Hello Mr. and Mrs.

_,

During class this week, your child was given a fluency assessment to gauge where they

are in their ability to read fluently. After giving your child the fluency assessment, I have

determined some strengths and weaknesses which we can use to improve instruction in the

classroom. First Sally demonstrates a strength in her ability to convey expression throughout her

reading. For example, when the passage she read contains dialogue, question marks, and

exclamation marks, her voice and tone fluctuate while reading. When she read the sentence,

“‘Ready yet?’ said dad. ‘Yes’, said Paco. But he didn’t look very sure”, her reading makes it

evident that there are different characters speaking. She also pays close attention to punctation,

and it is known that the sentence being read is asking a question. This is so important to her

development as a young reader as it increases her reading fluency.

Sally also shows a few areas which she can improve in and that is exactly what we are

looking for, so that we can structure the lessons to meet her needs. One area of improvement is

needed in her grouping of words and where she pauses. During the assessment, Sally paused

every one to three words resulting in a choppy reading with a lot of stops. She also reads through

many of the periods without giving a pause to signify a break in sentences. Another area of

improvement is decoding words for accurate reading. There are many moments where Sally

repeats and incorrectly reads sections of the passage. For example, she substitutes “look” for

took” and “safety gear” for “safely grr”. These errors can cause comprehension troubles as Sally

reads the incorrect words with different meanings. The last area of improvement is Sally’s

reading rate. The average words per minute count for fourth grade is 70-100 words per minute;

however, Sally is currently at 44 words per minute. As she makes frequent stops and is unsure

how to decode some of the words, she takes away from a natural reading rate.
 With this test they received a score 1-4, on different four components: their ability to read

with emotions and tone (expression and volume), their ability to group phrases to make the text

sound natural (phrasing), their ability to identify each word correctly (smoothness), and the rate

at which they read (pace). This assessment was given to Sally on September 22nd, 2023, and

Sally scored a 2 (approaching grade level) in expression and volume, a 2 (approaching grade

level) in phrasing, another 2 (approaching grade level) in her pace, with a score of 44 words per

minute, and a 1 (below grade level) in smoothness.

Based off the data I have collected with this fluency assessment; I will be conducting a

couple of mini lessons with your child to improve their reading fluency. From the results, I have

determined that it would be most beneficial to Sally’s reading, if we focused on her ability to

decode words in a text (smoothness) and her reading rate (pace). The first goal that I will be

focused on when planning instruction will be giving Sally the tools to pay closer attention to the

decoding words within a passage. We will break apart individual words and practice identifying

individual sounds. As we read through a passage, we will stop at the words she is unfamiliar with

to then decode them and reread the sentence. This way Sally will become familiar with strategies

to use when she is reading on her own. I believe she is familiar with the individual sounds;

however, right now she sees the first letter and skips the rest. The second goal will be to increase

Sally’s reading rate by fifty words per minute. We will do this by listening to other readers (slow

readers, fast readers, and average readers) and we will use these examples to practice reading. I

will provide modeling as well, so Sally can copy my pace to eventually be comfortable doing so

on her own. This will put her back into the appropriate reading pace for the fourth-grade average.

Hopefully by the end of these mini lessons, Sally understands the balance between reading at a

normal pace while also being able to accurately decode words.

you can do with your child. One activity requires you to read with your child for thirty minutes

each night. You will read one page, modeling with accuracy, pace, and expression. Then Sally

can read one page and you can continue to switch it off. You can pick a book your child enjoys

and talk about the book together afterwards. If you would like more activity suggestions, feel

free to contact me and I can give you a list!

I plan on continuing to keep you in the loop with each lesson that is taught. If you have

any additional questions or would just like to chat some more, feel free to contact me! I can’t

wait to see the progress Sally makes!

Kindly,

Miss Williams
 Fluency Intervention Lesson Plan Template
Name: Emily Williams Grade Level: 4th Grade
Target Content/Lesson Topic: Fluency (Smoothness and Pace) Date: 09/25/23

Planning
State Learning Standards RF.4.4 b. Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
Identify relevant grade level standards
and Learning Outcomes from the State
Content Learning Standards, Common
Core Standards, and school learning
outcomes.
Learning Targets/Objectives LT:
What should the students know or be • I can stop when I don’t know a word and use strategies to identify it in a passage.
able to do after the instruction? Use a • I can read at a speed that sounds natural, not too fast, and not too slow.
common format with a measurable verb
that matches the cognitive domain
standard. This should be a small piece of
LO:
the standard stated in measurable
terms. • Students will be able to self-regulate by identifying words they are unfamiliar with and decode grade
level words in a passage accurately.
• Students will pace themselves while reading to achieve the appropriate grade level words per minute
score.
Grouping Small Groups: This lesson will be designated for a small group of students who have similar areas for
Describe how and why students will be improvement based on their fluency assessments. All these students have either scored a one or a two on the
divided into groups, if applicable smoothness and pace sections of the assessment. Throughout the lesson students will be able to choose their
(homogeneous, heterogenous, random / partners for various activities as they are all at similar ability levels.
based on ability, interest, social
purposes, etc.)
Differentiation This will be a small group lesson for students who are struggling in the same area; therefore, the
If either or both lessons are whole class, differentiation will be imbedded all throughout for the students who are participating in the lesson.
how is the lesson(s) differentiated for
the focal student?
Assessment

1
Assessment To show that students have mastered a grade level appropriate smoothness and
How will students demonstrate that the pace while reading, I will administer another fluency assessment (Passage: Shark
focal student is making progress in Facts) to show their progress. Parents are already familiar with this assessment,
toward their fluency goals? and they will be able to get a better picture of their growth with the same type of
assessment. This will also help me to see if each student was able to practice and
understand what it means to be a fluent reader.

