Free Remedial Reading Program
Remedial reading programs must meet the needs of a diverse student population. Finding great methods to use with at-risk students is difficult at times.The best single resource that I have found is a reading handbook published by Australian Educators. The book is free online and has given me many great ideas to help learning disabled students. Update The File is Not Available!
The Books and Guides Below have many of the same materials!
Reading Instruction Guide!
Writing and Spelling Strategies Handbook
Reading Comprehension Handbook
The Reading Teacher’s Sourcebook
EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION FORADOLESCENT STRUGGLING READERS
Phonics lessons and activities for Preschool, Kindergarten and emergent English speakers
Letters and Sounds 1
Letters and Sounds 2
Letters and Sounds 3
Letters and Sounds 4
Letters and Sounds 5
Letters and Sounds 6
Letters and Sounds 7
Letters and Sounds 8
Free Remedial Reading Assessment 206 pp PDF
REMEDIAL READING
FREE REMEDIAL READING PROGRAM
- 107 words make up over 50% of the words you read!
- 1000 words make up 75-80% of the words you read!
- 5,000 words make up 85-90% of the words you read!
Start by assessing reading levels!
Children that qualify for remedial reading programs have a 500-1000 or even a 2000 word deficit. Children need a crash coarse in phonics, sight word recognition, and fluency/automaticity all while developing strong vocabulary knowledge. Many programs will refocus on phonics and slowly move into sight words then finally reading comprehension. Reading Boot Camp is a crash coarse for struggling readers that hits all 5 domains of reading.
1. Vocabulary:
The four types of vocabulary.
auditory,
spoken,
reading,
writing
2. Phonemic Awareness: is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can differentiate meaning. Separating the spoken word "cat" into three distinct phonemes, /k/, /æ/, and /t/, requires phonemic awareness.
3. Phonics : refers to a method for teaching speakers of English to read and write that language. Phonics involves teaching how to connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters (e.g., that the sound /k/ can be represented by c, k, ck, ch, or q spellings) and teaching them to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations of unknown words.
4. Fluency: is the ability to read text accurately and quickly. Fluency bridges word decoding and comprehension. Comprehension is understanding what has been read. Fluency is a set of skills that allows readers to rapidly decode text while maintaining a high level of comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2001).
5. Reading Comprehension: is defined as the level of understanding of a writing
Students learn to read about 300-1000 words per year!
Remedial reading programs must meet the needs of a diverse student population. Finding great methods to use with at-risk students is difficult at times.The best single resource that I have found is a reading handbook published by Australian Educators. The book is free online and has given me many great ideas to help learning disabled students. Update The File is Not Available!
The Books and Guides Below have many of the same materials!
Reading Instruction Guide!
Writing and Spelling Strategies Handbook
Reading Comprehension Handbook
The Reading Teacher’s Sourcebook
EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION FORADOLESCENT STRUGGLING READERS
Phonics lessons and activities for Preschool, Kindergarten and emergent English speakers
Letters and Sounds 1
Letters and Sounds 2
Letters and Sounds 3
Letters and Sounds 4
Letters and Sounds 5
Letters and Sounds 6
Letters and Sounds 7
Letters and Sounds 8
Free Remedial Reading Assessment 206 pp PDF
Remedial reading program designed to help 95% of all students READ in 20 days!
Reading Boot Camp is a free remedial reading program that is designed to turn around an entire class, school or district in just 20 days! Teaching every child in your school to read in twenty days is not only radical but saves thousands in program cost. Turning the reading establishment on its head and saving a lost generation is a radical idea. Spending education budgets on great literature for students, instead of reading software, basal readers, reading intervention programs, and teacher in-service training is a radical idea. Insuring that all students have a real future is just a pipe dream if we stay on this path of chasing reading rainbows. Teaching ten years in high-poverty schools, with over 85% of the students at risk, has taught me we have lost our way and the establishment is broken. We buy into every program that comes down the pike promising success, yet here we are failing our most
needy students. Putting great literature, poetry, and books in children’s hands is the foundation of Reading Boot Camp, not predigested workbooks, endless teacher-made photo copies, and needless busy work. Reading Boot Camp is back to basics with a sledge hammer to the outsider. Students find it rewarding and fantastic!
Many teachers and administrators have asked me these questions lately. Why is Reading Book Camp (so, unbelievably, phenomenally ) successful? How do you take a class that is reading at the 20th or 30th percentile and move them to the 70th or 80th percentile in 20 days? My answers!
