Fluency + Comprehension of Text Using Passages {FREEBIE included!}




Years ago we would've never used passages during guided reading groups - the thought didn't cross our mind.  Jump ahead a few years and CASE Testing and mClass (specifically, DORF) became a reality in our first grade classrooms.  We have learned that students need time and practice using text in passage form; specifically passages with very few pictures and multiple paragraphs.  We try to provide an equal balance of both in our classrooms and we feel this has helped our readers be successful in multiple reading scenarios.  
How do we do this in our classrooms?  Let's take a look!

We use passages from a variety of sources....

We use our own passages from our resources such as these:






We also use passages from a FREE site called Read Works (if you haven't ventured over to Read Works, make sure you do soon!):


Below you will see pictures of each step with 2 levels of text - emergent level text and more difficult text - so you can see that this is manageable at multiple reading levels and abilities.

When reading passage type text, we have the students draw three circles at the top of their paper.  Students are asked to read the passage 3 times. Each time they read the passage, they put a check mark in one of the circles.

The first time, using their finger to track the words:



The second time, using a pointer to track the words:



The third time, using their finger, a pointer, or neither (the third read you can cut out if time is limited): {Side Note: We do time the students occasionally, but this is not something we do for every single passage we read - our purpose is to have students improve their fluency - but we want to stress the comprehension part just as much as the "words per minute" piece of the equation!}



We work with the students to locate, highlight, and discuss vocabulary in the text prior to reading the passage, we listen in as the students read the text (taking anecdotal notes), and a majority of the time, work on written comprehension after reading -- all of this just as we would if we were using books. 



At different points in their reading (might be after one student's first read, but after another student's second read), we use Oral Comprehension Question Stem cards to assess their comprehension of the text.   These are the same cards we use to assess their comprehension while reading books, poems, etc.  


If you'd like a FREE set or Fiction and Nonfiction Oral Comprehension Question Stem cards,