It’s Never Too Late!

We have only 32 days of school left this school year. It might seem crazy at first, but this time of year is the perfect time to add some new things into your routine. This time of year is low-stakes. Routines are established, expectations are second nature, and your staff is trained. Adding a fluency center is a perfect, low-prep choice that can make a big difference. Here’s how to get started.

Pick a Skill or Two

For each student, pick a mastered skill that you want to increase fluency on. This could be letter or sight word identification, sorting, receptive ID of numbers, math facts.. The possibilities are endless! Make sure that the student has mastered the skill previously and you are only working on fluency, not acquisition of skill. 

Gather Materials

To make it easy, grab the Fluency Mega Pack. It has data sheets, flash cards and guides for you to follow if you need help implementing or want additional tips. A timer, writing utensil, data sheet and flash cards that target the skill you are wanting to work on should be gathered before starting. Having everything in one spot will make the center run smoothly, reduce any off-task behavior and make the best use of instructional time.

Take Baseline Data & Make a Goal

In order to make a goal, you need to know where the student is performing. This year I had a student working on expressive letter ID. I took some baseline data and found the student was able to complete the task in 48 seconds. We made a goal together of naming all 26 upper case letters in 35 seconds. Whatever goal you pick, make it obtainable! Pick a reward or celebration for meeting the goal

Track Progress

If you can, involve students in data tracking (PS – if you are evaluated by a Danielson Framework, this is HUGE)! Keep your data on a streamlined data sheet, and with the fluency center. Additionally, consider making a chart that shows progress that a student can fill in and how they are working towards their goal. This helps students visualize progress. If you are interested in how I do this, check out my classroom tour on youtube.

Train Staff

Take a few minutes to role-play with your staff so they can get used to running a fluency center. At first, managing a timer and flashcards all at once can be tricky. Work as a team to determine how data will be taken and recorded. Practice taking data a few times to make sure your team is doing so in the same way. 

Celebrate

When we reach goals, we celebrate! Make a BIG deal about accomplishing a fluency goal! We send home a certificate, and photos of the celebration or reward via SeeSaw.

Some Final Tips

• Don’t be afraid to start a fluency center, even if it’s at the end of school! 
• Train students to run the center (obviously this depends on your students)
• Streamline that data collection by keeping it all organized in color-coded folders by learner
• Start with just one goal per learner, then work up to one or two more. 
• Don’t underestimate what can get done in 3 minutes! If you can carve out 3 minutes a day, you can do fluency with one learner!
• Pick one day to run fluency (we have Fluency Friday’s) and stick to it so learners know what to expect.
• Doing centers already? Add it to your rotations! Have other learners in the group do independent work while they wait their turn. 

This simple and impactful center will make a huge difference for your learners… and there’s no time like the present to get started!