Reading Growth Report: Fifth Grade, 2025–2026 School Year

Introduction

To begin the 2025–2026 school year, 52% of my students were disfluent readers. Of that group, 64% were significantly below grade level in oral reading fluency, based on results from the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency Assessment. As an educator, these numbers were heartbreaking.

School and Community Context

Before describing how I moved 86% of my students to on-grade-level fluency, it is helpful to understand the context of the school community I serve. I currently teach fifth grade at Riviera Elementary School in the Kelseyville Unified School District, located in Lake County, California. In the 2023–2024 school year, which is the most recent year with published data, only 17% of students met or exceeded standards on the CAASPP ELA assessment. While this assessment measures overall proficiency rather than reading fluency specifically, it is reasonable to infer that many of the 83% who did not meet the benchmark struggled with fluency. At a staff meeting last year, our superintendent informed us that our county is one of the lowest performing in California, and our school is one of the lowest performing in the county. It was clear that something needed to change, and quickly.

Initial Assessment Results

Our initial DIBELS assessment took place during the first week of school. As noted above, over half of my students were disfluent, with many far below grade level expectations. This past week, we completed our November assessment. While I anticipated some growth, I was astonished by the magnitude and pace of improvement. Every student in my class increased their fluency rate, and many increased it dramatically. On average, students grew by 41 words per minute, which was enough to move both struggling and already-fluent readers into the range expected at the end of fifth grade.

Spotlighting Three Students

Three students in particular highlight the range and significance of these gains.

Student A

Student A entered the year reading 69 words per minute. Historically, this student had struggled not only with reading but across most academic subjects, and had been on a behavior plan in previous years. This student increased their fluency by 52 words per minute, reaching 121 wpm, which is within fifth-grade proficiency.

Student B

Student B was high achieving in every area except oral reading fluency. Their family had expressed concern that fluency was the one skill that resisted improvement. This student began at 87 wpm, which was slightly below the expected beginning-of-year range of 103 to 138 wpm for fifth grade. By November, they reached 113 wpm, which was an increase of 26 wpm.

Student C

Student C was already a strong academic performer. They began the year reading 136 wpm. Last week, they read 197 wpm, which was an impressive increase of 61 words per minute.

Although these three students entered the year with different strengths, they all made meaningful gains in fluency. The first two moved from below grade level to proficiency, and the third extended their existing strengths far beyond expectations.

Instructional Approach to Reading

Understanding how students made such rapid gains requires a closer look at how reading instruction is organized in our classroom. I draw from several high-quality resources to create a balanced and coherent approach. In addition to our district-adopted ELA curriculum, Journeys by HMH, I incorporate Reading Reconsidered’s Novel Studies, Imagine Learning’s Sonday Phonics, and The Word Mapping Project developed by teacher Sean Morrissey. Each of these programs plays a distinct role, and together they form a unified framework that supports students as they develop the skills and confidence they need to grow as readers.

Reading Within the ELA Block

My reading instruction is not limited to the dedicated ELA block. In fact, during that block students read aloud the least. I am teaching using Reading Reconsidered Novel Studies for the second year in a row. During our ELA block, we focus heavily on whole-novel study. We recently began Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, after spending most of the fall with Number the Stars. Each lesson centers on one or two chapters, and I use a combination of teacher-led read-aloud and FASE reading to work through the text.

Implementing FASE Reading

FASE reading has been a powerful way to maintain engagement. I have spent the past two years honing this strategy, which I first encountered in Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion 3.0 and in the Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading. Using FASE, I combine choral reading, cold calling, and teacher modelling to build prosody. I might model a line of dialogue and then have students echo it, either as a group or individually. At the beginning of the year, when I explained FASE reading, many students groaned, asking, “Do we have to read?” I reassured them, saying, “Yes, you do, but I am here to help.” Now they eagerly volunteer to read aloud.

Increasing Exposure to Grade-Level Texts

I also made a significant shift in how I approach grade-level texts. In the past, I often protected students from challenging material by reading most of the text aloud to them, believing comprehension mattered more than the struggle required to access it independently. This year, with the guidance of The Word Mapping Project and Sean Morrissey, I incorporated near-daily grade-level passages designed specifically to build fluency.

