FLUENCY

Reading fluency indicates that a child can read successfully. Successful reading is defined as reading with accuracy and automaticity, with expression and proper speed and intonation. Children will not be able to comprehend text if they do not become fluent readers.

Proper Rate
Read at acceptable speed Reading in rushing can cause the children to less likely retain the information

Accuracy
Fluent readers have the ability to decode (sound out) words as they read.

Expression
Fluent readers look ahead to the punctuation at the end of a sentence and adjust their voices accordingly.
Fluent readers:

Flow of Reading
Reading smoothly is a major component of fluency.

Recognize words automatically Read aloud effortlessly and with expression Do not have to concentrate on decoding Can focus on comprehension

The importances of fluency: Provides a bridge between words recognition and comprehension able to analyze, interpret, draw conclusions, and infer meaning from texts.

Developing fluency through stories 1. Repeated reading Children choose their own stories for reading practice, or teacher can assign the text for them. Teacher discusses reading behaviors such as pronunciation, intonation and etc Children practice reading the text until fluency has developed.

2. Independent reading Children choose their own favourite stories to be read silently.

3. Paired reading Children works in pairs. Each partner reads their stories silently. Then the children take turns reading the passage three times orally to the other student. The listening child acts as the teacher by giving suggestions and sharing the idea of the stories.

4. Choral reading Teacher or parent led the children to read aloud the stories together.

5. Tape assisted reading Children listen and read along with a tape.

6. Echo reading
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teacher reads a sentence, paragraph, or page aloud the students chorally reread that segment.

COHESION
The use of transitional expressions and other devices to guide readers and show how the parts of a composition relate to one other. *transitional expressions: A word or phrase that shows how the meaning of one sentence is related to the meaning of the preceding sentence. important in establishing cohesion Two forms of cohesion: i) ii) Lexical cohesion: connections between words that link across sentences Grammatical cohesion: is established by grammatical words and structures E.g.- the use of personal pronouns to substitute the nouns - conjunction to join clauses

READING ALOUD
A read aloud is a planned oral reading of a book or print excerpt, usually related to a theme or topic of study. can be used to engage the student listener while developing background knowledge, increasing comprehension skills, and fostering critical thinking

Benefits of reading aloud

Children build listening and comprehension skills through discussion during and after reading. Children increase their vocabulary foundation by hearing words in context. Children improve their memory and language skills as they hear a variety of writing styles and paraphrase their understanding. Children gain information about the world around them. Children develop individual interests in a broad variety of subjects develop imagination and creativity. Foundation for literacy development. - provides children with a demonstration of phrased, fluent reading - reveals the rewards of reading - develops the listener's interest in books and desire to be a reader

provides a model of fluent Listening to others read develops key understanding and skills appreciation for how a story is written and familiarity with book conventions, such as "once upon a time" and "happily ever after". demonstrates the relationship between the printed word and meaning Children can listen on a higher language level than they can read makes complex ideas more accessible and exposes children to vocabulary and language patterns that are not part of everyday speech. Other benefits:

Enrich our relationships with children Spark imaginations Extend vocabulary Inspire creativity Arouse curiosity Foster a love of reading.

Planning to read

Think about the focus for your read aloud. Identify any key words or concepts to discuss in context as you read the text. Mark "talking points" where you want to: o stop and reflect or ask questions. o support the target skill or purpose. Develop open-ended questions to stimulate students minds and imaginations. Use the questions to keep children involved in the book. Plan related activities to follow or precede the read aloud.

Choosing books/ stories for read aloud books that invite children to respond with enthusiasm and understanding books with rich language, meaningful plots, compelling characters, and engaging illustrations Other ideas to consider when selecting good books include:

Is the book worthy of a reader's and listener's time? Is the book worthy of a reader's and listener's time? Will it appeal to your audience? Will children find the book relevant to their lives and culture? Will the book spark conversation? Will the book motivate deeper topical understanding? Does the book inspire children to find or listen to another book on the same topic? By the same author? Written in the same genre? Is the story memorable? Will children want to hear the story again?

STORIES AND WRITING

use the pictures in the book to retell the story through writing.

After the initial reading, read the story to the children again but this time make glaring errors which they will need to identify and correct. Eg: One day, little Red Riding Hood went to visit her cousin who was recovering from dental surgery. encourages children to use language to describe what really happened promotes memory recall

write an apology letter from the wolf stating how sorry he is for scaring both Red Riding Hood and Grandma.

write a newspaper article about what happened from the wolfs point of view or from grandmothers perspective.

Create a What Happened Next Story? This involves making up a story about what the characters do next i.e., after the story finishes. For example, the wolf decides that scaring and eating people isnt really a good occupational choice. He decides to change his line of work and opens a shop where he cooks and sells pancakes.

STORIES AND CRITICAL THINKING

Critical thinking: A process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action. There are few strategies than can help to develop critical thinking: 1. Questions and Prompts Open versus Closed Questions - Open questions: student-centred, response-centred discussion, teacher is flexible and pays attention to students responses. - Closed questions: teacher- centred, text-centred discussion, narrow scope Aesthetic versus Efferent Questions - Efferent response: focuses on information that can be taken away from the text- eg: reading a story to learn facts. Is it fact or fiction? How did the authors solve the problem? What was the main idea of the story? - Aesthetic response: focuses on personally experiencing the text- eg: reading a story to examine personal values or attitudes

What do you think about the story? What was your favorite part? What would you change in the story? 2. Problem Solving and Brainstorming Brainstorming - A technique used by a group for the purposes of critical thinking and problem solving. - To generate ideas about the given topic, problem or task. - Encourages imagination, flexibility and a great deal of listening and talking - Can be used to explore any topic across curriculum and is useful during planning sessions. - Can be used during any stages of problem solving # fact finding- considering problems, questions and unorganized information # problem finding- identifying the essence of problem and working on it to solve # idea finding- generating ideas # solution finding- proposing solution # acceptance finding- developing plan of action - Can be conducted + within the whole class + having teacher record students ideas on the board + students work in groups or individually 3. Clustering and webbing

spider

flowchart types of clusters & webs

list

Venn diagram

double list

4. Self-directed Learning Children plays the central role in learning experiences, and instruction and assessment are both individualized Teacher designs experiences around childrens interests and responses that encourage listening and talking and the growth of language and thinking. 5. Cooperative Learning Instructional technique that uses students own talk as a vehicle for learning Provides a context and community for students who are listening and talking to one another in authentic communication with a real audience and a real purpose.

positive interdependence

groupprocessing skills

Components of cooperative learning

face-to-face promotive interaction

interpersonal and small froup skills

individual accountability

Cooperative learning strategies i) Jigsaw ii) Think-pair-share iii) Three-step interview iv) Cooperative projects, Co-op Co-op

*for more details, read Carole Coxs books page 165-175