Powerful and Practical Tips to Boost Your Students’ Reading Fluency with Aylin Claahsen

Sara
You’re listening to episode number 108 of the Stellar Teacher Podcast. Hey friends, it’s Sara host of the Stellar Teacher Podcast and I am truly so excited for today’s episode. Today feels like kind of a big a big deal because I got to sit down with one of my best in real life friends and fellow literacy lover Aylin Claahsen.

Sara
And the reason why this was like such a fun interview for me is because Aylin was actually my very first podcast guest way back in January of 2021. And it was episode number six. And so I cannot believe that that was like over 100 episodes ago.

Sara
During that very first interview, she talked all about how to master guided reading during distance learning, which is also crazy to think about at one point, we were talking all about distance learning. So even though most of y’all are back to teaching in person, thank goodness, that episode is still jam packed with a lot of tips and suggestions that will help you with in person small group lessons. So if you enjoy today’s conversation, definitely go back and give episode six a listen.

Sara
Now Aylin is a literacy expert and fellow curriculum creator and she really does have a ton of knowledge about all things related to literacy, but especially related to fluency. And Aylin and I talk on Voxer pretty much every single day and it’s usually asking questions or sharing little nuggets or books that we’re reading. We’re just constantly talking about all things related to literacy. We geek out over anything related to reading and writing. But the reason why I wanted to have her back on the podcast is because she truly is a fluency expert.

Sara
She has an entire product line dedicated to fluency. She just created a course for teachers all about fluency and has a ton of knowledge. She is like one of my go to people if I have a fluency related question. And I’ve actually had a lot of teachers ask me for ideas, strategies, resources, anything related to fluency. And so I thought this would be a great opportunity to bring Aylin back on the podcast, so she can share her best fluency tips.

Sara
And y’all you will not be disappointed with this interview. It truly is fantastic and just filled with so many practical suggestions that you can start using today. And these are things that you can do in all parts of your reading block that are going to help your students grow in the area of fluency. So I truly hope you enjoy this conversation all about fluency.

Sara
Hi Aylin, welcome back to the podcast.

Aylin
Hi Sara, thank you so much for having me back on here. I’m so excited.

Sara
I am so excited. So for those of you who are maybe new listeners, Aylin was actually my very first podcast guest that I had. You came on and talk all about, and this was like back in like the middle of the pandemic, and you talked about how to do like guided reading online.

Sara
And it was such a great interview. So if you are new and missed that one, definitely go back. We’ll link to it in the show notes. But I’m so excited because today Aylin and I are going to be talking all about fluency and the importance of focusing on fluency in upper elementary, but in case my audience isn’t familiar with you, can you go ahead and give yourself just a little brief introduction to who you are and what you do?

Aylin
Sure. So I am a literacy specialist who worked originally with primary kids only, but then I expanded to all elementary. So I really got to know how to work with upper, you know, third through fifth grade students that I had zero experience with prior to. And now I run my business, which includes TPT, and my blog and everything else that is all about working with readers at the elementary level.

Sara
And Aylin is one of like, I mean, we’re good friends in real life, but we definitely have the like literacy bond. I feel like it’s at least a couple times a week, if not every single day that we’re like messaging each other being like, Hey, have you read this book? Or have you read this article?

Sara
Or what do you think about this or I’m working on this resource, so she’s got a brilliant literacy brain, and I’m super excited that you get to share a little bit of it with my audience today. So we’re going to talk about fluency. And this is actually a question that has come up a lot, both in my membership from members and questions that I’ve gotten from teachers on Instagram.

Sara
And that is how to support upper elementary students in the area of fluency. And before we get into like the, you know, wonderful, nitty gritty, like suggestions, and all those practical tips, can we kind of define what fluency is?

Aylin
Yes, absolutely. So fluency, simply stated, is the ability to read with speed, accuracy and expression.

Sara
And I love that definition. Because it is very, like you said, simply stated, and I think I know for me, at least when I was in when I was in the classroom, I started off as a lower elementary teacher, and I remember being a second grade teacher. And I think we use the dibbles assessment.

