7.3

ELA7th GradeDeveloping and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking

The Standard

Fluency. The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to adjust fluency when reading grade-level text based on the reading purpose

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 choose a reading pace, phrasing, volume, and expression that fit why they are reading. They maintain accuracy and understanding while locating facts, studying closely, or reading aloud for an audience.

What Mastery Looks Like

Given the same passage and two different purposes, students can change their pace, phrasing, volume, and expression appropriately. They read accurately, explain their choices, and answer questions about the text.

Common Misconceptions

Students may think fluent reading always means reading quickly. They may add dramatic expression that does not fit the text, or slow down so much that meaning is lost. Some change their pace without checking whether they still understand the passage.

How to Assess It

Exit ticket: Give students a 120-word passage and a purpose card, such as “read to explain the speaker’s mood.” Students mark three phrasing or emphasis choices, record a reading, and explain how their choices fit the purpose.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

  1. Give pairs two purpose cards and a printed passage; students use colored pencils to mark pace, pauses, and stressed words before reading each version.

  2. Play two recordings of the same paragraph, then ask: Which reading better fits a news report, and what specific choices prove it?

  3. Run a purpose-card challenge where teams draw “scan for facts,” “study closely,” or “perform dialogue” and read one passage accordingly.

  4. Have students prepare a school announcement, adjusting pace, volume, and emphasis so listeners can catch dates, times, and required actions.

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