I’m Nuts About
1. RATIONALE:
For beginning readers, fluency does not come easily.
Instead, children initially sound choppy,
having to read with much effort. As a
result, beginning readers may often not be able to recall what they
have just
read, the text being so disconnected.
But, fluency is one of the paths that leads readers to become
accurate
and automatic towards comprehension. By
helping children make their reading sound like speech, they can more
easily
connect the text, and be on the road to becoming skilled readers.
2. MATERIALS:
-1 copy of Bo and the Rose
(Educational
Insights) per student
-a one-minute read chart to graph the
students
progress (I will be using a squirrel getting closer to a bunch of nuts)
-check sheet for fluency and expression for
each
student (for their reading partner activity) (attached at the end of
lesson)
Explain why,
review, explain how: Explain to the students that
good readers read fluently, which is another word that means smoothly. To become a good reader, we really have to
practice reading and try to read with expression. Also,
we want our words to flow nicely so
that they sound like a sentence as if someone was talking.
We have been using good methods to help us
with our reading, such as cover-ups
(helping us figure out a word) and cross
checks
(rereading the sentence to make sure it makes sense), but the best
readers do
not need to do that. Instead,
they can read fluently, or
smoothly, making the words sound like a smooth sentence.
Also, fluency, or smooth reading, makes
people faster readers!
Model: I want to give you an example of what I am
talking
about. ( I open my copy of Bo and the
Rose). I am going to read this
sentence in two different ways, I want you to tell me which sentence
sounds
better. Wait until I have read both
sentences, then raise your hand if you want to share your opinion. Okay, let me open up my book… (read the first
sentence slowly and blend aloud)-“H-e
b-i-t-e-s the r-o-p-e.” (Say the
next one fluently)- “He bites the rope.”
Now call on a student who is raising their hand.
Good.
The second sentence did sound better.
And why is that? Right, because
it was said smoothly. It sounded like I
was talking and not reading, didn’t it!?
That is what I want for each of you to accomplish, and we are
going to
start today! Are we on the road to
becoming fluent readers? Yes!
Simple
Practice: First practice reading a
sentence on the board: “Rose has a goat named Bo.” (Read together aloud
3
times. ) then say, “ Notice how by the
thirs time, the class sounds more fluent, or says the sentence
smoother?!”
Explain to the children that today we will be reading a book called Bo
and
the Rose. Give a quick book talk-
“I’ll bet that some of you have a dog or another animal at home that
you love
very much. Well, Rose, the little girl
in this story, does and her pet is a goat names Bo.
Bo loves Rose, but does NOT like being tied
up. So, he chews his way out of the
rope, but something awful could happen (like if your dog got out). I wonder if Bo will be okay or if rose will
have to get a new goat? Let’s read to
find out!”
Whole
Text: Distribute a copy of the text to each
student. Say, “I want each of you to do
silent reading for a few minutes until I say stop.
If oyu finish the book, just reread it. I
don’t want to see any eyes away from your
book! Okay, get ready, set, and go!”
Discuss the story when all have read it.
Then, divide the class into partners and have them fill out
their
fluency chart for their partner, listening to one another read. Have them raise sit quietly when they are
finished to let you know they are done.
Assessment: I will assess my students by doing a
one-minute read
with each of them. Individually they
will read a passage for one minute, and I will record each students
time and
chart it on a graph for the student to see (the squirrel getting closer
to the
bunch of nuts). We will reread two more
times, and each time I will encourage them to get the squirrel closer
to the
nuts. While I am individually assessing
the students, the other student will be reading a familiar book (the
one they
read in class the day before). If they
finish that, then they may choose a book from our class library for
their pleasure
reading. But, absolutely no talking!
(words times
60/ seconds)
Bo
and the Rose.
Educational Insights: Carson, CA. 1990.
Adams,
Marilyn Jager. Beginning to Read:
Thinking and Learning about Print.
Center for the study of
reading. 1990.
Short,
Becky. Gaining Fluency:
Speedy
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