Sara
And I remember it was like, speed was the focus. And I think so many teachers have either like this, I don’t know if it’s like a misconception or just sort of like think that like speed is fluency, like fluency and speed are the same thing. But there’s so much more.

Sara
Why do we need to make sure that like when we think of fluency that we don’t just consider speed, but that we’re actually paying attention to the accuracy and expression as well? Why are those important elements of fluency?

Aylin
Yeah, so unfortunately, that’s exactly it, we have an educational world, we’re basically taught like, okay, they have to get their score to this much, you know, this many words per minute. And then that only that became the sole focus of fluency. But fluency has so many more aspects to it.

Aylin
And it really is like when students can be successful with accuracy, their comprehension is improving, when they can successfully read a text and add expression, it becomes more interesting. So there’s so many more aspects to it, than what has just been put out there.

Aylin
So it’s a matter of getting teachers and students to see like, you can be a fluent reader who reads at a really great pace. That’s awesome. But there’s so many more things that you’d have to be able to put together to actually be reading well.

Sara
I feel like fluency has kind of like that link that like ties everything together. Because like you mentioned, it’s like, if you’re going to be a fluent reader, you’ve got a much greater chance of being able to comprehend and understand what it is that you’re reading.

Sara
And I even remember, it’s like I had students that were fast readers, but like they didn’t pause at at punctuation is expression, they just, I mean, they could read every word, but they read fast. I’m like, wait a minute, we’re like, we’re missing the point here.

Sara
So I love that it’s just like expression and accuracy are such important parts of fluency as well. So okay, why is fluency something that we need to focus on? Especially in upper elementary? I feel like I don’t know, in some cases, the ones he’s like, okay, focus on that, and like lower elementary, but like, why do upper elementary teachers need to care about fluency?

Aylin
Yeah, so one of the things with fluency is, like we talked about with accuracy, that becomes like a focus very, very heavily in the primary grades, right, because you’re trying to get kids to learn how to decode and they’re applying it to all these different words, the words get more difficult, but that’s still is something that needs to be focused on upper elementary.

Aylin
So if students still need to improve their ability to decode accuracy, which is one aspect of fluency is huge, you still need students to be able to actually take a multiple syllable word, or, you know, ones that have prefixes and suffixes that they’re learning and you need them to be able to break it down. But you want them to do it in a quick enough manner, that they’re not suddenly reading one, you know, word at a time.

Aylin
So when you focus on fluency and upper elementary grades, and might be partially still focusing on that actual accuracy piece, but you’re also getting them to become better at comprehending, and you’re getting them to actually be reading with confidence, which all of those things are huge to making kids want to be like lifelong readers, you want them to have the joy of being a reader.

Aylin
So if they’re struggling with accuracy, if they’re struggling with understanding the text, they’re not actually going to want to pick up a book and read it. So really, our ultimate goal is to get kids to read well, understand it and be like, yay, I can’t wait to read the next book. So it really becomes that bridge between getting kids to decode the words, and comprehend and put it all together.

Aylin
Rather than throwing the expression. they’re throwing and reading smoothly, they’re reading at natural pace. So fluency is all encompassing of making these kids good readers, and that’s so important in the upper elementary grades, just like it isn’t primary.

Sara
Yeah, and I mean, I love so many of the things that you said, but especially this idea that like, we want our students to feel like they are confident readers and I think especially if students in upper elementary have had a history of struggling with reading or struggling with decoding, then it’s like they don’t have a lot of confidence but if we can, you know, help them both read accurately and you know, quickly and with expression that can develop the confidence which then in turn leads to enjoyment, which will in turn lead to like motivation and reading more.

Sara
I love that and I hopefully hopefully my audience is getting excited now because we’re about to get to like the good stuff. But before you share I know you have five ways that teachers can support students in upper elementary with fluency but before we get into that, I always say that you’re like my fluency expert.

Sara
And anytime I’ve got like a fluency question, I’m like, Okay, I really am gonna know the answer to this or she can at least like confirm my thinking, How did fluency become such an important part or sort of like an important pillar in your you know, literacy instruction like what’s your own personal fluency journey?

