Letter, Word Fluency Chart

Fluency is… http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/fluency/

Have you thought of some great ideas for teaching fluency? These teachers have… Check out the posting on Mrs. Osterman’s site.

http://mrsosterman.blogspot.com/2011/11/fe-fi-fo-fluency-fun.html 

I have been encouraging teachers to color code their charts:

Line 1 (blue) letter id

Line 2 (red) letter sound

Line 3 (green) read word quickly, possibly sight words

Line 4 (skill) for example cvc words or onset and rime

Line 5 (green) read word quickly (the words) from line 4 so the children can read the words quickly

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In this example, based on the students’ needs, this chart was built so the children could practice p, q, b, d confusion by saying them quicking (letter id); then blends, then reading sight words.  Each chart is built to help a child or a group of children learn or catch up on some skills.

Words pop out on the black Word Wall

I like the way a black background helps make the words ‘pop’ out so it is easy to see the word wall words.

Read the Room – Word Wall Word Explosion!

Materials:  Students will need a clipboard, a pencil, and a post-it for each of your words of the week.  

Procedure:  1.  Invite students to write each word of the week on a post-it.  If you have three words of the week, let’s say the, it, and he, then each child will write the on the first post-it, it on the second post-it, and he on the third post-it.  Coach the students who need support with letter formation as they write.

2.  Give students about 30 seconds to walk around the room and hide their post-its.  Yes, you will have perhaps 75 post-its all over your tables, walls, and furniture!  

3.  Call the kids back to the rug and invite them to get their reading fingers (their index or pointer fingers) ready to read the words all around the room.  

4.  Send the kids off to “seek.”  Tell them to look for post-its with the words of the week and when they find one, they should walk up to it, tap their reading finger under it (preferably under the first letter), and read it out loud.  Then leave the post-it for the next person to read.  Tell them to look for as many post-its as possible.  

You can do this activity for a few minutes.  Listen to the students as they practice.  Encourage the students to point under the first letter as they read.  To make this activity more multilevel, a few children may need to carry a clipboard with the words on it already and match the words around the room to the words on the clipboard.    

Word Wall Words Singing High Frequency Words

Songs that help teach words

Here are a few songs/chants I have added to my collection:

1. (tune-”If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If you think you know this word raise your hand(2x)
If you think you know this word that you just heard,
If you think you know this word raise your hand.
(supply a word stretching it out ex: c-a-t)

2. (“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)
Listen. listen to my word
Tell me all the sounds you heard: /Cat/ (say this slowly and wait a moment)
/c/ is one sound, /a/ is two/t/ is last in /cat/ it’s true!
(at the end sing):
Thanks for listening to my words
and telling me the sounds you heard!

3. (tune: “Jimmy Cracked Corn and I Don’t Care”)
Who has a /d/ word to share with us?
Who has a /d/ word to share with us?
Who has a /d/ word to share with us?
It must start with the /d/ sound!
(call on children to supply word and class sings this together)
Dog is a word that starts with /d/
Dog is a word that starts with /d/
Dog is a word that starts with /d/
Dog starts with the /d/ sound.

4. (tune: “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”)
What’s the sound that starts these words:
Turtle, time, and teeth?
(wait for a response from the children)
/t/ is the sound that starts these words:
turtle, time, and teeth.
With a /t/, /t/ here, and a /t/, /t/ there,
Here a /t/, there a /t/, everywhere a /t/, /t/.
/t/ is the sound that starts these words: Turtle, time, and teeth!
You all did great now clap your hands!
(clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)-you can use beginning sounds, medial sounds, or final sounds

5. (“Skip to my Lou”)
Silly Willy, who should I choose? (repeat 3x)
I choose_____________________.
(Terry, berry) – continue the song using students names

6. (“Have You Ever Seen a Lassie”)
Did you ever see a cat, a cat, a cat,
Did you ever see a cat sit on a rat? r-at, c-at r-at, c-at,
Did you ever see a cat sit on a rat?
-repeat the verse using other animal rhyming words

7. (“If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If your name begins with /m/, stand up,
If your name begins with /m/, stand up,
If your name begins with /m/, stand up and take a bow,
If your name begins with /m/, stand up.
-you can also use this with pictures
“If your picture begins with /s/, stand up”, etc.

8. (“A Hunting We Will Go”)
A searching we will go, a searching we will go,
We’ll find a /h/ and add a /orse/,And now we have a horse!

9. (chant)It begins with /t/,
And it ends with /im/.
Put them toghter,
And they say _______.
(Tim)

10. (“The Wheels on the Bus”)
The sounds in the word go /c/ /a/ /t/;
/c/ /a/ /t/; /c/ /a/ /t/.
The sounds in the word go /c/ /a/ /t/,
Can you guess the word?