Douglass Fluency Passage Packet
Grade 8 Fluency Clinic • Oral Accuracy & Decoding
Frederick Douglass: Voice of Freedom
Passage Set 1 of 2 Target: 130–155 WCPM
Reader:
Evaluator / Partner:
Date:
Baseline Accuracy:
Pre-Reading Decoding & Syllabication Drill
Divide syllables • Pronounce aloud before reading
in • tel • li • gence 4 syl
Stress: 2nd syllable (tel)
Root: intellect [ ] Read
e • man • ci • pa • tion 5 syl
Suffix: -tion /ʃən/
Base: emancipate [ ] Read
in • cal • cu • la • ble 5 syl
Prefix: in- (not) + calculable
Meaning: beyond count [ ] Read
Passage A: Learning to Read in Secret
Adapted from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)
Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters. Just at this point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach an enslaved person to read.
84
These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty—to wit, the white man's power to perpetuate enslavement.
153
From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read. The moral which I gained from his argument served only to inspire me with a determination to succeed.
214
Timed Repeated-Reading Record (1-Minute Intervals) WCPM = Total Words Read - Decoding Errors
| Trial | Words Read | Errors | WCPM | Accuracy % | Partner Initials |
|---|
| Trial 1 (Cold) | | | | | |
| Trial 2 (Practice) | | | | | |
| Trial 3 (Final) | | | | | |
Decoding Error Log & Corrective Feedback
Code: S (Substitution) • O (Omission) • M (Mispronunciation) • SC (Self-Correct)
Specific Misread Words & Syllable Breaks:
Teacher / Peer Coaching Notes:
Grade 8 Fluency Clinic • Oral Accuracy & Decoding
Douglass the Orator: The Power of Truth
Passage Set 2 of 2 Target: 135–160 WCPM
Reader: __________________________
Evaluator: __________________________
Date: ______________
Target Accuracy: 98%+
Complex Morpheme & Syllable Breakdown
Tap each syllable rhythmically before read-through
in • con • sis • ten • cy 5 syl
Prefix in- (not) + consistent + -cy
[ ] Mastered
de • nounce 2 syl
Prefix de- + root nounce (declare)
[ ] Mastered
con • dem • na • tion 4 syl
Silent 'n' in condemn is heard here (/m-n/)
[ ] Mastered
Passage B: The Demands of Justice
Adapted from Douglass's Rochester Address (July 5, 1852)
Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? Would to God, both for your sake and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned!
69
I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me.
141
Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this day, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the Constitution and the Bible which are disregarded, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate enslavement!
206
Timed Repeated-Reading Record (1-Minute Intervals) Goal: 95%–100% Accuracy Rate
| Trial | Words Read | Errors | WCPM | Accuracy % | Partner Initials |
|---|
| Trial 1 (Cold) | | | | | |
| Trial 2 (Practice) | | | | | |
| Trial 3 (Final) | | | | | |
Oral Reading Accuracy & Prosody Observation Checklist
Check: 1 = Developing • 2 = Approaching • 3 = Proficient • 4 = Advanced
Word Decoding Multisyllabic accuracy
1 2 3 4
Pacing Even, conversational flow
1 2 3 4
Phrasing Pauses at punctuation
1 2 3 4
Self-Correction Monitors meaning & syntax
1 2 3 4
Prescriptive Next Step:
