Mrs. Parker’s Class uses Picture Books and Poetry to Practice Fluency

Submitted by david.thacker on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 09:38

Thanks to the support and generosity of Principal Fleming, who provided a small classroom computer lab and Librarian Huff who provided headphone/microphone sets, Mrs. Parker’s seventh grade language arts students have had the opportunity to practice fluency using picture books and poetry. 

Fluency can be tricky for emergent readers because it requires the reader to use multiple tasks simultaneously. Basic fluency includes speed, accuracy, and prosody (expression). Ultimately, fluency improves comprehension, and yet fluency is the most overlooked of the five essential aspects of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). 

In Mrs. Parker’s class, students have enjoyed practicing reading picture books and poetry in preparation for making podcasts. Students are loving the activity and fluency and comprehension are improving. Thank you Mr. Fleming and Mr. Huff!

Attributions
By: Gaylynn Parker