Rationale: To become fluent readers, children need to learn how to read faster, smoother, and more expressively. Students will be able to work on their reading fluency through repeated and dyad reading. By rereading text, students will learn to read more words per minute. By working with partners, students may learn new decoding skills and will get more practice reading. The more the students read, the more they’re reading skills will improve.
Materials: Copies of The Rainbow Fish (Scholastic) for every pair of children in the class, stopwatch, and fluency rubrics
Fluency Rubric:
Reader _________________
Evaluator__________________
Circle one:
Expressive Reading- Good
Great
Smooth Reading-
Good Great
Fast Reading-
Good Great
Procedures:
1. Introduce the lesson by explaining that reading expressively,
smoothly, and quickly is important to fluent reading. Explain to
the children the meaning of these words so they understand them.
Tell them that reading with expression means to put a lot of feeling in
their voice as they read. Reading smoothly is being able to read
with few pauses or stops. Finally, reading quickly is being able
to read so that you are able to understand the text. Reading fluently
results in reading that is more enjoyable and today we are going to be
working on becoming fluent readers.
2. First, we are going to review some of the vowel sounds we
have learned. Ask: Do you hear the /a/ sound in lap or
bus?
Do you hear the /e/ sound in cat or jet? Do you hear
the /i/ sound in sip or push? Do you hear the /o/ sound
in kit or job? Do you hear the /u/ sound in fun
or peg? Then, write the words on the board with phonemes that
need review. Have the children read the words to see if they recognize
the sounds made in each word. Tell the children that knowing vowel
sounds will help them be able to read better.
3. Now that we have reviewed our vowel sounds, we are going
to
practice reading. First, I will read some passages from The Rainbow
Fish that you all have heard me read before. Tell me what you think
about my reading. Read first passage and model how to read fast and
smoothly. Then, model the way that is not so fun in reading, slow
and choppy. After each passage, allow the children to discuss the
different ways that were read. Explain to them how the first way
is the way fluent readers read and that makes reading fun.
4. Have each child partner up with another child.
In their groups, they should take turn reading from The Rainbow Fish to
each other practicing their fluency. Give the children time to discuss
the story with each other.
5. Explain to the children that they are going to
read the story again, but this time, they are going to be timed on their
reading. Explain to them how fast fluent readers read and how they
should all practice reading at a quicker pace. Tell them that the
goal they should all be trying to reach is 85 words per minute. Show
them how when one person reads, the other will count how many words are
read. I am going to time you for one minute.
6. Allow students more time to practice reading
silently. Also, have more time for repeated readings so that children
can work towards the desired goal for number of words to be read a minute.
7. For assessment, give each child the reading fluency rubric.
Give each child another assigned partner to read the same story.
Tell each child that they will listen to their partner read and rate it
according to the rubric. Make sure you explain the rubric to them.
Tell them they will chart their partner’s reading as great and good in
the categories of expressive, smooth, and faster reading. These results
can be used to assess the children so they can see their own progress.
References: Eldredge, J. Lloyd. Teaching Decoding
in Holistic Classrooms. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1995.
pp. 122-145.
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/insights/simmonsgf.html
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/insights/clantongf.html
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For more information email me at gullimr@auburn.edu.