Fluent Readers
Mariah Hart
Rationale:
When children learn how to read silently it is crucial for them to practice.
Not only is it important for them to practice reading silently, but also
it is also important for the children to comprehend what they are reading.
This lesson will show children different strategies of how to understand
what they are reading. It will also show them how to work together and
discuss in groups what they have read and if they have comprehended it.
By the students creating and asking each other questions the teacher will
be able to note if the students comprehended the text.
Materials:
A work sheet with separate sections for
a "Summarizer", "Favorite Part", "Discussion Leader" and "Master of Words",
chalkboard, chalk, class copies of the book Ramona’s Back by Beverly Clearly.
Dictionary
Procedure:
1. Remind students about sight-reading:
"Children remember how we sight read? We do not make a sound we use our
eyes to look over the words. Can someone tell me why it is important to
be a very good sight reader? Right. So we can read at our own pace and
not disturb other readers..."
2. Lets practice reading... Open your books
to the first chapter in Ramona’s Back. Find the paragraph that reads that
day finally came. It was a warm September day, and Ramona, neat and clean,
with lunch bag in hand, half skipped, half hopped, and scrunching through
dry leaves on the sidewalk. She was early, she knew, but Ramona was the
sort of girl who was always early because something might happen that she
didn't want to miss. The fourth grade was going to be the best year of
her life, so far.
Students I want you to sight read this
paragraph when I say start and stop reading when I clap my hands... put
your finger on the words as you read across. READY SET GO.... observe to
make sure each student is reading. Read the paragraph out loud so all the
students can hear the story and to ensure understanding.
3. Have the children form groups of eight.
Assign each group member a job (2 students per job). The discussion leaders
will lead the class in discussing the questions that they come up with
and also decide which order their group will present. The "summarizer"
will summarize the passage. Remind students what summarizing is... It is
retelling the important parts of the paragraph in your own words. The "Master
of Words" partners will write down words that they think are hard or do
not know and will look them up in the dictionary. The "favorite parts"
partners will ask all the group members what their favorite part was and
write down all the suggestions. Once all the groups are done they will
share their findings with each other.
4. Once all the groups are done sharing
their findings the students are going to finish reading the chapter. The
students will then answer questions about the entire chapter, but the teacher
should focus on the paragraph that was worked with earlier to begin with.
5. The teacher can identify a paragraph
or more for each chapter and have students complete the worksheets for
each section. Have students within the groups change jobs each time the
activity is completed.
Assessment:
By the end of the book the students should
be able to complete each job independently. Have students fill out a worksheet
on their own. This will test their understanding of a particular paragraph.
Add discussion questions to question their comprehension of other parts
of the story.
References:
Cindy Miller, Troy Elementary School, Troy,
AL. 4th grade, 1999.
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/breakthroughs/rwilliamsrl.html
http://www.harperchildrens.com/ramona/
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