Fall

Fluency

Practice

How to Use these

Fluency Practice Cards

What?
Fluency is the ability to read words and phrases accurately,
and to also comprehend what you are reading. Students
should read like they talk and their words should flow
like water. Re-ding-like-a-ro-bot-is-not-fl-ent-re-ding.
Noticing punctuation stop signs (commas, exclamation
points, periods, questions marks, etc.) and knowing how
they are to be used in the fluctuation of a students voice is
all part of fluency.

Why?
No matter what grade you teach, there are always a hand
full of students that struggle with fluency. Robot readers
and choppy sentences are all too often heard during small
group read aloud time. Its important that students have a
firm grasp on how to fluently read, and what this term
means. If a student can not understand what they are
reading because they are choppy readers, or they spend
too much time decoding words, they arent reading to
learn, they are still learning to read.
How?
Understanding how to use punctuation in reading is the first
key to comprehension. If a student emphasizes
punctuation while reading, they are reading fluently, and
they are able to comprehend what they are reading. If a
student self-corrects themselves and goes back to
correctly read a sentence as
it is punctuated, thats awesome! It shows

awareness of their fluency and the importance of

the punctuation used in the meaning of the passage.

To use these cards with students that

are struggling:

1) Use Step 1 Card: This card has random fall words &
phrases that are chunked (by different colored
sentences) and punctuated. The students will think this is
funny because its weird words. However, they will read
the nonsense sentences correctly because they will have
to fully rely on how the sentence flows based on how it is
chunked, and what the punctuation is telling them to
do. Read through this card once for your student,
modeling how this should be done. Emphasize the
punctuation stop signs and chunking. Its not about the
silly words, but its about training the eyes and ears to
follow the cues of the punctuation and the flow of the
sentences.
2) Use Step 2 Card: This card is an actual mini-passage, that
is punctuated exactly as the nonsense card. This time,
the sentences are chunked by colors so they know how
to properly chunk the words and phrases as they read
the passage. They are to follow along with their fingers as
they chunk the phrases. This time, as they read, they
should be mimicking the way they read the nonsense
passage since the punctuation is the same.
3) Use Step 3 Card: Once the student has read through Step
2 Card, the student reads Step 3 card completely
independently. They are to chunk their own phrases and
use the punctuation correctly.
4) Use Step 4 Card: This ties in the comprehension and text
based evidence answers. You can have the student
complete this with you, or independently.

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 1, Step 1

Caw-caw rustle rustle chirp chirp. CAW-CAW!,
rustle rustle hoot. Hoot hoot chirp? Rustle chirp,
rustle chirp, caw-caw caw-caw. Hoot, hoot
hoot. Rustle rustle CHIRP!, hoot caw. Rustle,
hoot hoot! Hoot, chirp. Chirp chirp chirp?,
rustle chirp. Hoot, chirp. Chirp chirp chirp?,
rustle chirp. Hoot, caw-caw caw-caw, rustle
hoot hoot. Chirp chirp caw-caw. Rustle rustle
hoot? Caw-caw rustle rustle chirp chirp. Cawcaw rustle rustle chirp chirp!

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 1, Step 2

The scarecrows hat flew off in the blustery wind. OH
NO!, the scarecrow thought. What will I do now? He
wiggled, and jiggled, and tried to hop off his stick.
Sadly, he couldnt. This is just AWFUL!, he thought.
Suddenly, he had a plan! Oh, blackbird. Where are
you?, he called out. Oh, dearest blackbird. Where
are you my friend?, he looked all around. Then, he
saw the blackbird, flying swiftly towards him. The
scarecrow asked the blackbird to bring him back his
hat. And guess what? The blackbird quickly returned
with the hat that had blown away. What a great
ending to the scarecrows day!

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 1, Step 3

The scarecrows hat flew off in the blustery wind. OH
NO!, the scarecrow thought. What will I do now?
He wiggled, and jiggled, and tried to hop off his stick.
Sadly, he couldnt. This is just AWFUL!, he thought.
Suddenly, he had a plan! Oh, blackbird. Where are
you?, he called out. Oh, dearest blackbird. Where
are you my friend?, he looked all around. Then, he
saw the blackbird, flying swiftly towards him. The
scarecrow asked the blackbird to bring him back his
hat. And guess what? The blackbird quickly returned
with the hat that had blown away. What a great
ending to the scarecrows day!

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 1 Comprehension

Prove your answers using details from the text.

Write your answers in complete sentences on a
sheet of notebook paper.

1) What is the problem in this passage?

2) How is the problem solved?
3) From whose point of view is the story
told? How do you know?

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 2, Step 1

Ding-dong-ding!, crunch ding-dong meow
boo ding dong. Boo boo meow crunch?
Knock knock creek meow boo. CRUNCH
CRUNCH! creek knock knock! Meow boo, ding
dong ding, crunch crunch crunch. Meow
meow boo knock knock? crunch crunch
crunch. Boo boo meow knock knock, dingdong, knock ding knock crunch crunch boo.
Meow meow boo ding dong, crunch crunch,
knock knock knock boo!

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 2, Step 2

Trick-or-Treat!!, the children said loudly as they
stood on my front porch steps. What is your favorite
treat? I asked a tiny little lady bug with black curly
hair. BUBBLE GUM! she said proudly! I grabbed a
hand full of sugary treats, smiled back at the lady
bug, and dropped the bubble gum into her sack.
Was she even old enough to chew gum? I
wondered to myself. As I turned to tell my visitors
good night, I waved and smiled, feeling the chilly
night air blow against my face. I couldnt wait to see
who, or what, would be ringing my doorbell next!

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 2, Step 3

Trick-or-Treat!!, the children said loudly as they stood
on my front porch steps. What is your favorite treat?
I asked a tiny little lady bug with black curly hair.
BUBBLE GUM! she said proudly! I grabbed a hand
full of sugary treats, smiled back at the lady bug, and
dropped the bubble gum into her sack. Was she
even old enough to chew gum? I wondered to
myself. As I turned to tell my visitors good night, I
waved and smiled, feeling the chilly night air blow
against my face. I couldnt wait to see who, or what,
would be ringing my doorbell next!

Fall Fluency Practice: Card 2 Comprehension

Prove your answers using details from the text.

Write your answers in complete sentences on a
sheet of notebook paper.

1) What is an example of sequential

order found in this passage?
2) From whose point of view is the story
told? How do you know?
3) What inference can you make about
the lady bug based on the text?

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Questions? Comments?
Lindsay Flood
lindsaydflood@gmail.com