The Connection of Fluency and Comprehension in the Classroom

In Mosaic Of Thought, I read about the importance of comprehension and fluency in the classroom, as well as how it connects to our leveled reading for our students. The relationship between reading comprehension and reading fluency is that once you understand what you are reading, then you will become a more fluent reader. Students who struggle with comprehension struggle with fluency because they are having to stop and re-read or struggle to understand what they are reading. Because of this fluency in their reading suffers. I am not seen any approaches to assessing fluency in my classroom thus far. Although we have set time for reading, we have not been teaching strategies about reading yet this year. I think that formal assessments help us to understand where students are at. Having a DRA data for each student is critical in deciding what course of action should be taken to help develop skills in our students. I think we also need to see how much students are comprehending about their reading, if they can connect it to writing or not, and if they are able to form concise responses based on their comprehension of the piece they read. I think it is also important to discuss reading development with our CT’s and with our literacy coach at the school. They are aware of the testing that is done and which ways to assess learning of skills and develop readers on and individual level. I think that we also need to confer and conference with students frequently to make sure they are at the correct reading level and they are being challenged enough. Comprehension is very important and students also need to be able to display and understanding of what they are reading and also be able to develop this understanding in their writing. We use DRA testing to correctly place students at a reading level and work from their on developing comprehension and fluency.

Fluency: How can we tell?!

While reading the Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction, I noticed that the theme was about how to get students to comprehend what they are reading. In Mosaic Thought, they bring up the idea of students who are able to read fluency but using the comprehension strategies only “slows them down.” They bring up the point that many students are not reading books at their level. This means that the students are not reading books that enrich their minds while reading. Are they able to use the comprehension strategies on this book or is there not enough plot to do so? We also talk about this with my fifth graders; a lot of time when the text is not challenging enough you will use the strategies automatically without thinking. This is a great thing, but we want you be challenged. 

Fluency is first tested in our classroom through the DRA (Development Reading Assessment). This assessment is done at the beginning and end of each year to see where each student is at for their reading. The assessment looks at their fluency and reading level.

We use a couple of different strategies to teach fluency in my classroom. The first thing that we do is to make sure all of the students are reading ‘just right’ book. This should be a book on their level. We test to see if the book is on their level through the five-finger test, as well as making sure the students understand what they are reading. Then we set goal for the students to help them keep on pace while reading. For instance, we tell them they have a week to finish reading one of their books. My mentor said that she finds students often work best when they have a set in stone goal. This will help them monitor their reading.

In my classroom, we spend most of the time working on silent reading and improving that fluency. The students do not seem to be able to read aloud as much. As a reader, personally, I find I struggle most with reading aloud. While reading their books, how do we know they are reading word for word? Are the students actually reading or are they able to grasp the basic idea of the book? Also, we teach them all of these reading strategies, how can we get them to do them naturally? The strategies will help them become fluent readers, however they how do you get them to them naturally?

I could pull them more for conferencing. I think the only way to really find out how much your students know is to ask them and work with them. We can’t leave all of our ‘assessments’ up to a formal test, we need to work with them as much as possible.

Gill-The Forgotten Genre of Children's Poetry

In this selection Gill brings up the point that children's poetry is a very popular subject. However, much of the literature that is devoted to children's literature that is being published today focuses on teaching the different kinds and genres of poetry, and insists on exposing children to the so called "classics". In this article Gill wonders if there really is an actual genre of poetry that is explicitly devoted to children. In the article Gill states "I believe that central to helping students enjoy poetry is helping them to understand what poetry is" I think this is a great point. Just like every other subject, goals and standards are being reshaped and reworked to accommodate a new generation of students, so why should poetry be different. I agree that a study of classic poems can give students a great glimpse into the past and can be a meaningful exercise. However, for it to be the only way that students see and interact with poetry makes it hard for them to relate and become excited about poetry. Until we as get students to understand that poetry is "something people do...to share their experiences." When those experiences the students read about in classic poems are very un-relatable to their personal experiences it is hard to get that point across.

This article really hit home with me for a couple reasons. The first is that as a child I was fascinated with poetry. I loved writing it, and I loved reading it. But as I read the same poems over and over in the poetry units in language arts and those poems were not really related to my experiences it was hard to keep that passion alive. The other is that in my placement I have actually experienced that this is still happening today. After specials one day, one of my students came in and slumped down. When I asked her what was wrong she said that specials were sooooo boring. When I asked her why she told me because all they did all day was read poems. When I said that poetry was awesome and asked her why she had disliked it so much I was surprised at her response. To paraphrase her, The poems are all really old and I don't understand them and it is just boring. I mean I like poetry but that was really boring. I mean its art class why are we reading stupid poems all day? Reading this article brought this back up, and I really believe that before we can get kids interested in poetry we have to take our foot off of the classic poems gas and look towards more child geared poetry that kids can relate too and get excited about and interested in. If we don't I fear that poetry will become a dying art.

