Fluency Research Essay
INTRODUCTION
During the Fall of 2015, I took a course titled EDUC 741: Improvement in Reading. We were asked to select a topic to research that related to our current classroom and our own personal teaching needs. I decided to research oral reading fluency to gain a better knowledge of the many different aspects of this important reading component. One of my Student Learner Outcomes for the 2015-2016 school year was to improve my students' oral reading fluency.
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STANDARDS
WI Teacher Standards:
Standard 1: Teachers know the subject they are teaching
Standard 3: Teachers understand that students learn differently
Standard 4: Teachers know how to teach
IRA Standards:
IRA Standard 4: Candidates create and engage their students in literacy practices that develop awareness, understanding, respect, and a valuing of differences in our society.
REFLECTION
The information I gained while researching directly and positively impacted my teaching. I found several fluency-building activities that my students and I could do daily. I also found how important it is to emphasize all components of fluency, not just focusing on rate! Finally, one extremely important fact that I saw countless times during my research is that although fluency is a component on the five pillars of reading, comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. Reading is, after all, making meaning...not just reading quickly!
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