Aylin
Okay, well, first of all, thank you for calling me a fluency expert. Yes. Right? Because you know, that’s like super coming from you my literacy like guru. So I love it. Yeah, I am super passionate about fluency and I have been honestly probably since my, it was probably like my third year being a reading specialist because I was the teacher who had to sit out in the hall, taking one kid out at a time to progress monitor them, and these kids would get through,

Aylin
I mean, it was, you know, one of the big name companies that does the passages that they’re supposed to use, and I was like, they would barely get past the third word on the first line.

Aylin
And they’re looking at this full page, they would get so frustrated and like, stare at me, like the timer went off. And I was like, oh, okay, we’ll try again next week. And I felt just, I mean, it just like hurt my reading teacher heart, like I was like these poor kids.

Aylin
So I was like, Okay, I need to do something, to make them feel successful and to make them actually improve their ability to read fluently.

Aylin
So that’s when it became like my huge like focus and passion, I started adding, like all sorts of things into our small group time to make it part of our daily focus, so that they could then grow as confident readers and actually be able to get past that fourth word in the passages that you know, you’re required to use as a teacher, I don’t fault anyone for like following the rules of what you know, your curriculum provides, or you know, what your district tells you, you have to do.

Aylin
But it’s really then figuring out what else can you do to help your students read fluently, so I like attached to it and ran with it.

Sara
I love it. Well, I’m so glad you did. Because I know you have knowledge that helps so many teachers in turn help their students with fluency. So now we’re getting to like the good stuff here. Okay, so I know you have five ways that teachers can support upper elementary students with fluency. So where are we going to begin? What can teachers who are listening do if they want to get fluency a little more focused?

Aylin
Okay, well, good news. I am someone who likes to keep things simple, and like to make it as like applicable to your daily life as it is so that you’re not like, Oh, now I have to focus on fluency. So we’re gonna start with the easiest one, which is teacher modeling. And this can be done through your daily read aloud. So I’m guessing if you listen to Sara’s podcast, you are someone who reads aloud to your students.

Aylin
So, this isn’t something that you’re all of a sudden, like, oh, no, but your daily read aloud can just be, it doesn’t even have to be intense, it can just be like, Okay, today, when I’m reading, I want you guys to listen to how I use expression when reading. So you’re just going to explain to students what it is that you’re focusing on. So then in their brain, they’re now listening for like, Oh, she was sounding like that character there or like, watch how I pause at punctuation. And I love doing like, examples and non examples.

Aylin
So like, read a page without being fluent. And then say, like, I’m going to read it again. And I want you to hear the difference. So like, it doesn’t take more time out of your day for your daily read aloud to be focused on fluency. It’s just literally taking 20 seconds of your read aloud to be like, Okay, now listen to me do it like this, and then have students you know, turn to each other and say, like, oh, I noticed how she did that.

Aylin
And it’s also important just to use, like a variety of genres when you’re doing that. Like if you include how you can read fluently when it’s nonfiction, because you’re seeing like bold words, and you’re reading the captions, whatever it is, like you can apply it to like, whatever it is that you’re reading aloud to students and just throw in a little like fluency focus. And then students start to hear it more and more that it then becomes more natural for them to want to mimic you.

Sara
I love that. And yeah, I think especially something with fluency. It’s like teachers, we don’t want to give them it’s like now you have to add in this fluency block. But it’s like, no, you can make it a focus with whatever you’re doing. And of course, I love that you’re like, you can do this with a variety of genres.

Sara
Because, you know, I’m all about encouraging teachers to explore that. But I think even so, it’s like not only a variety of genres, but like any text you’re reading, whether it is a picture book, or a novel, or if you’re doing a passage for test prep, or an article, whatever it is that you’re reading, you can use that to model fluency. And yeah, like you said, that takes no time.

Sara
I think it’s just a matter of like, knowing, and you might get to this. So if I’m, like, you know, jumping ahead, be like, Hey, we’re gonna get there. But I know you gave like the example of notice how I’m sounding like this character, or notice how I’m like pausing at this punctuation.

Sara
Do you have any suggestions for like, or are there sort of like big main categories? Like if a teacher wants to focus on fluency, but they’re not 100% sure, like, what do I even need to highlight with like my own modeling? What are some things that like, are those like talking points that a teacher can say, these are things that I want you to pay attention to while I’m reading?