The Reason Reading Boot Camp Is Successful!
1. Language and reading is a function of auditory learning, students learn 6 times faster when listening, reading orally, and speaking. Language and vocabulary are mastered with repetition and modeling. When a reading teacher relies too heavily on silent reading and silent writing activities, the speed of auditory learning is lost. By finding creative and effective ways to provide more listening, oral reading, and speaking activities during Reading Boot Camp, you can give all learners in your reading class an accelerated chance to develop their literacy skills. During Reading Boot Camp the students are ether reading text or listening to text being modeled the entire day. The repetition of seeing, hearing, and speaking daily builds pathways exponentially the further you get into the program the greater the automaticity. By day twenty, the brain pathways are automatic, automaticity has been achieved, the 2350 most used words are ready to use.
2. Reading Boot Camp is just that, camp, with camp counselors (teacher) providing highly focused fast, rigorous, challenging, fun listening, reading, and speaking activities all day long.
3. Students as teachers, using cooperative partners for 90% of the activities builds accountability for the teams, partners, and personal learning. Students are trained to work as teachers with the ability to run all Reading Boot Camp activities with little assistance from the teacher. Students know all expected learning outcomes and work to meet individual goals and team goals. Students as teachers multiplies the effectiveness of on task behavior and helps student monitor individual progress and partners progress (Force Multiplier).
4. The 2350 most used English words including the Dolch sight words are modeled, read, written, or spoken 30-60 times per day during Reading Boot Camp. Students are also exposed to 10,000-20,000 new vocabulary words during the reading of a vast collection of literature that includes poems, plays, fairy tales, parables, fables, short stories and chapter books. Students build auditory English language skills with, idioms, cognates, definitions, and important examples of key phrases used in English.
80-90% of Reading Boot Camp activities use partners.
80-90% of Reading Boot Camp activities are done to maximize auditory learning.
100% of Reading Boot Camp activities are literacy based.
80-90% of Reading Boot Camp activities are 5-15 minutes in length
Purposes 1) Launch students into the rigorous and intensive
reading and writing program that is taught throughout the year:
2) Accelerate the closure of the academic achievement
gap in lowest quartile students; and 3) Teach the students
school etiquette, classroom manners, discipline, responsibility
and a foundations in classic children’s literature...
Students make explosive reading growth!
Reading Boot Camp Results 9/10
37% started the year reading at grade level now
74% are reading at grade level in 25 days!
Reading Boot Camp Results 9/09
Jumping 40% points in Reading in 20 Days!
27% on Day ONE, 73% on Day Twenty!
Dolch Sight Words
Reading Boot Camp is a free remedial reading program that is designed to turn around an entire class, school or district in just 20 days! Teaching every child in your school to read in twenty days is not only radical but saves thousands in program cost. Turning the reading establishment on its head and saving a lost generation is a radical idea. Spending education budgets on great literature for students, instead of reading software, basal readers, reading intervention programs, and teacher in-service training is a radical idea. Insuring that all students have a real future is just a pipe dream if we stay on this path of chasing reading rainbows. Teaching ten years in high-poverty schools, with over 85% of the students at risk, has taught me we have lost our way and the establishment is broken. We buy into every program that comes down the pike promising success, yet here we are failing our most
needy students. Putting great literature, poetry, and books in children’s hands is the foundation of Reading Boot Camp, not predigested workbooks, endless teacher-made photo copies, and needless busy work. Reading Boot Camp is back to basics with a sledge hammer to the outsider. Students find it rewarding and fantastic!
Many teachers and administrators have asked me these questions lately. Why is Reading Book Camp (so, unbelievably, phenomenally ) successful? How do you take a class that is reading at the 20th or 30th percentile and move them to the 70th or 80th percentile in 20 days? My answers!
The Reason Reading Boot Camp Is Successful!
1. Language and reading is a function of auditory learning, students learn 6 times faster when listening, reading orally, and speaking. Language and vocabulary are mastered with repetition and modeling. When a reading teacher relies too heavily on silent reading and silent writing activities, the speed of auditory learning is lost. By finding creative and effective ways to provide more listening, oral reading, and speaking activities during Reading Boot Camp, you can give all learners in your reading class an accelerated chance to develop their literacy skills. During Reading Boot Camp the students are ether reading text or listening to text being modeled the entire day. The repetition of seeing, hearing, and speaking daily builds pathways exponentially the further you get into the program the greater the automaticity. By day twenty, the brain pathways are automatic, automaticity has been achieved, the 2350 most used words are ready to use.
