The Importance of Fluency As David LIben, who in an author of the Common Core standards, stated, “Fluency does not gurantee comprehension, but a lack of fluency gurantees almost all the time a lack of comprehension, especially with more complex text.” As outlined in ‘Both and’ Literacy Instruction K-5: A Proposed Paradigm Shift for the Common Core State Standards ELA Classroom: To assure that all young readers achieve reading fluency, well-developed materials need to provide frequent and differentiated opportunities for students to practice oral reading and receive feedback. For at least the next several years of transition to CCSS, reading fluency will be an issue for many students up and down the grades since much of what is being read is the more complex text called for by the CCSS (Benjamin and Schwanenflugel, 2010). Students also need to be given the opportunity to listen to fluent reading while following along in the text and “reading in their head” (Chard, et al 2002). The emphasis on fluency instruction must include expression (prosody), as well as accuracy and a chance to develop one’s own sense of a reading rate appropriate to the text being read. All of this must be clearly and strongly connected to comprehension. Practicing to read fluently offers an authentic opportunity to apply a broad range of cueing systems facile readers use automatically: grapho-phonemic, semantic and syntactic clues are all taken in during the course of proficient reading. To ensure all students are getting the chance to become fluent, there need to be several more elements folded into a ‘both and’ literacy classroom. There needs to be a way for teachers to systematically assess fluency, the program needs to have systems for teachers to monitor those results, and it needs to provide all students with the opportunity, the time and the attention needed to become fluent. Not as an end in itself, but as a necessary precursor to independent reading success. A strong reading foundation is the essential bedrock students need to access for themselves the world of knowledge and ideas stored in print and to find the joy and rewards available in the universe of books. By itself, it is not sufficient. Without it, though, children cannot hope to read “independently and proficiently.”
TEACH 1: Objective Driven Lessons Engage students in objective driven lessons on content standards. LEVEL 3 Evidence-Based Reflection Questions TEM Teacher Behaviors TEM Student Behaviors CLIP Look Fors Does the teacher communicate the lesson objective? If so, what does he/she say? Does the teacher communicate the lesson objective in relationship to standards? If so, what does he/she say? How does the teacher explain or model what mastery of the objective will look like? Does the teacher provide multiple opportunities for engagement in the lesson objectives? If so, what do these opportunities look like? Can students explain or demonstrate what they are learning beyond simply repeating the stated or posted objective? What %? Can students explain the importance of what they are learning? What %? Can students describe how their learning will be assessed? What %? Teacher communicates objective in relationship to the standard. Teacher uses developmentally appropriate language. Teacher explains and models mastery. Teacher provides multiple opportunities for engagement in the lesson objective and connects activities to prior knowledge. Students explain or demonstrate what they are learning beyond simply repeating the stated or posted objectives. Students can explain the importance of their learning. Students can describe how their learning will be assessed. (For PreK-5 classrooms) The foundational skills being taught are aligned to the standards for this grade. (For PreK-5 classrooms) Instruction and materials address foundational skills by attending to phonological awareness, concepts of print, letter recognition, phonetic patterns, and word structure. The teacher sets clear text-based objectives for literacy throughout the lesson. (PreK-5 Classrooms) The teacher guides students to read with purpose and understanding by making frequent connections between acquisition of foundational skills and making meaning from reading. (PreK-5 Classrooms) The teacher focuses on explicitly and systematically strengthening students’ foundational reading skills. TEACH 2: Explain Content Explain content clearly and accurately.