Deidra M. Gammill- Learning the write way

This article was about the importance to learning to write, and writing to learn. It discusses the importance of writing in a cross-curricular setting, bringing up the point that writing can help with many different subjects and tasks including activating prior knowledge, problem solving, and reading comprehension.
They then to go on to give you strategies of incorporating these tasks into your daily routine. This is super helpful because this article gives you ideas, not just talk about research. One strategy they suggested was the K-W-L chart and journals. These charts can be used in all subjects and many contexts. These strategies help to incorporate many subjects in many contexts and help develop writing techniques in many ways.
I think that in the 5th grade it is important to use this approach. Like we were talking about in class last week, by upper elementary we don’t use a literacy block because literacy is incorporated in every subject throughout the day. I think it is important to use writing strategies to continue fostering development in their writing and comprehension. In the older grades you are reading to learn, not learning to read. However, I do think having something that can fit across many subjects is a beneficial thing. I don’t know of how well it would fit into my current literacy curriculum. I haven’t seen enough reader’s or writer’s workshop to make a decision on if it would mesh well or not.
I think in order to be successful in teaching this we would have to look at the big picture of our teaching and create common goals and plans across the subjects. And then see how you can incorporate comprehension, discussion and writing into your subjects. I think to be successful you also have to mesh your teaching so that it is seamless between subjects. I also think that students would get into a routine of using these strategies and become better at using them if you used them throughout the day in every subject.
All of the writer’s workshop components we have learned about today has influence the way I approach my unit. Looking at writing samples to see where students are, using forms of assessments is so important when looking at the big picture and where you want to take your students during your unit. I am thankful to have been exposed to the knowledge and it has given me ideas on how to be a more concise, and meaningful teacher.

Conferring in Writers Workshop

This week for the jigsaw reading I choice the article about writing workshop and conferencing. I choose this because in fifth grade I see this a lot and would like suggestions on way other teachers have made this work. School Talk: Conferring in Writers Workshop was all about hearing student voices in the during writers workshop. It gave key components of conferencing during writing workshop, which include: short conferences, praises, listening to student, teach the writer, student involvement, etc. The main goal was keeping the conversation to the specific students needs and work on their writing, not the writing process.

I would use this approach very much in my classroom and see similar communication going on in my classroom. For instance, parent/teacher conferences are student lead meaning they have to talk about their learning and their work. Writers conferences are a great way for students to talk about their work and knowing what their process was during writing. In my classroom, when we confer with them, we are always asking them "what was your style or techniques or writing?" My mentor teacher said she does this because she wants to know if they understand what they are doing. During conferences, I have a hard time not correcting everything on their papers. Many of my students have grammar errors, spelling errors or fragments in their writing. It has been hard for me to sit back and listen to what they have to say and correct their entire paper.

In my classroom, we have a writing conference journal with a tab being each students name. The mentor teacher and myself are able to keep track of the students writing and there process just like the article stated. As well as Mike in the video had a binder. The binder is not a mystery to the students because we are working on goal setting and improving together, so they are able to see everything that is written in the binder.

One thing the article mentions, is showing your students your own writing. Mike did this on the 5th Grade Writing Workshop as well. This is one thing I have never done but seems like it would work. Showing the students my work would deeper my connection to the students, showing I am a human with a life however a learning experience for both of us. They will have opporutnities to edit or give me ideas of my writing. Another thing that I have learned as a professional, is letting the students talk and seeing what they have to say about their writing. Do not always jump in their with your ideas, let them think.

The article has made me think about viewing my students writing instead of worrying about the writing process. How can I help that specific student improve compared to how can I get the student through this writing process? What can I teach the student that will help all of their pieces and not that specific piece? I do not want to do the writing or work for the students, I just want to guide them in their thinking.

Comparing Book Club Plus! to my classroom

Sorry this is late, I just got the book in the mail so I will be doing a little bit of catch up.

In my classroom, I am slowly but surely seeing portions of book club plus! being used in our literacy curriculum. However, still there isn't much explicit literacy instruction to observe just yet. Because I am in a higher grade level placement, there just isn't enough time in the day to spend even an hour sometimes on literacy. Especially with the MEAP looming a lot of the instruction I have observed has been tailored around test prep. However, my C.T. has been trying hard to sprinkle some literacy instruction in here and there when she can. The literacy instruction we have spent the most time on so far has been writer's workshop. In my classroom, we use the Lucy Calkin's curriculum and right now we are working on creating meaningful and rich personal narratives. I think this writing workshop does a wonderful job of starting small and getting the kids to think about important memories and meaningful events and stories before they jump into their writing. From what I have observed so far, the hardest part for the students is finding an important story to write about, and through modeling and practice our writing workshop has prompted a lot of students to find a rich topic to write about which they might not have thought of otherwise.