2. Reading Boot Camp is just that, camp, with camp counselors (teacher) providing highly focused fast, rigorous, challenging, fun listening, reading, and speaking activities all day long.
3. Students as teachers, using cooperative partners for 90% of the activities builds accountability for the teams, partners, and personal learning. Students are trained to work as teachers with the ability to run all Reading Boot Camp activities with little assistance from the teacher. Students know all expected learning outcomes and work to meet individual goals and team goals. Students as teachers multiplies the effectiveness of on task behavior and helps student monitor individual progress and partners progress (Force Multiplier).
4. The 2350 most used English words including the Dolch sight words are modeled, read, written, or spoken 30-60 times per day during Reading Boot Camp. Students are also exposed to 10,000-20,000 new vocabulary words during the reading of a vast collection of literature that includes poems, plays, fairy tales, parables, fables, short stories and chapter books. Students build auditory English language skills with, idioms, cognates, definitions, and important examples of key phrases used in English.
80-90% of Reading Boot Camp activities use partners.
80-90% of Reading Boot Camp activities are done to maximize auditory learning.
100% of Reading Boot Camp activities are literacy based.
80-90% of Reading Boot Camp activities are 5-15 minutes in length
Purposes 1) Launch students into the rigorous and intensive
reading and writing program that is taught throughout the year:
2) Accelerate the closure of the academic achievement
gap in lowest quartile students; and 3) Teach the students
school etiquette, classroom manners, discipline, responsibility
and a foundations in classic children’s literature...
Students make explosive reading growth!
Reading Boot Camp Results 9/10
37% started the year reading at grade level now
74% are reading at grade level in 25 days!
Reading Boot Camp Results 9/09
Jumping 40% points in Reading in 20 Days!
27% on Day ONE, 73% on Day Twenty!
Dolch Sight Words
Sight words are English words that cannot be sounded out using phonics.
PRESCHOOL: a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you
KINDERGARTEN: all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes
1st Grade: after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, giving, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, when
2nd Grade: always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, fast, first, five, found, gave, goes, green, its, made, many, off, or, pull, read, right, sing, sit, sleep, tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which, why, wish, work, would, write, your
3rd Grade: about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold, hot, hurt, if, keep, kind, laugh, light, long, much, myself, never, only, own, pick, seven, shall, show, six, small, start, ten, today, together, try, warm
Nouns: apple, baby, back, ball, bear, bed, bell, bird, birthday, boat, box, boy, bread, brother, cake, car, cat, chair, chicken, children, Christmas, coat, corn, cow, day, dog, doll, door, duck, egg, eye, farm, farmer, father, feet, fire, fish, floor, flower, game, garden, girl, good-bye, grass, ground, hand, head, hill, home, horse, house, kitty, leg, letter, man, men, milk, money, morning, mother, name, nest, night, paper, party, picture, pig, rabbit, rain, ring, robin, Santa Claus, school, seed, sheep, shoe, sister, snow, song, squirrel, stick, street, sun, table, thing, time, top, toy, tree, watch, water, way, wind, window, wood
107 words make up over 50% of the words you read!
1000 words make up 75-80% of the words you read!
5,000 words make up 85-90% of the words you read!
Dr Suess taught countless generations to read using whimsical rhymes, fanciful tales, and kid friendly absurdity. With no more than 300 words we learned phonemic awareness, fluency, sight words and how to read and love books. Today we kill any desire to read and learn as we parse reading into so many boring bits.
PRESCHOOL: a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you
KINDERGARTEN: all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes
1st Grade: after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, giving, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, when
2nd Grade: always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, fast, first, five, found, gave, goes, green, its, made, many, off, or, pull, read, right, sing, sit, sleep, tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which, why, wish, work, would, write, your
3rd Grade: about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold, hot, hurt, if, keep, kind, laugh, light, long, much, myself, never, only, own, pick, seven, shall, show, six, small, start, ten, today, together, try, warm
Nouns: apple, baby, back, ball, bear, bed, bell, bird, birthday, boat, box, boy, bread, brother, cake, car, cat, chair, chicken, children, Christmas, coat, corn, cow, day, dog, doll, door, duck, egg, eye, farm, farmer, father, feet, fire, fish, floor, flower, game, garden, girl, good-bye, grass, ground, hand, head, hill, home, horse, house, kitty, leg, letter, man, men, milk, money, morning, mother, name, nest, night, paper, party, picture, pig, rabbit, rain, ring, robin, Santa Claus, school, seed, sheep, shoe, sister, snow, song, squirrel, stick, street, sun, table, thing, time, top, toy, tree, watch, water, way, wind, window, wood
107 words make up over 50% of the words you read!
