[MOSAIC] Fluency

[Gerke Carol]

Typically for fluency ASSESSMENT you use a cold, or unfamiliar text.
When working on fluency students should be reading at their reading
level, not grade level, and it is appropriate to re-read the same
passage and improve.  We assess at the beginning of the year to get a
fluency rate at grade level.  After that I have students reading at
their reading level.  When they become fluent on a passage we move on to
a new passage.  You will see improvements when reading at reading level
and then when students are retested at the end of the year at grade
level, hopefully scores will have gone up as well but you have the
documentation of improvement throughout the year.

Literacy Specialist
Twin Peaks Charter School
820 Main St.
Longmont, CO 80501
720-652-8201 x. 7633


-----Original Message-----
From: mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org
[mailto:mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of RR1981 at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 6:17 PM
To: mosaic at literacyworkshop.org
Subject: [MOSAIC] Fluency

I am sorry if this sounds negative but I am trying to get some
clarification 
on something.  My school is a low-performing school that is  required to

teach exclusively from the Houghton Mifflin basal.  We MUST do  a
fluency record 
on each child who is not reading at grade level every  week.  We are the
lowest 
level third grade leveled reader passage for the  fluency record.  Most
of my 
students being checked weekly are reading at  least a grade below.  
 
My first question is:  Should these checks be done after the student
has 
been exposed to the passages?  They are taken directly from the leveled
reader 
that we read each week, however, I test most of my students prior to us

reading the leveled reader.  My theory was if they were fluent readers,
it  
shouldn't matter if it is a "cold reading".  
 
I got a sticky note today telling me that I need to consult with the  
literacy coach on fluency strategies since my students fluency is
dropping.  Seems 
perfectly natural to me since the texts we are reading are  becoming
more and 
more difficult and the vocabulary mose sophiscated.  
 
What is the point of this weekly recording?  It isn't making them
better 
readers.  Is this just a cover your rear type of  documentation?
 
Help!!!!
 
Rosie
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