Carefully monitor• Consider a strategic partnership• Give extra untimed practice

Comprehension and Summary Writing Strategies

• Summarizing• Paraphrasing• Retelling• Describing• Expository Sequence Structure• Summary Writing Strategies

More than Six Minutes a Day

• On the first day of the week• Some students may need additional fluency

practice• Certain grouping configurations• Incorporating Comprehension and writing

Mondays

• Distribute new Practice Passage• Preview the passage and underline unknown

words• Teacher supplies unknown words• Make sure students are accurate before

beginning

Tuesday – Thursday

• 6 minutes a day• More if you want to include comprehension

and writing• More if needed

Teacher Duties

• Change partners if necessary• Move students up or down in reading levels• Monitor student reading and provide

corrective feedback• Monitor progress

Let’s Try it!Time Materials Procedures

1 minute TimerFolder containing two copies of the same passage, two copies of the fluency graph, on dry erase marker and cloth

Get ReadyTeacher announces that fluency timing will begin

1 minute Partner 1 Reads

1 minute Partner 2 Gives Feedback

1 minute Partner 2 Reads

1 minute Partner 1 Gives Feedback

1 minute Students put away materials