1000 words make up 75-80% of the words you read!
5,000 words make up 85-90% of the words you read!
Dr Suess taught countless generations to read using whimsical rhymes, fanciful tales, and kid friendly absurdity. With no more than 300 words we learned phonemic awareness, fluency, sight words and how to read and love books. Today we kill any desire to read and learn as we parse reading into so many boring bits.
Academic Vocabulary Words
Academic word list are key vocabulary that students must master to understand academic content. Two list predominate (Coxhead 2000/ Marzano 2004) most academic vocabulary list find their origins in one or both. Teachers needing to raise test scores in a content area can create their own academic word list by doing a word analysis of released state test. Most states have adopted or will adopt The Common Core State Standards which will simplify the choice of academic vocabulary. Today some states are vague and leave the choice to teachers and schools, so finding the best list to meet the needs of your students is tricky. The links below are a few that seem to have value. I personally use the NWEA list daily and the Tennessee Academic Word List as a supplement. I have also created a list of my own using a not very scientific word analysis of the TAKS released test. The TAKS and the AIMS are both published by Pearson Publishing. The released test are a great source of grade level reading passages to synthesize fluency drills.
REMEDIAL READING / FLUENCY DRILLS 4TH/5TH GRADE
FLUENCY DRILLS 4TH/5TH GRADEGrade Level Fluency Goals
1st Grade 80 Words Correct Per Minute
2nd 140 WCPM
3rd 160
4th 180
5th 195
6th 205
7th 210
8th 215
4th GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
MARIANA and THE THREE COYOTES
In a far-off land there was once a little girl who was called Mariana, She was a happy child, but a little restless that she could not be kept happy at school, why because of long Division, but must run away, without leave. WCPM 38
One day she started off into a desert to gather wild flowers, and into the cactus to chase butterflies. She ran here and she ran there, and went so far, at last, that she found herself in a lonely place, where she saw a snug little casa, in which three coyotes lived; but they were not then at home. WCPM 100
The door was open, and Mariana pushed it open and found the place to be quite empty, so she made up her mind to go in boldly, and look all about the place, little thinking what sort of people lived there. WCPM 143
Now the three coyotes had gone for a walk a little before Mariana arrived. They were the Daddy coyote, and the Mommy coyote, and the Baby coyote; but they had left their frijoles on the table to cool. So when Mariana came into the kitchen, she saw the three bowls of frijoles. She tasted the largest bowl, which belonged to the Daddy coyote and found it too spicy; then she tasted the medium bowl of frijoles, which belonged to the Mommy coyote, and found it too salty; then she tasted the smallest bowl, which belonged to the Baby coyote, and it was just right, and she ate it all up. She usually stayed away from beans because they always gave her gas! WCPM 267
She went into the parlor, and there were three chairs. She tried the
biggest chair, which belonged to the Daddy coyote, and found it too high; then she tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the
Mommy coyote, and she found it too hard; then she tried the little
chair, which belonged to the Baby coyote, and found it just right, but she sat in it so hard that she broke it. WCPM 341
Now Mariana was by this time very tired, and she went upstairs to
the chamber, and there she found three beds. She tried the largest bed, which belonged to the Daddy coyote, and found it too soft; then she tried the middle-sized bed, which belonged to the Mommy coyote, and she found it too hard; then she tried the smallest bed, which belonged to the Baby coyote, and found it just right, so she lay down upon it, and fell fast asleep. WCPM 421
4TH GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
HANSEL AND GRETHEL Near the borders of a large forest dwelt in olden times a poor wood-cutter, who had two children--a boy named Hansel, and his sister, Grethel. They had very little to live upon, and once when there was a dreadful season of scarcity in the land, the poor wood-cutter could not earn sufficient to supply their daily food. WCPM 58 One evening, after the children were gone to bed, the parents sat talking together over their sorrow, and the poor husband sighed, and said to his wife, who was not the mother of his children, but their stepmother, "What will become of us, for I cannot earn enough to support myself and you, much less the children? what shall we do with them, for they must not starve?" WCPM 127 "I know what to do, husband," she replied; "early to-morrow morning we will take the children for a walk across the forest and leave them in the thickest part; they will never find the way home again, you may depend, and then