Praxis Reflection-Fluency

                Fluency is an important piece of nearly every first grade classroom.  It is what we as teachers are striving to teach our students. I personally feel it the most critical piece to the first grade curriculum.  This is why I have chosen fluency as my action research project.  I believe that it is an essential part of teaching.  Fluency is involved in all aspects of the school day.  It incorporates more than just reading fast.  Fluency also involves comprehending what they read and if we do not teach students the importance of comprehending we are doing them a disservice.  

                My beliefs about fluency align accurately with my teaching practices.  Teaching all the aspects of reading, especially fluency, is a big part of the curriculum in our district.  We spend a large portion of the day teaching and practicing various reading components.  We have high expectations for fluency in first grade.  I spend a lot of time teaching skills whole group, then breaking them down into small group instruction.  I do lots of progress monitoring and interventions to ensure that all kids are making progress in their fluency.  Clearly, practicing fluency is an important part of our first grade day.