To begin the year, I relied solely on The Word Mapping Project for the passages that my students were reading. As I watched and listened to them joyfully and successfully read these grade level passages, I decided I wanted to use these fluency passages in other subject areas too. I primarily use Core Knowledge for my social studies and science instruction. After doing FASE reading with the student readers I provided students an eight-to-ten paragraph summary passage for them to complete with their shoulder partner exactly the way they do during The Word Mapping Project. I started to use the subject-specific fluency packets to increase student comprehension of topics, but they also provide additional opportunities to read grade level complex text AND encounter tier two and three vocabulary in context. The best part of using these subject specific reading packets is now every student gets an opportunity to authentically read these words. When we read the text using FASE, many students do not get a chance to authentically read the text, and practice with these new words and with this new material.

Vocabulary Work

Each lesson begins with explicit vocabulary instruction, followed by immediate opportunities for students to read the words in context. The explicit vocabulary instruction of new words follows the direct instruction model. We break a word apart, get students to repeat the word, define it in student friendly terms, and then immediately go into examples and non-examples for students to practice with the words. Every second day, students complete a morphology activity designed to increase their understanding of morphemes and how they impact word meaning. Once the class completes either the new word instruction or morphology practice, I model the passage first, pointing out difficult words and using an “I say, you say” routine. Students then read with a partner twice through, focusing on prosody and accuracy. All of these practices help build what Christopher Such describes as the bridge from decoding to comprehension.

Ongoing Monitoring and Targeted Support

During partner work, students read the daily passage(usually about6 paragraphs), alternating paragraphs before answering comprehension questions and completing some vocabulary retrieval practice. While this is happening I call several pairs over to read aloud for me. This allows me to make real-time corrections, reinforce skills, and identify any students who need additional support. To ensure consistency, I created a weekly monitoring chart to track how often I listen to each student read. My goal is to hear every student at least three times each week. This system has helped me intervene early when students begin to struggle, and it has ensured that no student slips through the cracks.

Building a Culture of Confident Readers

A major goal of mine this year was to cultivate enthusiasm for reading and help students see themselves as confident, capable readers of complex texts. I believe we have reached that goal. Students no longer resist reading, and they now see themselves as strong readers who can tackle challenging material.

This process has involved, to put it plainly, just having the students be exposed to excellent texts. Each day is connected to the last, and I think for many of the students in my room this is a first for them academically. In past years, their reading experience has been disjointed. Our district’s reading curriculum is excerpt-heavy with no clear definitive transferable knowledge that students can build on and carry forward. In contrast, using Reading Reconsidered allows students to spend over a month with a text, while also incorporating nonfiction texts that build student knowledge of a topic systematically. This knowledge then allows for students to comprehend what they decode with greater success, which, in turn, increases their motivation to engage with the material. Peps McCrea is very clear: success creates motivation. If students are successful with their reading, they are going to be more motivated to read more rigorous texts, which will help them increase their reading outcomes even more. Albeit they still need target scaffolds.

I spent the first few months of the year building routines and shaping a classroom culture rooted in purpose. Those foundations are now firmly in place. Students know that when they step into our room, they will be pushed and challenged in ways they have never been before. And they also know that I will be there, steady and dependable, to guide them through each new stretch. They have learned that real challenge carries real reward. Students love the feeling of knowing something new, of hearing that their thinking is right, of going home eager to share what they discovered that day. And while reading fluency might seem like only a drop in the bucket, I believe it is the drop that begins to widen the bucket itself, allowing students to carry more knowledge, more confidence, and more possibility than they ever imagined.

Conclusion

These changes in mindset and instructional practice have made the difference. Last year, many of my students struggled significantly with fluency. I spent the summer reflecting and engaging in professional development to address that gap. The strategies outlined above have already produced meaningful, measurable improvements. With continued implementation, I am confident that by the end of the year all of my students will be reading fluently at or above a fifth-grade level.