we shall only have to work for ourselves." WCPM 179 "No, wife," said the man, "that I will never do. How could I have the heart to leave my children all alone in the wood, where the wild beasts would come quickly and devour them?"WCPM 215 "Oh, you fool," replied the stepmother, "if you refuse to do this, you know we must all four perish with hunger; you may as well go and cut the wood for our coffins." And after this she let him have no peace till he became quite worn out, and could not sleep for hours, but lay thinking in sorrow about his children. WCPM 280 The two children, who also were too hungry to sleep, heard all that their stepmother had said to their father. Poor little Grethel wept bitter tears as she listened, and said to her brother, "What is going to happen to us, Hansel?" WCPM 324
FLUENCY DRILL 5TH GRADE
THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP In one of the large and rich cities of China, there once lived a tailor named Mustapha. He was very poor. He could hardly, by his daily labor, maintain himself and his family, which consisted only of his wife and a son. WCPM 42 His son, who was called Aladdin, was a very careless and idle fellow. He was disobedient to his father and mother, and would go out early in the morning and stay out all day, playing in the streets and public places with idle children of his own age. WCPM 92 When he was old enough to learn a trade, his father took him into his own shop, and taught him how to use his needle; but all his father's endeavors to keep him to his work were vain, for no sooner was his back turned, than he was gone for that day, Mustapha chastised him, but Aladdin was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness; and was so much troubled about him, that he fell sick and died in a few months. WCPM 186 Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, gave himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. This course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. As he was one day playing, according to custom, in the street, with his evil associates, a stranger passing by stood to observe him. WCPM 279 This stranger was a sorcerer, known as the African magician, as he had been but two days arrived from Africa, his native country. The African magician, observing in Aladdin's countenance something which assured him that he was a fit boy for his purpose, inquired his name and history of some of his companions, and when he had learnt all he desired to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said, "Child, was not your father called Mustapha the tailor?" "Yes, sir," answered the boy, "but he has been dead a long time." WCPM 369
4TH GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
PUSS IN BOOTS There was a miller who had three sons, and when he died he divided what he possessed among them in the following manner: He gave his mill to the eldest, his ass to the second, and his cat to the youngest. Each of the brothers accordingly took what belonged to him, without the help of an attorney, who would soon have brought their little fortune to nothing, in law expenses. The poor young fellow who had nothing but the cat, complained that he was hardly used: "My brothers," said he, "by joining their stocks together, may do well in the world, but for me, when I have eaten my cat, and made a fur cap of his skin, I may soon die of hunger!" WCPM 124 The cat, who all this time sat listening just inside the door of a cupboard, now ventured to come out and addressed him as follows: "Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have only to give me a bag, and get a pair of boots made for me, so that I may scamper through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you are not so ill provided for as you imagine." Though the cat's master did not much depend upon these promises, yet, as he had often observed the cunning tricks puss used to catch the rats and mice, such as hanging upon his hind legs, and hiding in the meal to make believe that he was dead, he did not entirely despair of his being of some use to him in his unhappy condition. WCPM 266 When the cat had obtained what he asked for, he gayly began to equip himself: he drew on his boots; and putting the bag about his neck, he took hold of the strings with his fore paws, and bidding his master take courage, immediately sallied forth. The first attempt Puss made was to go into a warren in which there were a great number of rabbits. He put some bran and some parsley into his bag; and then stretching himself out at full length as if he was dead, he waited for some young rabbits, who as yet knew nothing of the cunning tricks of the world, to come and get into the bag, the better to feast upon the dainties he had put into it. WCPM 394 Scarcely had he lain down before he succeeded as well as could be wished. A giddy young rabbit crept into the bag, and the cat immediately drew the strings, and killed him without mercy. Puss, proud of his prey, hastened directly to the palace, where he asked to