Sara
Because I think like if I think back to when I first started with fluency, I’m like, I’m supposed to read quickly, you know what it’s like more than that. So how can teachers know like, what to highlight when they’re modeling to students?

Aylin
Yeah, so I always think of fluency as having five main aspects. So that’s gonna be accuracy, expression, pace, smoothness, and then reading for meaning; I always include reading for meaning because we know that’s really the end goal. So if you’re focusing on accuracy, I want you you’re going to say something like, oh, I want you to listen to how I’m going to break down this word while I’m reading.

Aylin
So it’s literally like everything that you’d be you want students to be thinking and doing you’re just going to say aloud, so it’s something as simple as that, like, this word is a little tricky. I’m gonna try it first. And then I’m gonna go back and read the sentence again. And this time, I’m going to read it with expression. Notice how I’m now adding an emphasis, you know, let’s say that was like a question, notice how my voice is changing? Because someone’s asking a question in the story. Or like pace, you know, saying, like, listen to me read today, you’re gonna see that I do not zoom through the text.

Aylin
Even though I can read this really well, I can read the sentence, super. But I’m going to take my time to go through it so it sounds more natural. I want to sound like I’m speaking when I’m reading. And then just another one would be now I’m going to focus on comprehension while I’m reading. So as I’m going through this, I’m really going to be thinking about who are the characters? What are they doing?

Aylin
What’s going to happen next? So you’re trying to get them to really just I mean, it’s simple things that you’re most likely saying already in your small group. So that kind of thing, but really emphasizing it. So I always saw like fluency focus on the day so like, you can have a written up there like today we’re focusing on accuracy. Let’s review what accuracy is. And then let’s go ahead and focus on it while I read today.

Sara
I love that. And I think you said there’s five and it’s like, they could almost have like a fluency focus of the day for every day of the week. Okay, I love that super simple, really practical incorporate fluency as you model your daily read aloud. What else do you have?

Aylin
Okay, so next up: small groups. Everyone does small groups. Again, if you’re listening to Sara, you most likely these small groups, so your small groups, now, the only difference that you’re going to do is again, you’re going to narrow down the focus to that specific group. So you can do this a few different ways you can focus on let’s say, like, every group is going to focus on accuracy first.

Aylin
And then when you have students who are in a group that are ready to like move beyond accuracy, they’ve got it, then you’re going to focus on their natural pace, and then you’re going to move on and have them focus on using expression. So it’s again, just a matter of saying, like, I’m going to show you a quick model, we’re gonna go through one a sentence that you’re going to see in your text today.

Aylin
And I’m going to read it this way. So again, it’s what you’ve already known and done in your daily read aloud, but now you’re applying it to your small group. So the kids, again, are focusing and they’re listening, but it’s at a smaller scale. And then you’re gonna say, when you’re reading today, you know, we’re doing XYZ, but I also want you to focus on did you read it with expression.

Aylin
I always say, it’s not that kids have to be reading aloud to focus on fluency, they can be reading in their head, you still want it to sound exciting for them to read in their head, because otherwise, they’re like, why am I right? You know, then they just aren’t paying attention to it, then they’re not reading for meaning it’s not exciting to them. So again, it goes back to like, they’re not going to enjoy reading. So it’s just getting them to really focus on a specific skill.

Aylin
And you can also even do fluency strategy groups. So if like, once a week, you want to have a strategy group mixed in where you’re then switching around all the kids, and you’re saying, like, these three groups are focusing on expression, these two are focusing on accuracy. And you’re splitting them up.

Aylin
And you’re just saying like, today, we are just focusing on this, we’re going to do it in short phrases first, then we’re going to do sentences, now we’re going to read it with a text. So it’s really getting them to it to become an actual focus. But it’s also just using your materials you already have.

Aylin
So it’s not that you’re like, oh, I have to find a book that works for accuracy, like most texts will work for most things like yes, it’s easier if you find something that has a lot of dialogue for you know, expression, but it’s not that you’re going to be spending all this time all of a sudden, like, what am I going to do for my fluency strategy group, that’s not the point. It’s just like, you want them to be focused.

