Third Grade Fluency - Mrs. Russell's Room

I’ve been writing fluency passages for the last four years. I never really dreamed that it would help so many teachers across the country, but it has, and I am truly grateful. I’ve been asked many times over the years to provide fluency for third grade and I’ve said no. Largely because it would take time away from me creating resources for my own classroom. Writing a fluency pack takes on average about 30 hours. I have to research topics, align the fluency to standards, and make sure that the text is appropriate for multiple levels. Creating for first when you teach first is tough, but manageable. I use all of the things that I make, and I’m able to fix things as I go. Creating for third was daunting. First of all, I haven’t taught third in five years. Second, here in Florida, the standards have changed at least twice in that time.Initially, the first few third grade packs were much more challenging than even my largest first grade packs and I was very overwhelmed. Over the last several weeks, I’ve gotten the sweetest feedback from third grade teachers about these sets. Thank you friends for that. It was just the encouragement I needed to keep going! Frankly, I was strongly considering making December the last unit until the summer, but with the feedback I’ve gotten, I really believe that it would be best to continue forward and finish with a set in April.

For those of you who are not familiar with my fluency sets, each pack has 12 passages. Three passages per topic. So, four differentiated sets per topic, basically. The passages are numbered for ease of recording. There are oral questions on the front page, for those of you who just need a passage for centers and want only discussion. Students can take some quick notes in the side bar of the sheet to help them organize their recollections of the text. Another way you could use this tool is to use the text coding features. If you do a double sided copy, these questions would show up on the back. Students have to mark the text with different color crayons or colored pencils. They have to offer extended responses. There’s even a question where they have to go on the internet and do a wee bit of research.

Each page has the standards written at the top for fidelity.

The texts are aligned to three different programs, Accelerated Reader, DRA and Fountas & Pinnell. I even include a number and question free copy of each passage that you could use to test students on their fluency.

Currently I have four sets for third grade in my store.

August Themes: Great White Sharks, Lemonade Stand, Volcanoes

September Themes: Citizenship, Kid Scientists, The Constitution, Cesar Chavez

October Themes: The History of Popcorn & the Movies, Transportation, The History of the Jack-o-Lantern, Columbus’ Boats

November Themes: Veteran’s Day, Voting, Thanksgiving, The Pony Express

December Themes: Three Branches of Government, The Sun’s Gravity, How Light Moves, New Year’s Eve

January Themes: John Lewis, Life in Siberia, The History of Curling, Amelia Earhart

February Themes: George Crum, Maya Angelou, The History of the Teddy Bear, Two Harriets

March Themes: Misty Copeland, Abby Wambach, Ireland, Betsy Ross

April Themes: Allergies, Carnivorous Plants, Earth Day, Thomas Jefferson

I have loved putting these together for my own class. I can’t wait for this group of students to experience them! If you need to differentiate further for your purposes, my second and first grade fluency sets are quite popular as well. Want to take a look? Here are the links for the bundles.

Click HERE for this unit.

Click HERE for this unit.

Click HERE to see this unit.

Third is the highest grade I will do, unless I am moved to a higher grade level at some point in the future. Plus, I feel like, if you’re not fluent by fourth grade, you probably could benefit from some of the lower level passages I’ve already written.

Thanks for your support!

Here’s a sample of the mid level Great White’s passage from the August pack!

You can use these third grade passages in lots of different ways. Use just the first sheet if you’re looking for JUST a fluency piece. Students will still get a chance to respond to the reading with the note taking ‘bubbles’ on the side. Each day, there is an oral response question as well.

Looking for deeper engagement? Have your students use the second piece for text coding. Review the material in small group. Have students do the research question on their own!

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