speak to the king. On being shown into the apartment of his majesty, he made a low bow, and said, "I have brought you, sire, this rabbit from the warren of my lord the marquis of Carabas, who commanded me to present it to your majesty with the assurance of his respect." (This was the title the cat thought proper to bestow upon his master.) "Tell my lord marquis of Carabas," replied the king, "that I accept of his present with pleasure, and that I am greatly obliged to him." Soon after, the cat laid himself down in the same manner in a field of corn, and had as much good fortune as before; for two fine partridges got into his bag, which he immediately killed and carried to the palace: the king received them as he had done the rabbit, and ordered his servants to give the messenger something to drink. In this manner he continued to carry presents of game to the king from my lord marquis of Carabas, once at least in every week. WCPM 621
4TH/5TH GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD
Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who grieved sorely that they had no children. When at last the queen gave birth to a daughter the king was so overjoyed that he gave a great christening feast, the like of which had never before been known. He asked all the fairies in the land--there were seven all told--to stand godmothers to the little princess, hoping that each might give her a gift, and so she should have all imaginable perfections. WCPM 86 After the christening, all the company returned to the palace, where a great feast had been spread for the fairy godmothers. Before each was set a magnificent plate, with a gold knife and a gold fork studded with diamonds and rubies. Just as they were seating themselves, however, there entered an old fairy who had not been invited because more than fifty years ago she had shut herself up in a tower and it was supposed that she was either dead or enchanted. WCPM 171 The king ordered a cover to be laid for her, but it could not be a massive gold one like the others, for only seven had been ordered made. The old fairy thought herself ill-used and muttered between her teeth. One of the young fairies, overhearing her, and fancying she might work some mischief to the little baby, went and hid herself behind the hangings in the hall, so as to be able to have the last word and undo any harm the old fairy might wish to work. The fairies now began to endow the princess. The youngest, for her gift, decreed that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next that she should have the mind of an angel; the third that she should be perfectly graceful; the fourth that she should dance admirably well; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; the sixth, that she should play charmingly upon every musical instrument. The turn of the old fairy had now come, and she declared, while her head shook with malice, that the princess should pierce her hand with a spindle and die of the wound. This dreadful fate threw all the company into tears of dismay, when the young fairy who had hidden herself came forward and said: WCPM 390 "Be of good cheer, king and queen; your daughter shall not so die. It is true I cannot entirely undo what my elder has done. The princess will pierce her hand with a spindle, but, instead of dying, she will only fall into a deep sleep. The sleep will last a hundred years, and at the end of that time a king's son will come to wake her." WCPM 460 The king, in hopes of preventing what the old fairy had foretold, immediately issued an edict by which he forbade all persons in his dominion from spinning or even having spindles in their houses under pain of instant death. WCPM 501 Now fifteen years after the princess was born she was with the king and queen at one of their castles, and as she was running about by herself she came to a little chamber at the top of a tower, and there sat an honest old woman spinning, for she had never heard of the king's edict. WCPM 560
Academic word list are key vocabulary that students must master to understand academic content. Two list predominate (Coxhead 2000/ Marzano 2004) most academic vocabulary list find their origins in one or both. Teachers needing to raise test scores in a content area can create their own academic word list by doing a word analysis of released state test. Most states have adopted or will adopt The Common Core State Standards which will simplify the choice of academic vocabulary. Today some states are vague and leave the choice to teachers and schools, so finding the best list to meet the needs of your students is tricky. The links below are a few that seem to have value. I personally use the NWEA list daily and the Tennessee Academic Word List as a supplement. I have also created a list of my own using a not very scientific word analysis of the TAKS released test. The TAKS and the AIMS are both published by Pearson Publishing. The released test are a great source of grade level reading passages to synthesize fluency drills.
