Fluency Strips
I want to share one of my favorite activities for teaching reading fluently and with expression. It’s super-easy to put together and can be done within a small amount of time. It’s a little something I call Fluency Strips (yeah, I’m totally not good at naming activities!).
I cut up a group of sentences and place them in a bag. In a whole-group setting, I explain to students what it means to read fluently and with expression. Then, I have students come up one at a time to draw a strip out of the bag.
They then move to a quiet place in the classroom to practice reading their sentences independently. Once everyone has drawn a strip, I walk around and have students read their strip to me.
After a few minutes, I have students partner up with someone. With their partner, they practice reading their strip once again, and, this time, they practice reading it with expression. It is their partner’s job to help with expression. They will take turns reading their sentences several times.
After everyone has had a chance to read their sentences several times, I call everyone back to group. One at a time, a student comes up in front of the class to read their strip. They must read it fluently and with LOTS of expression! The kids get such a kick out of it!
If you want, you could turn it into a little acting competition and award some students with an “Oscar” for excellent expression!
This product has been updated to include both print and digital formats: Google Slides, Seesaw, and PowerPoint.