Aylin
And then the other thing you can do readers theater, it’s another great way to like encourage use of expression. And a lot of times teachers will do this as like, each small group has their own play, they read through it, they practice it, and then they do it for everyone else. So that’s another thing that you can do in small groups, that’s super useful for fluency.

Sara
I love that. I mean, I love just readers theater, I think is so fun, but I love the idea of like using that for your small group texts. But I really love what you said how it’s like, fluency doesn’t have to be practiced out loud, like that can be helpful for students, but ultimately, it’s like, we want them to be fluent when they’re reading independently, even if they’re reading inside their heads, you know, it’s just like we want when they’re reading independently to themselves, we still want it to be exciting and meaningful, and want them to have that comprehension, which means they need to have the ability to read fluently in order to have that high level of enjoyment.

Sara
And of course, I also love just the, you know, the idea, I think, like of shaking up your small groups to give them like a fluency focus, whether that is once a week or once a month, or even, you know, like once a quarter, whatever it is, but I think there can be so much benefit to having students, you know, in a group with other students that they’re not typically grouped with, because I’m assuming that they can also benefit from like hearing other students read or you know, that sort of like aspect as well.

Sara
So I think that is such a good tip and reminder, especially the whole like, fluency doesn’t have to be we want it to happen in their heads automatically. It doesn’t always have to be practiced out loud. So, so many good tips. Okay, we let’s see. So, fluency model it during your read aloud, focus on it during small groups, what’s your third tip?

Aylin
Okay, next one is fluency center, fluency station, whatever you call it. So what you want to do with this is literally you can have this set at the beginning of the school year and it just lasts the entire year at the center that you do not have to change because once students know how to do it, they will be set you can just switch out the materials used. So you can either have students listen to a recorded reading.

Aylin
There’s lots of different ways to do this. I mean, there’s so many online things now where you can watch someone reading their own book that they wrote, you can have, you know, older students, parent helpers, other like, you know, admin or teachers from the building that want to like record themselves reading a book, or put a QR code on the book, and then they kids can listen to it, after they scan it.

Aylin
The other part of that is there, they are listening to someone who’s reading fluently, and then you want them to practice it themselves. So you can have them do their own recorded readings. Again, you can use pretty much any device for this. And you can literally use a tape recorder, if you still have access to something like, once, what’s a tape recorder.

Aylin
But just so you’re getting students to then practice being fluent while they’re reading on their own. And then the nice part of that is they can then self assess, because then they play it back. And they’re like, Oh, my goodness, I was so slow I sound or I sounded like a robot, I was not chunking any phrases together that kind of thing. So it really acts as a way for them to be super aware of what they’re doing where like they might, you know, like after they read something, they might be like, yeah, that was totally fine.

Aylin
And you’re like, so they need that piece and being able to play it back because they need to hear what it sounds like.

Aylin
And then there’s one other activity you can do, it’s called change your voice. And that’s basically where it would be the same statement, but with different punctuation. So then students are just changing their voice each time. So they understand what it sounds like, and how your meaning changes based on how you’re reading it. So it gives them the understanding of like punctuation plays a big role, how your voice fluctuates plays a big role in what the meaning is.

Aylin
And you know, it’s like those things that you always see, like, pay attention to what you’re what you’re reading, like put the comma in the right spot, or like that kind of thing, because it totally changes the meaning of it. So it’s just a quick activity that allows them to see how what they are reading and how they’re reading, it really can make a difference.

Sara
I was even thinking we just put out this new like sentence writing routine. And one of the days is where every day students are writing a different type of sentence. So they have to write a statement and a question and a command and an exclamation that are all like related to this picture. But it’s like even taking that writing activity, you could do a follow up then where students have to then read what they wrote.

Sara
But like noticing, it’s like when you write a statement, it’s sort of neutral. When you ask a question, there’s that up, speak at the end, you know, when you read an exclamation, there’s enthusiasm. But even like, you know, when students are writing something, and so it’s like, we don’t even have to limit fluency practice to just our reading time.

Sara
But if students are writing a variety of sentences, have them go back and practice reading and see how it’s like you were saying, like the punctuation changes the way we read those sentences. So I love that idea of like, trying to think about how can we then incorporate this fluency practice even into other parts of our instructional day.