REMEDIAL READING / FLUENCY DRILLS 4TH/5TH GRADE
FLUENCY DRILLS 4TH/5TH GRADEGrade Level Fluency Goals
1st Grade 80 Words Correct Per Minute
2nd 140 WCPM
3rd 160
4th 180
5th 195
6th 205
7th 210
8th 215
4th GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
MARIANA and THE THREE COYOTES
In a far-off land there was once a little girl who was called Mariana, She was a happy child, but a little restless that she could not be kept happy at school, why because of long Division, but must run away, without leave. WCPM 38
One day she started off into a desert to gather wild flowers, and into the cactus to chase butterflies. She ran here and she ran there, and went so far, at last, that she found herself in a lonely place, where she saw a snug little casa, in which three coyotes lived; but they were not then at home. WCPM 100
The door was open, and Mariana pushed it open and found the place to be quite empty, so she made up her mind to go in boldly, and look all about the place, little thinking what sort of people lived there. WCPM 143
Now the three coyotes had gone for a walk a little before Mariana arrived. They were the Daddy coyote, and the Mommy coyote, and the Baby coyote; but they had left their frijoles on the table to cool. So when Mariana came into the kitchen, she saw the three bowls of frijoles. She tasted the largest bowl, which belonged to the Daddy coyote and found it too spicy; then she tasted the medium bowl of frijoles, which belonged to the Mommy coyote, and found it too salty; then she tasted the smallest bowl, which belonged to the Baby coyote, and it was just right, and she ate it all up. She usually stayed away from beans because they always gave her gas! WCPM 267
She went into the parlor, and there were three chairs. She tried the
biggest chair, which belonged to the Daddy coyote, and found it too high; then she tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the
Mommy coyote, and she found it too hard; then she tried the little
chair, which belonged to the Baby coyote, and found it just right, but she sat in it so hard that she broke it. WCPM 341
Now Mariana was by this time very tired, and she went upstairs to
the chamber, and there she found three beds. She tried the largest bed, which belonged to the Daddy coyote, and found it too soft; then she tried the middle-sized bed, which belonged to the Mommy coyote, and she found it too hard; then she tried the smallest bed, which belonged to the Baby coyote, and found it just right, so she lay down upon it, and fell fast asleep. WCPM 421
4TH GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
HANSEL AND GRETHEL Near the borders of a large forest dwelt in olden times a poor wood-cutter, who had two children--a boy named Hansel, and his sister, Grethel. They had very little to live upon, and once when there was a dreadful season of scarcity in the land, the poor wood-cutter could not earn sufficient to supply their daily food. WCPM 58 One evening, after the children were gone to bed, the parents sat talking together over their sorrow, and the poor husband sighed, and said to his wife, who was not the mother of his children, but their stepmother, "What will become of us, for I cannot earn enough to support myself and you, much less the children? what shall we do with them, for they must not starve?" WCPM 127 "I know what to do, husband," she replied; "early to-morrow morning we will take the children for a walk across the forest and leave them in the thickest part; they will never find the way home again, you may depend, and then we shall only have to work for ourselves." WCPM 179 "No, wife," said the man, "that I will never do. How could I have the heart to leave my children all alone in the wood, where the wild beasts would come quickly and devour them?"WCPM 215 "Oh, you fool," replied the stepmother, "if you refuse to do this, you know we must all four perish with hunger; you may as well go and cut the wood for our coffins." And after this she let him have no peace till he became quite worn out, and could not sleep for hours, but lay thinking in sorrow about his children. WCPM 280 The two children, who also were too hungry to sleep, heard all that their stepmother had said to their father. Poor little Grethel wept bitter tears as she listened, and said to her brother, "What is going to happen to us, Hansel?" WCPM 324
FLUENCY DRILL 5TH GRADE
THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP In one of the large and rich cities of China, there once lived a tailor named Mustapha. He was very poor. He could hardly, by his daily labor, maintain himself and his family, which consisted only of his wife and a son. WCPM 42 His son, who was called Aladdin, was a very careless and idle fellow. He was disobedient to his father and mother, and would go out early in the morning and stay out all day, playing in the streets and public places with idle children of his own age. WCPM 92 When he was old enough to learn a trade, his father took him into his own shop, and taught him how to use his needle; but all his father's endeavors to keep him to his work were vain, for no sooner was his back turned, than he was gone for that day, Mustapha chastised him, but Aladdin was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness; and was so much troubled about him, that he fell sick and died in a few months. WCPM 186 Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, gave himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. This course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. As he was one day playing, according to custom, in the street, with his evil associates, a stranger passing by stood to observe him. WCPM 279 This stranger was a sorcerer, known as the African magician, as he had been but two days arrived from Africa, his native country. The African magician, observing in Aladdin's countenance something which assured him that he was a fit boy for his purpose, inquired his name and history of some of his companions, and when he had learnt all he desired to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said, "Child, was not your father called Mustapha the tailor?" "Yes, sir," answered the boy, "but he has been dead a long time." WCPM 369
4TH GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
