This packet of 41 short selections can be used regularly over the course of a school year to help students build fluency. There are enough passages to work on one per week - to two weeks. This source provides a protocol outlining strategies to engage students in short, daily fluency practice. Teachers can also send passages home for additional practice. To access the packet, select "View File" to download.

This packet is designed to strengthen the components of reading fluency: accuracy, rate, and prosody (expression). Students should understand what they are reading, thus embedded supports, such as student glossaries and ‘right there’ comprehension questions, are included. However, these passages are not intended for close reading or deep comprehension work.

Note for teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs): Regular fluency practice is essential for helping ELLs improve their overall literacy skills. Those acquiring a second language benefit especially from additional support with decoding, pronunciation, word identification, and prosody—all of which are the focus of regular fluency practice. Activities found in the Achieve the Core Fluency Packet reflect several best practices for English Language Learner instruction including:
• Having a text read aloud by a fluent reader prior to the student engaging with the text.
• Giving students multiple opportunities to hear the text read aloud by a fluent reader so that they can mirror the pronunciation and prosody of well-spoken English.
• Providing repeated opportunities for students to practice decoding skills both on their own and with support via active monitoring.
• Providing opportunities for students to learn new vocabulary through the use of student-friendly definitions, and to reinforce newly learned vocabulary through repeated practice with the same text and opportunities to use that vocabulary to respond to comprehension questions.
• Calling out work with “juicy sentences,” a strategy developed by Dr. Lily Wong Fillmore, that allows students to look deeply at word choice, sentence structure, and other text features that build their understanding of how English is used to convey different meanings.
• Providing numbered lines that allow students to quickly focus-in on specific sections of the text.
• Providing space for students to annotate the text with their own notes.

This lesson employs direct instruction and small-group discussion to help students learn new vocabulary skills while reading Patricia Polacco?s Pink and Say.

There is no one poem that represents the experience of African Americans in the United States, yet the history of racism in this country is seared deeply into the lives of many African Americans. “The Weakness” by Toi Derricotte recounts an experience with racism through the eyes of a young, light-skinned African American girl going shopping with her grandmother in a department store in 1945. The poems in The African American Experience offer a number of perspectives from African American poets that add a rich complexity to students’ perceptions of African American lives.

In this lesson, students recognize the cultural contributions of ancient Greek and Roman mythology and drama. They will read and analyze a myth and then create a puppet skit to demonstrate the myth.

In this lesson from readwritethink.org, students learn about the differences between fiction and nonfiction text with animals as the main focus.

What drives changes to classic myths and fables? In this lesson students evaluate the changes Disney made to the myth of "Hercules" in order to achieve their audience and purpose.

A great lesson plan for an author study on Leo Lionni, the award winning author of several children's literature.

Students examine books, selected from the American Library Association Challenged/Banned Books list, and write persuasive pieces expressing their views about what should be done with the books at their school.

Students become familiar with the similarities and differences between electronic and printed text by comparing the textual aids included in a textbook with those of an educational website.

Students learn about how the nervous system is the body's control center.

From EngageNY.org of the New York State Education Department. Grade 1 ELA Domain 2: The Human Body. Available from engageny.org/resource/grade-1-ela-domain-2-the-human-body; accessed 2015-05-29.

The following unit incorporates multimedia and classroom activities to encourage students to explore and interact with poetry by first writing letters to important historical poets as practice for writing letters to the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors, a group that represents poetry in America at its best.

It's raining cats and dogs! Students explore figurative language through read-alouds, teacher modeling, and student-centered activities, further developing their understanding of the literal versus the metaphorical translations of idioms.

Based on the Guided Comprehension Model developed by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson introduces students to the comprehension strategy of monitoring.

Students learn to use the QuIP (questions into paragraphs) comprehension strategy to organize information and then synthesize it in writing.

In this lesson, learners of all ages get an introductory experience with coding and computer science in a safe, supportive environment. This lesson has been designed for young learners, ages 4-10, but can be adapted for older learners using the differentiation suggestions provided.

In this lesson, learners of all ages get an introductory experience with coding and computer science in a safe, supportive environment. This lesson has been designed for learners in the middle grades, ages 10-13, but can be adapted for younger or older learners using the differentiation suggestions provided. Students should have a basic understanding of simple geometry and drawing angles.

In this lesson, learners get an introductory experience with computer science and create a game using basic block code.This lesson has been designed for learners in the middle grades, ages 10-16, but can be adapted for younger or older learners using the differentiation suggestions provided.

In this lesson, learners get an introductory experience with computer science and create a game using basic block code.This lesson has been designed for learners in the middle grades, ages 10-16, but can be adapted for younger or older learners using the differentiation suggestions provided.

In this lesson, learners of all ages get an introductory experience with coding and computer science in a safe, supportive environment. This lesson has two versions.

**Option 1: Blocks**

The first option uses drag-drop blocks. This version works best for:

- Students on mobile devices without keyboards
- Younger students (6+ because the tutorial requires reading)
- International students

We recommend this for international students because JavaScript syntax is not translated and for the first Hour of Code, the translated blocks provide a better introduction.

**Option 2: JavaScript**

This option teaches the same basic concepts, but because it uses both drag-drop blocks and JavaScript, the students need to be able to type on a keyboard. For older students on computers, learning JavaScript can be fun and provide an additional challenge. This version of the tutorial is also great if you have some students in your class who have already learned some coding. It is recommended for ages 11+.

In this lesson, learners of all ages get an introductory experience with coding and computer science in a safe, supportive environment. This lesson works well for any students old enough to read (ages 6+). Younger learners will probably not finish the tutorial, but will have lots of fun working through the puzzles for an hour. High school students will mostly finish the tutorial and have some time to play on the free play level at the end.