Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.006(c-1) requires that students who do not meet the passing standard on the Grade 6 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading test must be administered a reading assessment at the beginning of grade 7. The Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA) was developed with Texas students to be a valid and reliable instrument for determining students’ areas of instructional need.

The TMSFA is based on valid and reliable scientific research, thoroughly measures each domain of development, and is user-friendly. The following three domains of development are assessed using the TMSFA.   

1. Text Comprehension (Reading)  
2. Word Analysis  
3. Fluency  

LAR utilizes many techniques to help students learn the content. This is done by breaking the concepts down into smaller/targeted concepts, utilizing color coding, charts, mnemonics, graphics, audio clips, easy-to-grasp written and/or auditory explanations that students can internalize with ease; font size for emphasis; practice quizzes for students to self-check for understanding; level quizzes that progress from surface knowledge  --> to connecting several concepts --> to applying the content to practical examples. 

These learning techniques are especially beneficial for students who are English Language Learners (ELL), Limited English Proficient (LEP), English As Second Language (ESL), Special Education (SPED), and/or Sect. 504 students.

Visit the Language Arts Resources site to access student lessons, quizzes, and more! 

You will learn how to make connections between and across texts, including other media (e.g., film, play), and provide textual evidence.

You will learn how to analyze different points of view, including first-person, third-person omniscient, and third-person limited.

You will learn how the setting in a story can influence the development of the plot.

You will learn how to explain a playwright’s use of dialogue and stage directions.

You will be able to distinguish between the denotative (dictionary) meaning of a word and its connotative (emotions or associations that are implied rather than literal) meaning.

Vocabulary knowledge is an essential component of comprehension, language proficiency, and reading growth for all students.These vocabulary activities are designed to enhance the instruction of all teachers of reading and to meet the learning needs of all students, as indicated by data.

Phonics is the relationship between the letters (graphemes) of written language and the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language. These phonics activities are designed to enhance the instruction of all teachers of reading and to meet the learning needs of all students, as indicated by data.

Phonological awareness is the structure of oral language. It involves the awareness that oral language is comprised of sounds and the ability to manipulate these sound parts in various ways (blending, segmenting, deleting, adding, substituting).

Fluency is the ability to read text effortlessly, allowing the reader to concentrate on meaning. Fluency includes reading accurately, quickly, and with prosody (appropriate phrasing, expression, and attention to punctuation).
 

You will learn how to write an expository/procedural text with a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices, transitions, appropriate facts, and details.

You will learn how the setting in a story can influence the development of the plot.

You will learn how to analyze different points of view, including first person, third-person omniscient, and third-person limited.

You will learn how to explain a playwright’s use of dialogue and stage directions.

You will learn the importance of graphical elements (e.g., capital letters, line length, word position) in the meaning of a poem.

You will be able to identify figurative language and understand how it creates imagery, appeals to the senses, and suggests mood.

You will learn how to make connections between and across texts, including other media (e.g., film, play), and provide textual evidence.