One way that I am observing my classroom literacy instruction coinciding with book club plus! is that the topic of personal narratives that we are focusing on in writing workshop is being reinforced in our read aloud's as part of the making meaning curriculum. So far, the stories that we have read have been meaningful personal narratives, and during writers workshop we have been able to reference these stories, and I am seeing it really have an impact on the student's thinking. When they have something concrete they can look back to as an example it really helps them to be able to model their writing and ideas after it. We have also done a lot of independent reading, which I have noticed the students really enjoy. It is great to see how many students really love to read. The only problem that I am seeing about the Accelerated Reader program being used, is that to reach the minimum of five books per trimester, many students are picking books that are below their reading level so that they can fulfill this benchmark. Very few students are actually pushing themselves to read harder books. As I begin to see more literacy instruction in my classroom, I am certain that I will be able to make more connections to the ideas that I am reading about in Book Club Plus!

Literacy- Book Club Chaptere 6-8

I am really enjoying reading Book Club Plus! because my classroom is set up in a similar idea for reading and writing workshop. So implementing some of the books suggestions will only improve literature for my students. The one chapter that really stuck out to me is Classroom Management. Many times in the teaching program, we have been given these great ideas, however it is not explained how to implement into a everyday routine. When I first read that Book Club Plus! should take 75-125 minutes per day, I thought that I would never be able to fit that into my classroom. Upon breaking down my classroom we spend about 90 minutes per day on literature. So this is a very realistic time frame they have given. I also love the fish bowl method and love how other students are modeling what is being expected of them!

In chapter six, assessments, the students will be graded on whether they are exceeding bench mark, meeting benchmark or working on benchmark. In my classroom, the students are evaluated in a very similar way. I understand the thinking about this, to make sure the students are meeting those GLEC's. I have a concern, that this is leading teaching more towards just teaching to a test. The example they gave was just a check off if they were getting it. How about the students to are improving and moving towards benchmarks. Or the students that started off so low that they will never reach the benchmarks, however are improving? I know this is just one formal way of assessing and we should be assessing all the time, I just worry that teaching is becoming all about MEAP and nothing else.

Chapter nine was great! On page 153, they give a planning guide which looks very similar to what happens in my class each day for literature. I love the thought process they showed for developing an unit, since we will be developing ours soon. The lesson plan set up, was clean, easy to look at and to the point. They did each week, the plan then the outcome for the unit. I was not sure how was I was going to develop my unit plan for either classes, however I think this is a great way of doing it.When I was asking my CT for advice she said a plan was good way to start however she has been teaching so long she could not think of a great way for me to start. I liked this reading of the plans because they are simple, quick and organized.

Other thing I would like to point out, which my classroom does not do a lot of, is the cross of subjects within the subject. Right on the lesson plans, it says "connection to social studies". I think this is an important thing to include to all lesson plans. Students need to understand reading is used in all subjects, no just during reading workshop. It will help them make more meaningful connections inside and outside of the classroom.

Literacy- Book Club Plus Managing Book Club in Your Classroom

Everything that I am reading in the Book Club Plus! book is all very interesting. I am not seeing this concretely shown in my classroom yet. However I am seeing aspects of the book club being shown. In the chapters we read about assessment and classroom management.

A common thing we are doing right now is a read aloud daily. Students are read to and then reflect on what they read. The students come back to that writing and reflect on their work the next day. Giving students a chance to walk away from their completed work and read it the next day gives them a chance to look back and see where they could’ve done a better job. I think this is really important, reflecting is a huge part of education and seeing where improvement could’ve been made and a plan for better improvement.

I enjoyed reading about the different types of literacy we can engage our students in. The only one mentioned that I have seen so far in my classroom is the read aloud. My teacher reads from a chapter book for about 20 minutes everyday.

I would like to work out a time where a block of literacy can be made. Right now it is a combined hour or so, but it is broken up and disturbed by specials and lunch. I would like to see more classroom discussions based on the read-aloud as well as sharing from students reflecting notebooks.

I think overarching support that I would need to provide is a foundation of expectations, as well as an environment that promotes discussion among small and large groups. Also because a lot of these are large group/fishbowl discussions, I would need to have an understanding of where the student is at in their reading levels to best understand how to help them facilitate good conversation and be a part of the whole group activity. I will also need to look at the resources available in our school and make the best decision of books based on my students needs.


I am really excited to take what I have read about and slowly incorporate it into our daily schedule. I am interested to see how it plays out. I haven't seen a lot of what I read incorporated yet in my classroom, but am interested to see how managing a successful book club and literacy block will be.

