Satisfying Silent Reading
Growing Independence and Fluency
Rationale:
In order to become a completely fluent reader, one who
recognizes words automatically, children need to learn to read
silently.
Reading silently allows children to read much faster,
nearly twice as fast, as they would if they were reading aloud.
This lesson will teach students to read silently by
transitioning them from reading with a voice, with a whisper,
with their lips only, and, finally to reading to themselves. Students’ ability to
read silently, and, therefore, fluently, will be assessed
through an observational checklist and through comprehension
questions about an instructional level, whole text.
Materials:
Observational checklist (one per student),
Iggy Pig’s Silly Day!
(one copy per student)
Procedure:
-Review previous learning
Say: Today we are
going to learn to read silently.
As we learn to read silently, I want you to remember to
crosscheck as you read.
When we crosscheck, we are seeing if our word choice for
a particular word we had trouble decoding makes sense.
We read to the end of the sentence to make sure the word
fits and makes sense and then we reread the sentence to get back
into the story.
Crosschecking will help you a great deal once we start
reading new, unfamiliar books!
-Explain strategy in kid language
Say: Reading
silently is just like reading aloud except only you can hear
what you are reading; you say all of the words in your head. We will first learn
to whisper read, then just mouth the words, and then read with
our mouth closed while continuing to read in our head, thinking
each of the words instead of saying them.
-Explain why students need the strategy
Say: When we read
silently we can read so much faster than we could if we read
aloud, which means we get to read even more books! Reading silently also
gives everyone in the class the chance to read a different book
at the same time without being distracted by hearing everyone.
-Model
Say: I am going to
show you how to read silently using this first sentence from
Iggy Pig’s Silly Day!
A nonfluent reader would read aloud like this - “Iggy Pig was
skipping” (exaggerate reading aloud so the whole class can
hear).
Now, I don’t want to disturb everyone in my class and
read aloud all the time. Because
we are becoming fluent readers we will first whisper read like
this - “Iggy Pig was skipping” (read in a whisper, exaggerate
each word as whispering to class).
Oh, that sounds much quieter.
I wouldn’t disturb my neighbor as much if I read in a
whisper like that.
I want to be even more fluent though, so I am going to
read the sentence in my head as I mouth the words to myself.
“Iggy Pig was skipping” (exaggerate mouth movements for
each word as “reading” to the class). Wow!
I was mouthing the words and reading in my head, but no
sound was coming out. Alright,
I’m ready to be a fully fluent reader so I am going to read the
whole sentence to myself (read sentence to yourself without
making any mouth movements or vocal gestures).
I just read in my head silently!
I still understood what I was reading and what was
happening, but everyone did not have to hear me read.
I really can read a lot faster when I don’t have to read
it aloud to everyone!
-Activities
Say: Now it’s your
turn to be fluent readers!
Everyone read the second sentence aloud like nonfluent
readers first (have students read aloud as a class). You are all very good
at reading aloud, but that is so noisy!
It makes it hard to concentrate!
Alright, we are starting our journey to be fluent.
Whisper read “‘Watch me skip, Mother Pig!
Watch me skip!’” (monitor students as they whisper read).
Great! That
was much more enjoyable and I could focus better.
Let’s keep going. Everyone
try to read again, but this time only mouth the words as you
begin to read in your head (monitor students, making sure they
are only mouthing the words as they read to themselves). We’re almost there!
Here’s our last step to becoming fluent readers -
everyone read the sentence in your head only, thinking the words
to yourself instead of saying them aloud (monitor students as
they read silently, without any sound or mouth movements). You guys did great!
Do you still remember what you read?
What does Iggy Pig want his mom to do?
We are well on our way to becoming silent readers!
Say: Now that we
know how to be silent readers, each of you is going to silently
read
Iggy Pig’s Silly Day!
You can begin whisper reading or reading while moving
your mouth, but after a few pages I want you to transition to
reading silently in your head.
Our story is about Iggy Pig who is a happy little pig who
just wants to skip all day long.
His farm friends follow Iggy Pig around the hills,
skipping behind him.
But, a big gray animal is skipping behind Iggy Pig and he
wants to eat Iggy Pig! Will
Iggy Pig be able to get away from the scary gray animal?
We’ll have to read to find out!
-Assessment
Say: As you are
all reading
Iggy Pig’s Silly Day!, I am going to call you back
individually to read silently like a fluent reader.
You will have the opportunity to transition into reading
silently with me, by first reading with your voice, then
whispering, then with your lips only, and finally, silently in
your head (use observational checklist for each level of
reading). I will
also ask you some questions about what you have read so far
because fluent readers are able to comprehend what they are
reading! (comprehension questions can include:
who were some of the animals that wanted to skip with
Iggy Pig?
Who was worried for Iggy Pig?
Would you have gone to help Iggy Pig like Dusty Dog?
What do you like to do if you were on a farm?
Would you skip like Iggy Pig?)
References:
French, Vivian, and David Melling.
Iggy Pig's Silly Day! New York: Scholastic, 2002.
Print.
Elliot, Rachael. SHH
- Someone is Listening.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/elliottgf.html.