The article by Deeney makes a fantastic point about the inaccuracy of one-minute fluency measures. I agree with her in that they are helpful for identifying students who cannot read accurately and quickly but I still think they are highly flawed. We all saw for ourselves in class last Thursday when reading about viruses that speed and accuracy are far from the only 2 things that constitute a fluent reader. Several of us admitted after reading it "fluently" that we had absolutely no idea what we had just read. That activity and this article proves the argument that comprehension must be a part in defining fluency. By using the limited one-minute measure assessment, teachers are completely missing out on the important factor of reading comprehension that creates a legitimately fluent reader.
One great thing I took away from Cunningham and Allington in this week's readings was how to get my struggling readers to read easy books without insulting them and embarrassing them. I definitely have the same concerns/questions that other teachers do about giving some of my students lower reading level books. I worry they will get picked on or made fun of by their classmates or feel discouraged because I've given them easier reads. It was very helpful to get some ideas as to how to overcome that concern. Also for the textbook reading this week, I loved the concept of fluency development lessons. It reminded me of the 10 important words lesson idea because it's something teachers can use every day in the classroom. I definitely will plan on using FDLs in class everyday because after the 3 readings this week, I now understand how crucial it is to incorporate fluency into reading education.
Will you consider using FDLs in your classroom every day?
What are your thoughts about choral reading and echo reading from the chapter in our textbook this week?
This article provides some more activities that you can use in the classroom. There are different activities for each component of the fluency definition.
http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/fluency.html
I totally agree about the one minute reading. When I was learning to read, I was slower in the beginning, quicker in the middle because of context clues and repetition of words, and slow at the end because of lack of endurance. From experience, I have to agree that one minute readings are inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteI too worry about children becoming too aware of their own and other "levels." I know when I was in school, it was very obvious and could be discouraging to some. I really like the strategies this chapter laid out too but I also am beginning to believe that children are always going to seek out/comparing their skills and that it is also my job to create a classroom environment where it is OK to be at different levels and where children motivate and encourage one another.
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