Sara
My students always loved the recording themselves and listening to them read. And it was always so funny, because it’s like, I had some students that were just like natural performers, they became different readers, when they knew they were going to listen back to them.

Sara
And I’m like, why don’t you read like that all the time? Like, you’re so expressive? And they’re like, Well, I’m performing, you know, but I’m just like, No, that’s how you that’s how you always should read like, this is not just because you’re going to be, you know, recording them listening back to it. But I think there is so much like power when students can hear how they sound, especially, you know, it’s like, they’ll get over the fact that like, Oh, my voice sounds a little bit different recording, but it’s just like, oh, wait a minute. In my head, I thought I sounded differently.

Sara
But when they can actually hear their phrasing and their pacing and their accuracy, you know, I feel like it gives them just almost this, like different perspective on their reading. So that is like such a powerful fluency center activity, but I love all of those suggestions that you shared. Okay, I’m loving these ideas. I know you have a few more, what’s your next suggestion?

Aylin
Okay, so as you can tell, we’re kind of like moving down the line here. So next up is partner activity. So this is something like some teachers love partner activities, they do it all the time. Other teachers are like, I don’t mix it in. So my suggestion with this is, if you don’t use partner activities, just try once a month, once a week, once you know, every other week, whatever it is to switch, like, instead of literacy centers, you’re gonna have students pair up just with one person.

Aylin
And the reason for this is because you can get that you we kind of mentioned this a little earlier, but like, you can get students to hear just one peer reading fluently.

Aylin
So paired reading is something where you, you’re going to match your students up with a more capable reader, obviously, there’s going to be the kids who are, you know, like, most capable, so they’re with whoever, but you want students to be able to hear that fluent reading model from someone who is their age, someone that they’re around all the time, because they need to know like, of course, they know their teachers can do it, they know their parents are capable of it, but like, they need to understand that like, no, kids are doing this too. So like you can do it just as well as the adults can.

Aylin
So it’s giving them that time to listen to a fluent reader who’s their peer. So that’s all they need to do in paired reading, they can get feedback from each other like Oh, I love the way you did this, like pick one thing and then like, what’s something I can improve? You know, like trying to get them to do is like critical thinking skills of like self assessing and assessing someone else and then using that to like, guide their own ability to read fluently.

Aylin
And then reading buddies is another thing like, it is so fun for primary students to be paired up with a class, that’s an upper elementary and they need I mean, sometimes you do it once a month, but that’s fine. It’s like, you have a time where they meet up in their classroom.

Aylin
And they’re just sitting next to a buddy who again, the upper elementary can most likely is the one who is a very capable like fluent reader, compare it to the primary kid, and you’re just giving them the chance to again, see someone in action, and it’s going to give them that confidence. So for the upper elementary kids, it’s like, even if they’re not the most fluent reader to a first grader, you’re gonna sound like, wow, you read that, that’s so cool. So it’s a confidence booster for them.

Aylin
So again, going back to like, making kids feel like I can do this. And even if it is, like I’m now I’m impressing like a seven year old, whatever it is, like those kinds of things can be so meaningful for those upper elementary kids who are really still focusing on you know, breaking down words and reading with fluency. But it can be so helpful for both sides.

Sara
I yeah, I love that suggestion. And we did that when I was in the classroom. It’s like, I forgot, that’s such a good fluency practice. But I remember we had my fourth graders were buddies with a kindergarten class.

Sara
And you know, when the teacher and I worked sort of like pairing, like who’s going to be the buddies, it was great, because we could sort of take like the high really fluent kindergarteners and pair them with like my low fourth graders who were struggling, but my fourth graders, were then able to come in and get practice reading these kindergarten texts, you know, and we’re telling them,

Sara
you’re going to read the books, like you’re reading these kindergarten books, right, because that’s what the kindergartners are practicing, but it was also really good practice, in a sort of, like non threatening way for these fourth graders to be able to get practice reading these like lower level decodable texts, and had that sort of like boost of confidence because they’re reading something that a kindergartener is really impressed with, but then they could hear that fluent kindergartener read as well.