Math-Big Ideas

From Classroom Discussions Chapter 9, I think the big idea was the power of planning. Having a course of action, predicting conversation and discussion will help to facilitate your lesson plan as well as be able to make changes during your lesson to help fit the needs of your students. Also the importance of being able to reflect on your lesson and make a decision of where to go from there in terms of the needs of your students and what they actually pulled away from it.

From the article, “Listening to Students: The Power of Mathematical Conversations” I think the big ideas is the power of conversation. In math we think that it is a students job to sit and write down the problems and repeat to learn the method. In fact it is important to give students opportunities to have them talk out what they are thinking. Most importantly defending their answers, opinions is very valuable and teaches children to be responsible for their learning and their decisions in all subject areas.


From the article, Discourse That Promotes Conceptual Understanding I think the big idea was similar to the listening to students. It talked about strategies we can use as teachers to illicit understanding of concepts. This meaning, teach strategies that will promote understanding, but also teach strategies where students defend their answers and prove why it is or is not correct. Having children respond to why they chose a certain strategy or how they got a certain answer makes the children dig deeper then just having the right or wrong answer. Super important in all subject areas and especially math. It is not always about getting the right answer, but understanding how they got to that answer that is important.

The article, Putting Umph into Classroom Discussions, big ideas were how important discussion in the math context is important in reasoning and understanding within the students. It allows students time to defend their thought process and also gives teachers insight on what that student was thinking. They also talked about the importance of discussion with the whole class and being able to argue or discuss a problem and their reasoning for getting it.

Math Readings Summary

The Stein article "Putting Umph in Discussion" was about how to spark good mathematical conversation in the classroom. It talked about how a lot of educators tend to get into the habit of spoon feeding their students lessons. It talked about breaking the habit of stepping in and correcting wrong solutions. The article is about taking a step back and letting your students take the reigns and come to an answer through taking sides and defending their ideas using mathematical evidence. According to the article in order to do so, you must establish a classroom atmosphere of respect and trust so that kids can feel comfortable taking a risk and aren't afraid of being wrong. In order to do so, a task must be selected that has the potential to elicit different solutions and students taking different positions.

Chapter nine in Chapin is all about writing math lessons. According to the chapter a math lesson is broken down into five parts. Those parts being identifying the mathematical goals, anticipating confusion, asking questions, managing classroom talk, and planning the implementation. When I look at those five steps I see one that I would consider the most important especially if you are looking to create a math discussion amongst your students. That is asking questions, because in my opinion if you ask the right questions the right way you can forget about managing classroom talk because your students will do most of it for you. The right question can lead to a great discussion, while the wrong question can lead to a one sentence answer.

Kazemi's "Discourse that Promotes Conceptual Understanding" is about the importance of really explaining the why's of student thinking and work. The article talks about how important this explanation is to a students conceptual understanding of the ideas they are learning. By explaining their thinking step by step the students should really be able to grasp exactly what is happening when they say carry the 1.

In the Atkins article "Listening to Students: The Power of Mathematical Conversations" talks about how important the teachers role as a listener is to creating a good math talk. It talks about the teacher taking on a somewhat unfamiliar role in most math classes and not being the end all be all source of knowledge, but encouraging the students to learn from each other. A lot of it talked about setting up the classroom in a way that promotes this kind of learning. My classroom is set up perfectly for it, unfortunately my C.T. doesn't utilize it to its fullest potential.

Summary of Math Articles

Here are my summaries for the following articles:

Discourse That Promotes Conceptual Understanding (Kazemi) was about the importance of students explaining their thinking or steps to solving a problem. This included justifications of the students answers or thinking. The students did not look as errors as a bad thing however a learning opportunity. This method of learning in math is done in my classroom. My CT is always wanting the students to explain their thinking or justify their answers.

Putting Umph into Discussion (Stein) was about not letting your discussions in the classroom become routine. The teacher should not always be asking the students "why"? They showed this different ways of getting the "umph" into your classroom in the area of the classroom activity. A debate were it was mostly student centered and the teacher was there just to restate or keep the students on task. The key to setting up your classroom in order to promote this environment were debates can take place, classroom management has to be a safe and understanding.

Chapter Nine from the Chapin book is about writing lesson plans for math lessons. I found this chapter be very useful and helpful, since our units are going to be due soon. They broke down the lessons into five different parts, which are: identifying the mathematical goals, anticipating confusion, asking questions, managing classroom talk, and planning the implementation. I believe the most important part of the lsson is anticipating confusion because this can stop misconceptions or misunderstanding before they happen. If you know what students had problems with in the past, you can point out those mistakes right away.

In Listening to Students: The Power of Mathematical Conversations (Atkins) was about teachers really listening to what students are communicating when they are talking during math. This means changing the teachers role in the classroom. Instead of being the main leader, become a member into the math community. In doing this, making sure the layout of the classroom is focused on the students and not all the attention is to the teacher. The students build a peer to peer learning environment where they grow and learn off of each other.