Just lately I posted 8 Concepts to Construct Fluency, however there’s a lot extra to fluency than simply studying at a superb tempo and precisely. Fluency can also be about studying easily, as I described in my studying interventions weblog put up. Nevertheless, at the moment, it’s all about educating expression in fluency!
In terms of the expression in fluency, it’s actually about getting college students to pay attention to the punctuation first. I wish to share just a few participating actions that I love to do firstly of the yr to verify my college students perceive what expression in fluency is all about to allow them to apply all of it yr lengthy of their studying.
Educating Expression in Fluency Actions
One of many first issues I do is talk about with my college students the consequences that punctuation has on our voices once we learn. I create a chart with the punctuation marks, and collectively we talk about every major piece of punctuation. After partnering up, I direct college students to show to their associate and to take turns asking a query. As their associate is asking the query, they’re to take heed to the voice and see what occurs. College students ought to discover that as the coed is asking the query, the voice rises, after which the coed involves a cease. We add that to our chart. We repeat this with statements (interval), thrilling information (exclamation), and lists of issues they’ve of their bedrooms, toy bins, video video games, books, and so on. (comma). We then speak about citation marks.
After we get a little bit of a really feel for every bit of punctuation and what our voices do with them, I then give every group of scholars an excerpt from Shel Silverstein’s “The Homework Machine” poem. As soon as college students have the chart paper, I give them pink, yellow, and inexperienced development paper dots. Collectively as a bunch, they determine which dots go the place and draw the punctuation on it. As soon as college students suppose they’re executed, I am going over it on the doc cam displaying precisely which punctuation is the place and discussing which dot they need to have (and which voice they need to use).
As soon as every group has their charts corrected, they then follow for a couple of minutes, studying it along with the expression they simply realized based mostly on punctuation. Then, they learn it as a bunch to the category. I don’t make them come to the entrance of the room however simply learn it the place they’re. I’ve them use the dots as visible cues on their chart paper to decelerate, cease, or go (together with in case your voice goes up or not).
The following day or so, we follow once more utilizing phrases and phrases which might be the identical however with totally different punctuation every time. We speak about how mother can generally use the identical phrase time and again however have a unique that means every time simply based mostly on how she says it. It’s all in regards to the expression – and punctuation!
All year long, I proceed training expression in fluency by way of repeated readings and echo readings. I do that in all content material areas. I even have college students take part in numerous reader’s theater, the place I encourage them to check out totally different voices to match the characters, together with radio studying.
Total, the thought is that college students must be training extra than simply pace and accuracy in relation to fluency. They must be engaged on easy phrases and expression in fluency!