Sara
So it’s sort of just like this really, like neat opportunity where it’s like, okay, everybody’s getting a little bit of what they need, but they don’t quite know it yet. It’s almost like this sneaky, sort of like teaching partnership.

Sara
But yeah, reading buddies, I think are such a good idea for fluency. And I love some of these suggestions. Because it’s like, students are getting practice with fluency without you having to say, we’re practicing fluency. You know, it’s not like you have to have in this designated time, it’s like, these are all things that are going to benefit not just fluency, but they’re gonna benefit comprehension and vocabulary and writing in so many parts of literacy, but they’re really going to have an impact on their fluency.

Sara
So yeah, love that idea of the reading buddies or the partner reading. Okay, I think you’ve got one more tip to share, and I can’t wait to hear what it is.

Aylin
Yeah. Okay. So we’ve reached independent reading. Okay, so everyone most likely has independent reading time built into their schedule. And again, this is just an opportunity to, like you said, it’s really like, they’re just practicing reading. But at the same time, when they’re practicing reading, they’re also focusing on different aspects of fluency. So repeated reading is the best thing you can do, where students are literally just rereading the same thing.

Aylin
So it might be a passage, it might be a book, it might be somebody the most important thing and just piggyback on what you said, with like kindergarten students, it has to be at the independent reading level, if students are working on fluency, especially if there’s no one around, you need to be sure that they can get through that.

Aylin
So they’re not going so slow that they have to sound out too many words, because everything else gets lost otherwise. So that’s why I said like accuracy is the most important thing to focus on as your priority, and then all these other things can fall in place.

Aylin
But basically, you just want students to be able to be reading something independently, over and over again. And you can tell them, like, you can focus on just this one paragraph, or I want you to read these three pages, it totally depends on the reader, but you want it to be something that they can successfully get through.

Aylin
So then they can feel like oh, okay, I’m gonna try it again this time, but this time, I’m going to use more expression. And then I always say like, the repeated reading lends itself really well to then move into the recorded reading. So it’s like once a practice, practice, practice, now go to your recorded reading and record yourself on the device, and then see, like, oh, I still didn’t do whatever.

Aylin
But I did do really well on you know, decoding the words now. So it’s just a matter of getting that independent reading time that you already have built into your day to say like, Okay, today, I want you to focus on this.

Aylin
And then the other one is student’s reading, but it’s with the teacher. So you want to do like an ongoing assessment, mini assessment, this is nothing big. This is literally like, more or less, because you want students to still be improving their pace. So it’s not that that’s the most important thing, but you definitely need them to be reading at a way that’s like someone can understand them and hear them and get a lot out of it.

Aylin
So just doing like short one minute time readings with your students. And again, this is super valuable for students because they love the chance to be one on one with you. Or if you have another adult who they can do it with in the room. And it’s just you want to have them read to you for a minute. It’s not intense. It’s not overwhelming.

Aylin
And then you just say like, Okay, you did so well today, let’s talk about like what you did do it I noticed that you were reading with emotion when you were reading through what the characters were doing. And then you can say like next time, I want you to focus on going a little bit slower because it seemed like you were rushing like whatever it is. So you just it’s a quick one minute assessment, a quick mini conference and then you move on to the next few.

Sara
I love the whole idea of like have one I always called it like a glow and a grow like what is the one glow that you did really well. But then I think too even like everybody has students in your class that seem to be like, they’re great at everything but it’s like the reality of it is, you know, especially with fluency, there are so many different aspects that you can always find something that students can work on.

Sara
So whether it’s like adding different like voices for the characters or different expression or even like variation in the pacing and like even for your advanced readers, I feel like fluency is something that you can give them a target and something to like work towards. I always love doing any sort of like one on one with my students. And I know so many teachers are like, Okay, I’m crunched for time, like, Where do I even like, squeeze that end?

Sara
Do you have any tips or suggestions for teachers, if they’re trying to figure out a way to do those like quick fluency assessments, like where’s a good time to squeeze those into their instructional day?

Aylin
So you could do it during your small group time where like, a lot of times, I always encourage teachers do like a one minute warm up reading. So that could literally be like, I’m gonna lose me you read today. And then the next day, it’s next to it.

