Six Minute Solution

1. Six Minute Solution Stephanie Lemmer

2. 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.

3. Is automaticity the same thing as fluency?

4. Automaticity is… • Performance of a skill without conscious thought. • Necessary for proficiency. • Improved through practice.

5. Automaticity in Reading • Frees up cognitive space for comprehension and critical thinking. • Leads to enjoyable reading.

6. 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)

7. Describe a dysfluent reader?

8. Strategies for Fluency • Phrase-cued Reading • Alternate Oral Reading • Simultaneous Oral Reading • Repeated Readings

9. Why could these be considered less effective strategies? • Reader’s Theatre • Choral Reading • Round Robin Reading

10. Is automaticity the same thing as fluency?

11. Six Minute Solution Overview (p.1)

12. Rereading to Build Fluency • “Practice Makes Perfect” • Repeated Reading Research (Levy, Nichools,& Kroshen, 1993; Meyer & Felton, 1999; Samuels, 1979)

13. Partnering Students to Build Fluency • One student reads while the other follows along and tracks the words read correctly.

14. 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

15. Comprehension and Fluency • High correlation between reading comprehension and reading fluency • Comprehension suffers when a student lacks fluency • (Farstrup & Samuels, 02)

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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 - - - -

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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 Guidelines for Counting WCPM • 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.

24. 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.

25. Conducting a One-Minute Timing

26. Selecting Fluency Partners • Partnering appropriately is essential to the success of the program

27. Selecting Fluency Partners Materials: Fluency data for each student A student ranking sheet Estimated Time 1 hour

28. 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!

29. 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

30. Selecting Instructional grouping • Small groups • Individual fluency programs • Parent-student partnerships • Cross-age partnerships

31. Introducing the Fluency Concept (p. 25) • Set aside 30 minutes for lesson • Select the Practice Passage (match lowest level of readability) • Introduce the concept of fluency page 26-30 using activity procedure or scripted procedure.

32. 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

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

34. 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

35. 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?

36. Let’s Practice • Page 42-43 • Example 1: Kevin’s Fluency Graph • Example 2: Sarita’s Fluency Graph

37. 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

38. Comprehension and Summary Writing Strategies • Summarizing • Paraphrasing • Retelling • Describing • Expository Sequence Structure • Summary Writing Strategies

39. 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

40. Mondays • Distribute new Practice Passage • Preview the passage and underline unknown words • Teacher supplies unknown words • Make sure students are accurate before beginning

41. Tuesday – Thursday • 6 minutes a day • More if you want to include comprehension and writing • More if needed

42. Teacher Duties • Change partners if necessary • Move students up or down in reading levels • Monitor student reading and provide corrective feedback • Monitor progress

43. Let’s Try it!