Instruction
Minilesson One Smoothness: Phonics Practice
1. Introduction (including setting
expectations and establishing Introduction:
procedures and instructions) • We will gather at the back table, and I will review the components
2. Activate/Connect To Prior
of fluency with our fluency anchor chart from our whole class
Knowledge
3. Fluency Activity (including
discussions.
modeled, guided, and independent • I will then explain the activity students will be completing today.
practice, as needed) The Smooth It Out Strategy asks students to first, when they come
to an unknown word “attack the word!”, which simply means to
stop and decode the word (break it apart, use prefixes or suffixes,
etc.). That is the first step, then, once they have figured out the
unknown word, they will go back to the beginning of the sentence
and reread without making any pauses or breaks in the text.

Fluency Activity:
• Modeling and Guided Practice- I will model this strategy for them using four
different unknown words throughout my passage. I will model four different
strategies with these unknown words: a break apart strategy, prefixes and suffixes, and a syllables
strategy. This is so that whatever strategy students may use, they are able to see it in action and apply
it to their own reading. After I am finished with my reading of the passage, I will give the students a
moment to try it out on their own. We will read through a passage together and I will pick out some
words which we will decode together to get more comfortable using the strategy.
• Independent Practice- Students will get to choose which passage they would like to read. Once they
have chosen a passage, they will then practice the “Read it like you’ve always known it” strategy.
Independently when they get to an unknown word they will stop, use their decoding strategy and then
once they have figured out the word, they will go back and reread the sentence with the correct word

2
 without any pauses. I will be popping in and out to hear students reading and decoding to understand
the text better.
Minilesson Two Pace: Goldilocks and The Three Bears (Fluency Phones)
1. Introduction (including setting
expectations and establishing Introduction:
procedures and instructions) • We will get settled at the table in the back of the room and I will begin
2. Activate/Connect To Prior
by explaining what we will be doing in today’s lesson.
Knowledge
3. Fluency Activity (including • After students know what is expected of them today, I will use the
modeled, guided, and independent fluency anchor chart we have been using in class and the students and I
practice, as needed) will quickly review and discuss what it means to be a fluent reader to
activate their prior knowledge on the topic. We will target our
discussion around pace today.
o What does rate mean in terms of fluency?
o How can we change our speaking rates?
o What kind of rate do we want to strive to read at?
• I will then show students this “fluency with goldilocks and the three
bears” chart and we will go over what it means for us as readers and
how we can achieve the just right section (be a baby bear).

Fluency Activity:
• Modeling- I will read a sentence from Goldilocks and the Three Bears
(Goldilocks and The Three Bears Reading Video) and model for
students three different versions (one fast, one slow, and one just
right) with the fluency phones to show them how they will be doing it
later in the lesson. Students will have to identify which time they think
was read at the best pace and why. *The video of the reading will be
there for them to reference or look back to when they are struggling.
• Guided Practice- After we have discussed why each reading was right
or wrong, students will complete an echo reading, as I read a sentence
then they read a sentence keeping a natural pace as we go into their
fluency phones or simply aloud.
• Independent Practice- After students have a solid understanding, they
will then practice their reading on fluency phones independently. I will
pop in and out to hear each student reading through the story to get a better gauge at where they are
in their learning.
Instructional Materials, • Fluency Anchor Chart
Equipment and Technology • Three Bears Fluency Chart
• PVC Phones
3
List equipment or technology that needs • Various Reading Passages (4th- Grade Level): The Best Pet, A Day at the Lake, Jill the Jellyfish, Shark
to be available. Attach a copy of ALL Facts
materials the teacher and students will • Goldilocks and The Three Bears Reading Video
use during the lesson; e.g., handouts,
questions to answer, overheads,
PowerPoint slides, worksheets.

4
Emily Williams

Dr. Prince

EDU 443

25 September 2023

Fluency Project Reflection

After completing the fluency assessment, I am feeling more confident in my abilities to

assess a child to find areas in which they can improve and other areas in which they are excelling

in. I think when I was unfamiliar with this task, it seemed daunting because I wasn’t sure how

exactly I was supposed to have goals to work on after completing a short reading with a student.

However, now I know that you can get a lot of information from just one test. I have also learned

that you must pay attention to detail and be quick while note taking throughout the student’s

reading of the passage! I also found that it was beneficial for me to complete this activity with

the student I am currently tutoring because I can use the mini lessons in our next couple sessions,

and I can further experiment with lessons to increase her fluency abilities. I can then assess her

again and see if any of the strategies I implemented helped her in any way.

When creating the mini lessons for this assignment, I found it to be easier than

assignments I have completed in the past. I think with the help of our strategies book was able to

give me stability and structure around my lesson. I felt like I was given the support to address the

areas of improvement for my student. I also thought that because this was a student I have

worked with before, creating the mini lessons came as second nature to me. I have been

instructing this student in multiple different content areas and I know what she likes to do. So, to
be able to point my lesson in a specific direction made the decision for each mini lesson easier

than it would have been if I didn’t know the students or their personalities at all.

Overall, I believe that assessing oral reading fluency is extremely important to

understanding the root causes of a student’s comprehension errors. If the student is unable to read

the passage in general, they will not be able to understand what they are reading. This is like

building a structure, if the base is not secure then the building will not stand. There is no way to

just paint over the cracks and hope the building doesn’t fall. The fluency aspect is the foundation

on which comprehension is built on; therefore, assessing fluency is crucial to gaining more

insight into a student’s abilities. With this information we can then structure our lessons around

them to increase their understanding, eventually resulting in a deeper comprehension of the text

(the overall goal).