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From June 22, 2021

In this episode, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like?

Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRasinski1. We also discuss this piece by Nell Duke.

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Fluency is a crucial aspect of reading. It involves automaticity and the ability to connect different aspects of word knowledge.

In this episode, Maryanne Wolf and Melissa Orkin discuss:

• the importance of fluency in reading
• the factors that contribute to fluent reading
• the need for an integrative approach to fluency instruction
• the POSSUM approach to building word knowledge

Big Takeaway: Fluency is essential for comprehension and has social-emotional implications for struggling readers. The POSSUM approach can help students make the needed connections to be able to read fluently.

Want to Learn More?

• The More You Know: How Teaching Multiple Aspects of Word Knowledge
  Builds Fluency Skills by Melissa Orkin, Kirk Vanacore, Laura Rhinehart,
  Rebecca Gotlieb, and Maryanne Wolf
• Building Fluency with POSSUM
• Downloadable lessons featuring the POSSUM approach:
  • Grades K-2
  • Grades 3-5
• Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect: Repeated Reading Is No More Effective Than Continuous Reading for Improving Fluency and Comprehension in School-Age Struggling Readers by Elizabeth S. Norton
• RAN and the reading brain with Elizabeth Norton (youtube video)
• Word Finder wordfinder.yourdictionary.com - find words with similar patterns!
• Crafting Minds Group
• NIDO Learning

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• Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com to get FREE resources and episode alerts
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• Don't miss out on our book - tons of 5 STAR REVIEWS! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night

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Secondary educators have students in their classrooms who weren’t taught to read. Because of these reading deficits, students likely have a difficult time accessing secondary texts and tasks. Our guests today, Supt. Sherry Sousa and Educator Julie Brown, discuss a secondary intervention they developed that WORKS and is totally doable. The best part? Students partake in the intervention in addition to - not instead of - their regular high school English classes.

Resources

• No Time to Waste: Structured Literacy for Young Adults
• Ameer Baraka video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyFiOYCqvyk

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Fluency is complex, especially for older students.

In this episode, Janee' Butler shares:

• how fluency instruction looks from early grades to secondary
• about challenges students and teachers face,
• practical strategies for improving fluency,
• a reminder not to forget about student motivation, especially for older students struggling with reading fluently.

The Big Takeway: Reading fluency is essential for older students to be able to comprehend what they read. Teachers need the knowledge of how to help each student!

Want to Learn More?

• Janee's presentation at PaTTAN Symposium 2024: Achieving Adolescent Literacy Proficiency: The Importance of Fluency
• Teaching Oral Reading Fluency to Older Students by Tim Shanahan
• Phonics and Spelling through Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping by Catherine Grace
• Really Great Reading assessments (free)
• DIBELS assessments- 8th Edition (free)
• Plain Talk About Literacy & Learning Conference 2025
• email Janee': janee@mycll.org

Stay Connected:

• Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com to get FREE resources and episode alerts
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• Don't miss out on our book - tons of 5 STAR REVIEWS! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)

From June 3, 2022

Today middle school educators from Baltimore City Public Schools join us to discuss their focus on fluency through Continuous Improvement work with fluency using HQC. What is Continuous Improvement? Why is this a useful framework? “Possibly wrong, definitely incomplete” is a mantra that resonates. The educators share their approach, impact, and outcomes for students. Secondary teachers… this one’s for you.

Related Episodes

• Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice
• Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski

Resources

• Carnegie Foundation Continuous Improvement in Education Resources such as videos, tools, and publications

Stay Connected:

• Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com to get FREE resources and episode alerts
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• Don't miss out on our book - tons of 5 STAR REVIEWS! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)

Chase Young discusses the implementation of Reader's Theater in the classroom, providing a detailed framework for the process. He emphasizes the importance of structured practice, fluency, and expression, as well as the benefits of engaging students in dramatic reading. Reader's Theater can be implemented in ELA and other subject areas with grade-level texts. Reader's Theatre improves reading skills and transfers skills to other texts.

Takeaways

• Structured practice is essential for achieving fluency and expression in Reader's Theater.
• Reader's Theater can be integrated with other subjects, providing opportunities for vocabulary and morphology instruction.
• Choosing challenging, grade-level texts is important for meeting grade-level expectations and supporting students' fluency and comprehension.
• Repetition plays a significant role in scaffolding and supporting students' fluency and expression in Reader's Theater. Reader's Theatre is an effective tool for improving reading skills and fluency.

Resources

• Meta analysis - super duper effect size 1.23
• Readers Theatre Plus Comprehension and Word Study 2017
• Free Readers’ Theater Scripts at The Best Class - Chase Young’s website
• Rumpelstiltskin Readers’ Theater Script
• The Methods of Repeated Readings - J. Samuels The Reading Teacher
• More Readers' Theater Scripts at JustTwoTeachers

Stay Connected:

• Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com to get FREE resources and episode alerts
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• Don't miss out on our book - tons of 5 STAR REVIEWS! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)

The science of learning is what research says about how our brains learn.
In this episode, Nathaniel Swain discusses the science of learning, emphasizing its connection with the science of reading.

He shares:

• key mindset shifts for teachers
• the significance of coherent curriculum planning
• practical strategies like using mini whiteboards and advanced organizers to enhance student engagement and understanding

He also highlights the need for responsive whole-class instruction and the importance of closing learning gaps early in students' educational journeys.

Resources

• Nathaniel Swain's website
• Harnessing the Science of Learning: Success Stories to Help Kickstart Your School Improvement by Nathaniel Swain
• Asubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action by Sarah Cottingham
• Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
• Ep. 115: Kindergarten TEAM Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
• Ep. 154: Fluency Instructional Routines with Nathaniel Swain

Stay Connected:

• Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com to get FREE resources and episode alerts
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• Don't miss out on our book - tons of 5 STAR REVIEWS! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)

From July 14, 2023

What if you could unlock the secrets to fluency instruction in literacy, and transform your students into confident and skilled readers? Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with Nathaniel Swain, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, who shares his expertise on the three components of fluency: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's explore together how balancing speed with comprehension can make all the difference in today's digital age, where skimming and scrolling are the new norm.

We discuss a variety of practical strategies to help students practice fluency in the classroom, such as choral reading and paired reading. Nathaniel also sheds light on the role of technology in simplifying the process of creating engaging materials. Discover how to create an environment that fosters student engagement and understanding, and learn the differences between fluency instruction in primary and intermediate classes.

Finally, we examine the value of fluency in reading instruction and how it can be integrated into the literacy block. Nathaniel explains the self-teaching hypothesis and emphasizes the importance of exposing students to unfamiliar words and challenging texts. Don't miss this insightful episode packed with tips and strategies to help your students become fluent and confident readers!

Resources

• Think Forward Educators
• Five Ways to Focus on Fluency, Think Forward Educators Blog
• Fluency Rubric, Tim Rasinski
• Readers Theater Scripts, Chase Young
• Fluency Resources, Tim Rasinski
• Nathaniel Swain on Writing to Learn, ERRR Podcast

Stay Connected:

• Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com to get FREE resources and episode alerts
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and join our Facebook Group
• Don't miss out on our book - tons of 5 STAR REVIEWS! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night