Course 3: Reading Fluency for Paraprofessionals
Course 3: Reading Fluency for Paraprofessionals
Help take your students' reading to the next level by targeting reading fluency! In this course, you'll explore practical, step-by-step strategies for building reading accuracy, rate, and expression through daily fluency practice. The course also provides the tools you'll need to measure progress and celebrate growth along the way.
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Course Type
Free and Self-Paced
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Grade Level
K-3 Paraprofessionals
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Duration
4 Hours
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Certificate
Available upon successful completion for registered users
A Sneak Peek
Reading fluently — with accuracy, rate, and expression — is where students make the leap from learning to read to reading to learn. In this video, reading specialist DeAngela Huggins models how to lead a small group fluency lesson. This course includes a variety of model teaching videos just like this one for you to learn from.
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DeAngela Huggins: One thing that's really important when we read is to read fluently and reading should sound like you're talking to someone like you're having a conversation. So we're going to practice. We're just going to read the first two sentences. I'm going to show you how I would read it fluently and then you're going to repeat, okay?
Narrator: Reading specialist DeAngela Huggins is in the middle of a fluency lesson with first graders at Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta. Her students have already read the story once to accurately decode each word. Now it's time to bring it to life with expression.
DeAngela Huggins: "Jess and Jack had a splendid plan." Your turn.
Students: "Jess and Jack had a splendid plan."
Narrator: Ms. Huggins reads each sentence aloud, modeling fluent reading. Then the students reread each sentence as a group.
DeAngela Huggins: "The plan was to run."
Students: "The plan was to run."
DeAngela Huggins: "To the Summit of Rabbit Hill."
Students: "To the Summit of Rabbit Hill."
Narrator: The final step is for students to reread the text quietly on their own.
DeAngela Huggins: All right. And the more we read it, the more natural it will become and the better we'll become at reading it fluently. So nice job, you guys.
Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillen Fund; an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the AFT; the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; and anonymous donors. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy and Atlanta Public Schools. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.
DeAngela Huggins: This is Reading Universe.
Fluency for Paraprofessionals Course Overview
What You Will Learn
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1
What reading fluency is and why it matters
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2
How fluency practice helps struggling readers become skilled readers
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3
How to measure reading fluency and identify reading errors
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4
Which teaching strategies and activities are most effective for building reading fluency
Course Preview
Recommended for
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Meet the Author Deborah Glaser, Ed.D.
See Dr. Glaser’s Full BioDr. Deborah Glaser is a consultant, author, and teacher-educator beloved for enriching teachers' knowledge of reading and for her proven instructional methods. Following her teaching career, she directed the educational arm of a nonprofit dyslexia learning center, Lee Pesky Learning Center, where she developed programs to teach teachers and students.
Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book Hide Video Transcript Show Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Dr. Deb Glaser. I've devoted my whole career to helping children learn to read. First as a classroom teacher and learning disability specialist, and more recently as a researcher and as the author of professional development resources about the best ways to teach reading. Now, I've teamed up with Reading Universe to develop ParaReading, a series of five courses that cover the most critical information and strategies that you'll need to teach young children to read. This course focuses on an important skill that every student needs to develop — reading fluency, which is the ability to read accurately and at an appropriate rate. When students can confidently and accurately read more words upon site, they are far more likely to bring meaning to what they read.
Questions About This Course
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Are there any prerequisites for taking this course?
We recommend taking the five courses in the ParaReading series in order — beginning with Course 1: Phoneme Awareness for Paraprofessionals. That's because the content of each course builds on concepts and skills presented in earlier courses in the series.
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Do I need to purchase specific textbooks or other supplies to take this course?
You do not need to purchase specific textbooks or other supplies to complete this course. All course activities only require basic, on-hand items — like paper and a pencil. Some activities have printable resources that can also be re-drawn on paper if a printer is not available.
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Do I need to work with other people while taking this course?
This course can be completed entirely on your own. That said, there are several practice activities — like roleplays — that encourage you to work with one of your own colleagues, friends, or family members. None of these activities are graded and you can decide whether or not to do the activity on your own or with a partner.
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What grade do I need to pass the class and earn my certificate?
You need to achieve an 80% or higher on the end-of-course quiz to earn a certificate of completion.
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Where do I access my certificate?
You can find and download your certificate on your Reading Universe profile dashboard. It shows up automatically after you pass the end-of-course-quiz with a grade of 80% or higher.
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Do I get a certificate if I don't sign in?
No. To get the certificate, you must register for an account and be signed in to your account when you take the end-of-course quiz.
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Can I receive professional development credit for taking this course?
Reading Universe offers a certificate of completion for three hours of training time. You will need to check with your school district administrators to find out what credit, if any, is available to you for completing this course.
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Do you have other courses for teaching reading for paraprofessionals?
Yes! This course is one of a collection of five courses on teaching reading that are specifically written for paraprofessionals. Other courses cover phoneme awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.
Reading Universe also has skill explainers covering a wide variety of skills including fluency. You can also explore all of our resources for teaching fluency.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on future course offerings!
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![Ava Caldwell smiling.]()
“We are reading, we're writing, addition, subtraction … we are getting these kids ready for their future and giving them the early stepping stones to reading.”
Ava Caldwell Kindergarten Aide Holy Family School, Cincinnati, Ohio
