1.4

ELA1st Grade

The Standard

The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to use appropriate fluency rate, accuracy, and prosody when reading grade-level text.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do

Students read grade-level text aloud with accurate words, a natural pace, and expression that matches punctuation and meaning. They also show they understand what they read.

What Mastery Looks Like

The student reads a grade-level passage accurately at a steady, natural pace. The student groups words into meaningful phrases, uses punctuation and expression, and explains what the passage means.

Common Misconceptions

Students may think fluent reading means reading as fast as possible. They may ignore punctuation, guess at words, or read with expression without understanding the passage.

How to Assess It

Give each student a short grade-level passage to read aloud, then ask, “What happened, and which sentence helped you know?” Note accuracy, pace, phrasing, and expression.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

  1. Give students sentence strips, have them mark phrase breaks with slashes, then practice reading each sentence smoothly to a partner.

  2. Read one sentence in a flat voice and with expression, then ask students to explain which reading better matches the meaning and why.

  3. Play punctuation pause: students draw a punctuation card, then read a sentence using the matching pause or voice change.

  4. Have students rehearse and record a short morning announcement, then listen for clear words, natural pacing, and expression.

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