PUSS IN BOOTS There was a miller who had three sons, and when he died he divided what he possessed among them in the following manner: He gave his mill to the eldest, his ass to the second, and his cat to the youngest. Each of the brothers accordingly took what belonged to him, without the help of an attorney, who would soon have brought their little fortune to nothing, in law expenses. The poor young fellow who had nothing but the cat, complained that he was hardly used: "My brothers," said he, "by joining their stocks together, may do well in the world, but for me, when I have eaten my cat, and made a fur cap of his skin, I may soon die of hunger!" WCPM 124 The cat, who all this time sat listening just inside the door of a cupboard, now ventured to come out and addressed him as follows: "Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have only to give me a bag, and get a pair of boots made for me, so that I may scamper through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you are not so ill provided for as you imagine." Though the cat's master did not much depend upon these promises, yet, as he had often observed the cunning tricks puss used to catch the rats and mice, such as hanging upon his hind legs, and hiding in the meal to make believe that he was dead, he did not entirely despair of his being of some use to him in his unhappy condition. WCPM 266 When the cat had obtained what he asked for, he gayly began to equip himself: he drew on his boots; and putting the bag about his neck, he took hold of the strings with his fore paws, and bidding his master take courage, immediately sallied forth. The first attempt Puss made was to go into a warren in which there were a great number of rabbits. He put some bran and some parsley into his bag; and then stretching himself out at full length as if he was dead, he waited for some young rabbits, who as yet knew nothing of the cunning tricks of the world, to come and get into the bag, the better to feast upon the dainties he had put into it. WCPM 394 Scarcely had he lain down before he succeeded as well as could be wished. A giddy young rabbit crept into the bag, and the cat immediately drew the strings, and killed him without mercy. Puss, proud of his prey, hastened directly to the palace, where he asked to speak to the king. On being shown into the apartment of his majesty, he made a low bow, and said, "I have brought you, sire, this rabbit from the warren of my lord the marquis of Carabas, who commanded me to present it to your majesty with the assurance of his respect." (This was the title the cat thought proper to bestow upon his master.) "Tell my lord marquis of Carabas," replied the king, "that I accept of his present with pleasure, and that I am greatly obliged to him." Soon after, the cat laid himself down in the same manner in a field of corn, and had as much good fortune as before; for two fine partridges got into his bag, which he immediately killed and carried to the palace: the king received them as he had done the rabbit, and ordered his servants to give the messenger something to drink. In this manner he continued to carry presents of game to the king from my lord marquis of Carabas, once at least in every week. WCPM 621
4TH/5TH GRADE FLUENCY DRILL
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD
Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who grieved sorely that they had no children. When at last the queen gave birth to a daughter the king was so overjoyed that he gave a great christening feast, the like of which had never before been known. He asked all the fairies in the land--there were seven all told--to stand godmothers to the little princess, hoping that each might give her a gift, and so she should have all imaginable perfections. WCPM 86 After the christening, all the company returned to the palace, where a great feast had been spread for the fairy godmothers. Before each was set a magnificent plate, with a gold knife and a gold fork studded with diamonds and rubies. Just as they were seating themselves, however, there entered an old fairy who had not been invited because more than fifty years ago she had shut herself up in a tower and it was supposed that she was either dead or enchanted. WCPM 171 The king ordered a cover to be laid for her, but it could not be a massive gold one like the others, for only seven had been ordered made. The old fairy thought herself ill-used and muttered between her teeth. One of the young fairies, overhearing her, and fancying she might work some mischief to the little baby, went and hid herself behind the hangings in the hall, so as to be able to have the last word and undo any harm the old fairy might wish to work. The fairies now began to endow the princess. The youngest, for her gift, decreed that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next that she should have the mind of an angel; the third that she should be perfectly graceful; the fourth that she should dance admirably well; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; the sixth, that she should play charmingly upon every musical instrument. The turn of the old fairy had now come, and she declared, while her head shook with malice, that the princess should pierce her hand with a spindle and die of the wound. This dreadful fate threw all the company into tears of dismay, when the young fairy who had hidden herself came forward and said: WCPM 390 "Be of good cheer, king and queen; your daughter shall not so die. It is true I cannot entirely undo what my elder has done. The princess will pierce her hand with a spindle, but, instead of dying, she will only fall into a deep sleep. The sleep will last a hundred years, and at the end of that time a king's son will come to wake her." WCPM 460 The king, in hopes of preventing what the old fairy had foretold, immediately issued an edict by which he forbade all persons in his dominion from spinning or even having spindles in their houses under pain of instant death. WCPM 501 Now fifteen years after the princess was born she was with the king and queen at one of their castles, and as she was running about by herself she came to a little chamber at the top of a tower, and there sat an honest old woman spinning, for she had never heard of the king's edict. WCPM 560
FLUENCY DRILLS 1st, 2nd, and 6th coming soon!
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