Are students engaged in appropriately challenging work? Are students being reached? What %? How do you know? Are all students being challenged? What %? How do you know? Are student learning levels/styles being met? What %? How do you know? Has the teacher included complex texts, tasks and activities to support students’ mastery of objectives? If so, what do these materials look like? What makes them complex? Do the lesson materials and activities sustain the attention of students and their learning levels/styles? Teacher engages students in appropriately challenging work. Teacher challenges students. Teacher meet students’ learning levels/styles. Teacher includes appropriately complex text, task, and activities to support student mastery of objective. Teacher incorporates activities and materials that sustain student attention Students are reached. Students are challenged. Students’ learning levels and styles are met. Students master objectives. Students’ attention is sustained throughout lesson. The text(s) are at or above the complexity level expected for the grade and time in the school year. The text(s) exhibit exceptional craft and thought and/or provide useful information. (PreK-5 classrooms) The teacher effectively uses small group instruction/guided reading time to differentiate for students to ensure that all students master foundational skills. (PreK-5 classrooms) The teacher effectively uses small group instruction/stations to differentiate for students to ensure that all students master foundational skills. The teacher keeps all students persevering with challenging tasks. (PreK-5) The teacher demonstrates awareness and appropriate action regarding the variations present in student progress towards reading independently. The teacher provides differentiated support for students throughout the course of the lesson, particularly in small-group instruction. TEACH 4: Content Engagement Provide students multiple ways to engage with content. LEVEL 3 TEM Teacher Behaviors TEM Student Behaviors CLIP Look Fors
Evidence-Based Reflection Questions Are the engagement strategies purposeful and do they align to the lesson objectives? Does the lesson contain a balance of instruction and student-centered learning? Do the strategies enable students to meet the lesson objectives with appropriate scaffolding and differentiation? Do students have the opportunity to practice, apply, and demonstrate content mastery through discussion or writing? Does the teacher model and implement appropriate strategies that teach or reinforce one of the 9 types of problem-solving? Teacher incorporates engagement strategies aligned to objective. Teacher balances between teacher and student centered lesson. Teacher uses strategies that enab`le students to meet objective, using scaffolding and differentiation when appropriate. Teacher allows students to practice, apply, and demonstrate mastery through discussion/writing. Teacher models at least one type of problem solving strategy. Students participate in a student-centered lesson. Students meet lesson objective. Students practice, apply and demonstrate content mastery. (For PreK-5 classrooms) Instruction and materials provide sufficient opportunities for all students to practice reading and writing newly acquired foundational skills. The teacher implements specific literacy stations, including the required grade-specific literacy stations. TEACH 5: Higher Level Thinking Skills Use strategies that develop higher-level thinking skills. LEVEL 3 Evidence-Based Reflection Questions TEM Teacher Behaviors TEM Student Behaviors CLIP Look Fors
Does the teacher check for understanding of content by addressing misunderstandings with another approach/strategy? Does the teacher circulate during instructional activities to support engagement and provide relevant feedback? Does the teacher formatively assess students’ work in order to adjust instruction in real time? Does the teacher use scaffolding techniques, so that students construct their own understanding? Does the teacher address/correct student misunderstandings? Does the teacher utilize a variety of methods to check for understanding? Teacher checks for understanding. Teacher addresses misunderstandings with another approach/strategy. Teacher circulates during instructional activities to support engagement and provide relevant feedback. Teacher formatively assesses student work in order to adjust instruction. Teacher uses scaffolding techniques. Teacher addresses/corrects student misunderstandings. Teacher utilizes a variety of methods to check for understanding. Student misunderstandings are addressed. Students construct understanding after receiving scaffolding. Students remain engaged in the lesson while the misunderstandings of students who do not understand are addressed. (PreK-5 Classrooms) Instruction and materials provide opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding of the foundational skills being taught through frequent monitoring of student progress. The teacher expects evidence and precision from students and probes students’ answers accordingly. The teacher allows all students to synthesize their learning in the closing of the lesson, assessing students’ understanding of the text and mastery of specific skills during the lesson closing. TEACH 7: Instruction Time Maximize instructional time. LEVEL 3 Evidence-Based Reflection Questions TEM Teacher Behaviors TEM Student Behaviors CLIP Look Fors
Does the teacher have instructional materials prepared by the start of the class? Does the teacher minimize students’ wait time? Does the teacher spend an appropriate amount of time on each component of the lesson? Does the teacher execute a coherently structured lesson that is appropriately paced? Teacher has instructional materials prepared at the start of class. Teacher minimizes student wait time. Teacher spends appropriate amount of time on each component of the lesson. Teacher executes a coherently structured lesson that is appropriately paced. Student wait time is minimized and students do not sit idle. Students are engaged and almost never left without anything meaningful to do. The teacher has a dedicated literacy block that lasts for the required number of minutes during which students access core/Tier 1 content. The teacher maximizes time by employing the CLIP instructional design, including the whole group-small group – whole group structure and the required number of minutes for each component of the instructional design. A majority of the lesson is spent reading, speaking, or writing about text(s). The teacher provides the conditions for all students to focus on the text, and students clearly know the routines and procedures in the classroom. We appreciate your input. To provide feedback on this document, please email cao@scsk12.org throughout the school year, as we’ll consistently be striving to improve our resources and support for teachers and teacher support providers.