A Classroom Fluency Protocol That Works with Aaron Grossman

Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ™

Episode 225

How do we turn fluency instruction into something engaging, meaningful, and effective? Fourth-grade teacher Aaron Grossman has the answer.

In this episode, Aaron shares his fluency protocol, inspired by Chase Young’s work, that helps students develop prosody, comprehension, and confidence through Reader’s Theater. He walks us through his structured 5-day cycle, from introducing scripts to students writing their own, and how performance-based reading transforms fluency instruction.

You'll learn:
✅ How repeated reading and performance build fluency
✅ Where to find great scripts—or have students create their own
✅ How to support students at different reading levels

Whether you're looking for new ways to engage your students in fluency practice or practical strategies to help struggling readers, this episode is packed with actionable insights!

RESOURCES

• 3 Phases for Fluency by Aaron Grossman
• Tim Rasinski's Multidimensional Fluency Rubric
• Aaron's website: Just Two Teachers (click Readers Theater for links to scripts!)
• Chase Young's Readers Theater scripts
• Podcast Episode with Chase Young about Readers Theater
• Podcast Episode with Andrew Watson: "Reviewing Research with Healthy Skepticism"
• Books by Rosalind Flynn for Readers' Theater

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.
Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.
Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.

Chapters

1. Introduction to Aaron's Fluency Protocol (00:00:00)

2. The Five-Day Reader's Theater Cycle (00:03:25)

3. Three Phases of Implementation (00:07:45)

4. Phase One: Building Foundations (00:13:45)

5. Phase Two: Student-Written Scripts (00:19:20)

6. Phase Three: Creative Applications (00:25:35)

7. Creating Differentiated Scripts with AI (00:30:10)

8. Supporting Struggling Readers (00:34:32)