Racing into Fluent Reading
Growing Independence and Fluency
Rationale: Reading fluency is being able to read with automatic
word recognition, which results in the ability to read text at a
quick, smooth rate, and with expression. To become fluent
readers, children must be able to decode words in a connected
text. Students can work on becoming fluent readers
by performing repeated readings of text. The goal of this
lesson is to improve students' fluency through repeated readings
and timed readings.
Materials: Copy of Missing
Chime for each student, pencil for each student, cover up
critter for each student
Racecar Reading Progress Chart for each student with a track
counting by five's around the racetrack. A racecar like the one
pictured above will Velcro to the track and students will move
it as their fluency improves.
Sentences written on chart paper:
The dog chased the cat under the tree.
I like to skip with my mom.
Mary runs to the park to play with Susie.
Kate is at school with her friends.
Speedy Reader Progress Chart for each student:
Name:________________ Date:__________
1st time:____
2nd time:____
3rd time:____
Procedure:
1.
Say: Sometimes we have to practice things to become better at
them. Can anybody tell me a skill they practice to become better
at? (Ex. Dance, sports, math). Those are all things that we must
practice to become better at. We also need to practice our
reading to become more fluent readers. A fluent reader is a
reader who can read quickly and accurately. Once you become a
fluent reader, the text you read will make more sense to you
because you will not have to keep stopping while you read. Today
we are going to practice reading and try to become more fluent
readers.
2.
Now, I will model cross checking. Say: I'm going to read a
sentence to you (The girl ran up the hill.). Let me show you how
to cross check. The girl ren up the hill. Hmm... ren up the
hill? That does not make sense to me. I better reread the
sentence. The girl ran up the hill. Ohhh ran. That makes more
sense.That sentence was a lot easier to understand. This is a
strategy that we can use as fluent readers.
3.
Now, have students practice reading example sentences that are
written on chart paper. After the students read a few of the
sentences move onto the reading of the book.
Sentences:
The dog chased the cat under the tree.
I like to skip with my mom.
Mary runs to the park to play with Susie.
Kate is at school with her friends.
4.
Say: Now, you are going to read the book
Missing Chime to work on fluency. Remember that fluent
readers use crosschecking to identify unfamiliar words and
understand sentences. If you are stuck on a word, use your
cover-up critter to separate the parts of the word. First, cover
up every letter except the vowel, then blend the beginning of
the word with the vowel, and finally blend the end. Then, reread
the entire sentence to make sure you understand. If you are
stuck on a word or confused, raise your hand and I will come
help you.
5.
Book talk. Say: This story is about a little boy who stumbles
across an old wind chime in a store in his town. The chime
fascinated the boy. But one day one of the chimes went missing.
The store owner is left to figure out where it went! We'll have
to read to find out where the chime disappeared to!
6.
After the book talk, have students sit with their reading
partners and give each pair a stopwatch. Explain that they are
going to be reading the books to one another. The person who is
not reading will time their partner using the stopwatch. They
will be timing the amount of time that it takes for their
partner to read the text. They will count the total number of
words that they read and write that number on their sheet. The
students will then move their racecar along the track to the
number they read. They will read the same passage three times.
As they are reading, their partner should be looking to see if
they are improving in accuracy, reading with expression, speed
and fluency. I will be walking around to assist any groups that
need help.
7.
For an assessment, the students will each bring me their Speed
Reading Record and partner checklist. I will perform a fluency
check with each child to check for fluency and accuracy.
Formula=(words x 60)/seconds.
References:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/doorways/hamanngf.htm
Murray, B.A., & Lesniak, T. (1999). The Letterbox Lesson: A
Hands-on Approach for Teaching Decoding. The Reading Teacher,
52, p. 644-650
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