Speedy Pen Pals!
Katherine
Allsopp
Growing Independence and
Fluency
Rationale: To
become fluent readers, children need to learn how to read faster,
smoother, and
more expressively. Fluency refers to a student's ability to read
words
accurately and automatically. This lesson will help students to
read more
fluently. Students will be able to read
faster, smoother, and more expressively through repeated readings,
timed
readings, and one-minute reads. The more the students practice
with text,
the more fluent they will become.
Materials:
Copy of Pen Pals for each student
Teacher copy of Pen Pals
Timer for each student
Pencil for each student
Dry Erase board and marker
Sticky notes
Speedy Reader progress chart for each student:
Speedy Reader Progress Chart
(one minute timed readings)
First Read:_____(words)
Second Read: _____
Third Read:_____
Procedures:
1. Explain to the
students what they are expected to accomplish in the lesson. “Today we are going to become more fluent
readers. To be a good reader, you have
to be a fluent reader. That means you
can read fast without stopping and trying to sound out each word. You can automatically look at a word and
know what it is. Once you can read
fluently, what you are reading makes more sense. The
way we are going to work on being fluent readers is to read
books more than once. Each time you
read, you will get faster, because you will be familiar with the book.”
2. Model how to be a
fluent reader to the students. Write
the following sentence on the dry erase board for the students to see: Ben can not get out of the pen to pet
Ted. Struggle to read the sentence to
model what fluency isn’t. “BBBeeenn
cccaaannn nnnooottt gggeeettt out of the pppeeennn to pppeeettt
TTTeeeddd. Now I am going to read the
sentence with
fluency. (Read sentence correctly, but slow.)
Ben can not get out of the pen to pet Ted. Can
you tell the difference in the way I read the sentence?
Now I will read the sentence a third time,
and by this time I will be able to read it faster.
(Read sentence correctly and fast.) Ben
can not get out of the pen to pet Ted. By
practicing, I was able to read the
sentence fluently on the third time.”
3. Explain the
activity to the students, and mention cross-checking when they come to
a word they
do not know. “We are going to use the
book Pen Pals to help us become more fluent readers. Ben is a baby and he is in his pen. Ben and Ted, hit cat, are friends. Ben wants to pet Ted but his pen is in the
way! They yell for Dad but can Dad mend
the pen? You’ll have to read to find out!
Don’t forget to cross check at the end of a sentence if you do
not know
a word. If the sentence you have read
does not make sense, re-read the it and see if you can correct any
mistakes.
That will help you to become more fluent.
If you come to a word you do not know, use a cover up to help
you sound
out the word by yourself. First, cover
up every letter but the vowel, then blend the beginning of the word
with the
vowel, and finally blend the end. Then go back and read the sentence to
make
sure it makes sense.” Model how to read
Pen Pals with fluency by reading the book aloud to students.
4. Give students
time to practice fluency on their own.
“Now that you know how to be a fluent reader, you can practice
with your
partner.” Divide students into pairs,
and give each student a copy of the book, timer, and sticky notes. “We are going to take turns being the reader
and the timer. One of you will read the
book while the other one times you.
When you are finished, switch jobs.
When you are reading, see how many words you can read in one
minute. The timer will let you know
when to stop. When it does, place a
sticky note at the last word you read.
Don’t skip words, cover-up and cross check.
When you finish, count the number of words you read in one
minute
and write it on your Speedy Reader chart.
You all need to read three times and time your partner three
times.”
5. Walk around
classroom to make sure students are on-task and to assist with any
problems.
6. Assess students
to make sure they have made some improvement in fluency.
Call students to a table and make sure they
have made some improvement on their Speedy Reader charts.
Listen to the student read the book one last
time and check for smooth, fluent reading to compare to the student’s
work with
their partner. Check for comprehension
at this time to make sure they the book also makes sense to them. Ask questions like:
- What was Ben in that he could not get
out of?
- Who is Ted?
- Why were Ben and Ted yelling?
- Who fixes the pen?
References:
Cushman, S (1990). Pen
pals. Carson, CA: Educational Insights.
Brown,
Mary Cox.
Speeding into Fluency. http://www.auburn.edu/%7Emurraba/constr/browngf.html
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