Thanksgiving Fluency Mini Lessons

Fluency practice is extra fun when it's got a seasonal twist. (And you don't need to worry about any historical inaccuracies or pilgrims in this set. It's all family, food, turkeys, parades, and football!) We had such a blast creating Thanksgiving Fluency in a Flash!

What is Fluency in a Flash?

Fluency in a Flash is a brief, targeted routine for practicing reading fluency daily. Each day of the week focuses on a specific fluency skill and can be completed in 2 or 3 minutes.

Simply project the day’s digital lesson (PowerPoint required) and guide your students through the activity. Offer feedback on how they’re reading and, if time allows, give them the opportunity to complete an extension activity and self-assess their reading fluency.

Please note: You MUST have PowerPoint on a desktop device to use this resource. It is NOT compatible with Google Slides, Keynote, or Powerpoint for Ipad. This resource is digital only and is not designed to be printed. The files will open directly into Powerpoint show mode to protect the complicated animations and links.

At the end of each day, we offer a quick optional practice activity and an opportunity for students to self-assess how well they used the components of fluent reading.

We also include a paper-free teachers guide that can be easily accessed within the file as needed.

Want to know if Fluency in a Flash is right for your class?

Click here to download a FREE 1 week sample of SEASONAL (School Themed) Fluency in a Flash!

What does a week of Thanksgiving Fluency in a Flash look like?

The weekly activities are the same for each grade level but the content is different.

Monday – Syllable Segments: Students work with multi-syllable words to practice the word attack strategies of segmenting and blending. Syllables slide in on pumpkins before Thanksgiving parade floats reveal the whole word.

Tuesday – What a Character: Students practice reading a short seasonal poem as a real-life opportunity to practice good phrasing and expression. They also have the opportunity to practice reading as different characters to make this fluency practice extra fun. Students can read in three seasonal styles each week: like a football coach, like a turkey, like you're carrying a giant pumpkin, like you have a mouth full of pie, like you're marching in a parade, and like you're stuffed!

Wednesday – Watch Your Tone: Students practice reading the same sentence using tones that match different settings. This helps them focus on the subtler aspects of expressive reading. Three Thanksgiving themed scenes each week make the sentences take on a whole new meaning.

Thursday – Crazy Conversations: Students create a conversation where the words are nonsense, but they must use the punctuation cues to add meaning to what they’re saying. Students will love having a nonsense word conversation between a boy and his grandma at the Thanksgiving table and a football fan and a referee.

Friday – Riddles: Fluency and inferencing skills are applied as students practicing reading—and then solving—seasonal riddles. Spoiler alert: Set in a turkey football game, your students will love these Thanksgiving themed riddles!