Aylin
So if there’s five kids in a group, really, you could listen to all of them read by the end of the week. It’s also like during independent reading time, if you are not reading with a group, or you’re not doing something else, have your students come back one at a time to you.

Aylin
So there’s usually pockets in your day that students, especially at the upper elementary level, are working in an independent fashion that you’re not going to take them away for long, you just need to quick like say, Okay, I want you to read me, you haven’t read to me yet, this month, whatever it is, and then send it back, and then you’ll get something out of it. And so will the students because it informs your teaching as well.

Sara
I love that just it’s like you said it’s helpful for the students because they know what they need to work on. But they also have that strength. But then like you said, it informs the teachers instruction as well, because it gives them I mean, based off of all of your suggestions, like if you sit and listen to a student read and thinking about fluency, you sort of have targets then for your read aloud, or small group, your independent practice your centers, I mean, this sort of can like guide and drive so much within your literacy block.

Sara
So I love it, I’m so excited for my audience to have these really amazing tips to be able to implement and like you said, they’re, they’re quick, they’re easy, this isn’t gonna require any sort of, like extra time or planning. And I know we kind of mentioned but I I’ve had teachers asked me specifically about fluency resources. And I know again, you said that it’s like, they can use any sort of any sort of text for for a teacher who maybe is like a little bit hesitant, like, just what are some suggestions when it comes to like looking for good texts or resources to use for fluency?

Aylin
Well, so you want to make sure again, if you’re doing it for like your read aloud, try to make sure that whatever it is that you’re focusing on, you can find a book that matches it. And this should not be something that’s, you know, taken a lot of time. But if you’re wondering for like small group time, or independent reading time, and you’re like, I just can’t find anything. I mean, you can definitely find passages that are for the students that work for it.

Aylin
But really, it’s like, look around what you have in your room and just see like, oh, put a little post it note on a book, like as you read it, like, oh, this will be perfect for this. Like, I think like as a teacher, it just almost happens naturally, where you’re always like, Oh, this book would be so good for that like and you’ll start to see once you get in a rhythm with it, you’ll be like, Oh, perfect, I know which one I’m going to use.

Aylin
And you might even be like, mid sentence reading a story and be like, oh, let’s talk about this. Not a high pressure thing. It’s just a matter of like really using you know what you already have and applying it to all these different settings.

Sara
I love it. So the moral of story is just get started. If your students need help and practice with fluency you don’t need any special resource or special time, just start to make it a priority and focus during your entire literacy block. So I love it. Thank you so much for being willing to come back on the podcast. I love having you as a repeat guest and sharing all of these wonderful tips and suggestions.

Sara
If my audience is not already following you or if they have like specific questions about fluency or want to learn more. How can they find you and connect with you on the internet?

Aylin
Yes, my blog and Instagram all that is @literacywithaylinclaahsen. And Sara will spell it for you in the show notes.

Sara
We’ll link to all of this in the show notes for sure.

Aylin
But I do have I have tons of blog posts on fluency because as you can tell here like this is definitely a big passion of mine. My TPT store is Aylin Claahsen. And I have lots of fluency resources in there specifically fluency passages, but it’s more or less like your fluency program so that you can figure out what to do with all your readers to get them going.

Aylin
And then I also have a brand new course all about fluency. So kind of what we talked about, say and then just like even meatier, but that’s called the Fluency Files. So you can also do that if you really are like, Okay, I want to take fluency on and really like make it work for my students.

Sara
That’s awesome. And I am so excited about your course it’s just fluency is an area that so many teachers have questions about, but I feel like there’s not a ton of resources out there. So if you are wanting to learn more about fluency or wanting to check out some of these resources, we will link to her course and her fluency passages as well as her blog and Instagram.

Sara
So definitely check out the show notes if you want to learn more. And again, Aylin, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all of your tips. This has been such a fun conversation.

Aylin
Yeah, thank you so much. And I forgot one more thing. I do have a free fluency toolkit that Sara will also link to.

Sara
Oh yes, absolutely. We love sharing freebies with our audience. So again, thank you so much for joining me and I can’t wait for I guess our third interview, we’ll have to see what what the next conversation will be. But thanks for coming on today.

Aylin
Thank you.