Sneeking and Peeky:
Reading Fluently!
Growing Independence and Fluency
Rationale:
Reading fluently is a key step in effective reading. The lesson
will aid in students’ ability to read quickly, smoothly, and
accurately. Also, students will practice reading at a much
higher pace. This will be accomplished through repeated readings
and timed readings. All of these activities will aid in student
fluency.
Materials:
v
Sentence strips with “The dog races down the long road”
v
Class set of
Junie B. Jones and some
Sneaky Peeky Spying by Barbara Park
v
Stopwatch
v
Class set of Speedy Reader sheets
v
Laminated copy of a monster with numbers and Velcro at
each number for each pair students
v
Laminated copy of boy with Velcro on back for each pair
of students
Procedure: 1. I
will begin by restating what fluency is to the class and what
the lesson will consist of today. “Today we are going to
practice fluency. Fluency is the ability to read quickly,
smoothly, and accurately using expression. We must practice to
become great readers. Listen to me read this without fluency.
“Th-e d-o-g r-a-c-es d-o-w-n- th-e l-o-n-g r-oa-d.
That was hard to understand.
Listen to me read fluently now. [read sentence] That’s much
better! Let’s all try to read sentences like that.
2. Next, we
will practice reading fluently using timed readings. This means we
will read a passage and the time it takes you to read that
passage will be recorded. The class will split into pairs and be
given books and the Speedy Reading Sheet, and a laminated copy
of the monster and the boy. To pique the students’ interest the
teacher will say, “Junie B. is the bestest spier in the world.
That’s because she has sneaky feet. And her nose doesn’t whistle
when she breathes. But guess what? Junie B. might be real sneaky
and real peeky but when she spies on Mrs., she could get into
real trouble! What happens to Junie B.? Let’s find out!”
3. The teacher
will instruct the class that one person in the pair will be the
reader and the other is the recorder. Once the first person has
read, they switch jobs. The teacher will explain the uses of the
stopwatch. The children will count the number of words read in a
minute and use the Speedy Reading Sheet to record. The recorder
will also move the boy up the monster’s back as the reader
increases the number of words read in a minute. Next, they will
switch roles. Students will fill in the Speed Record Sheet
below.
Speed Record Sheet
Name: ____________________
Date: _____________________
1st time: ___________________
2nd time: __________________
3rd time: ___________________
4. Allow
students to repeat this 3 times to average results. Students
will then fill out the following fluency form for their partner.
Fluency Literacy Rubric
Name: ____________________
Evaluator: __________________ Date: ________________
I noticed that my partner...(check the space)
After 2nd reading...
__ Remembered more words
__Read faster
__Read smoother
__Read with expression
5. After the
class has finished this, the teacher will finish the last
portion of the book to the class and model fluency. We will
discuss it and talk about how listening to it fluently makes
reading more enjoyable. The teacher will ask the students, "How
have you been sneaky before? Compare and contrast what you did
that was sneaky to what Junie B. did."
6. For the
assessment, the teacher will take up all of the students’ sheets
to see how they did. The goal is for students to improve their
reading fluency over time. We will do this activity more than
once so the teacher will be able to compare their results over
more of an extended period.
References:
Parks, Barbara.
Junie B. Jones and some
Sneaky Peeky Spying. Scholastic Inc., 1998.
Prater, Cambre.
Horton Hears a What?A
Fluent Reader.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/pratergf.html