High in
the
Sky with Fluency
Growing
Independence and fluency in Reading
Rachel Edmundson
Rationale:
In order for children to be able to use their comprehension strategies,
they
must first become more fluent readers. Without knowing how to
decode
words, comprehension can become very difficult. Fluency must be
mastered,
but only after the student has learned the major correspondences.
Through
repeated readings, children can become more fluent, and will begin to
grasp the
content of the story easier, their site vocabulary and reading speed
with also
greatly increase.
Materials:
Arthur’s Reading Race by Marc Brown (Multiple copies), a
small
di-cut kite for each student to monitor their progress, butcher paper
with a
picture of the ground and sky on it (to move their kites up as the read
faster).
Procedures:
1. I will read a simple sentence such as “ I have to take the dog on a
walk”. I will dramatize how it sounds when someone does not know
how to
read fluently, but making my words choppy and spaced out. I will then
ask the
students if they enjoyed listening to me read like that. (They should
say no).
Can anyone tell me what fluency means? (Wait for answer) Well, it is
when you
can read quickly without trying to sound out every word that you come
to. When
you can do that, you know you can read fluently.
2. "Now, I am
going to
show you how to read more fluently. What does fluent mean
again?
(Wait for answer). Good job! So, I am going to read without
sounding out all the words, and let's see if it is more fun to listen
to." I will read “I have to take the dog on a walk.”
"Well, wasn't that much more fun to listen to? I thought
so.
That is how I want each one of you to try to read each time you pick up
a
book."
3. "Do you see
this paper
behind me? Well, we are going to use it to show how much faster
you are
getting in your reading. Each one of you will have a kite with
your name
on it. We are going to get a partner reader and each group will
get one
copy of the book. I will also pass out stopwatches to you.
In your
group, you will have a timer and a reader. The timer's job is to
time the
reader for one minute. Can anyone tell me how long one minute
is?
When you have timed the reader for one min. tell them to stop, and the
reader
needs to write down how many words they read. Now I am putting
you on our
honesty system, so be fair when you decide how many words they
read. You
need to do this four times, rereading from the beginning each time,
then
exchange jobs and do it all again. When you have both finished,
then you
can bring all your times to me, and I will count them and put your name
where
it needs to go on the path to the sky. Remember, this is not a
race
between you and your partner; it's only to help yourself get better at
reading. If you are racing against your partner, I will know, so
try your
hardest to your very best."
“We are going to
read Arthur’s
Reading Race in our partners! In this book Arthur learns to read,
he likes
it so much he reads in the car, in the bed, to his puppy, and even to
his
sister D.W. Arthur tells D.W. he will teach her how to read, but she
says she
already knows how to read. Arthur doesn't believe her and they set out
to see
if she could actually read. Let's read to find out if D.W. proves
Arthur
wrong. Since we will be practicing how to increase our reading
speed. We
will be reading the book several times, so we can increase fluency
while
4. I will model
how to do the
one-minute reads, with the class timing me. I will read fluently
and then
count the number of words I read.
"I want you
to go
to your seats and I will bring your stopwatch to you." Show the
students how to use the stopwatch to start and stop the timer.
Then let
them begin.
5. I will count
the words and
place the children's names on the butcher paper where their kites need
to go.
Assessment: I will do
one-minute reads with
the children at the teachers desk, and move their names accordingly and
I will
discuss progress with the students individually.
References:
Web Site: Reading
Genie Website
Allison Ward:
"Pathway to Fluency" - http://www.auburn.edu/~murraba/discov/wardgf.html
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