Rationale: In order for
children to really enjoy reading, and to better
understand what they are reading, they have to read fluently.
Learning to
blend is important in fluency. Repeated readings are an excellent way
for
children to become fluent in their reading.
Students will be able to blend words after much practice and use
repeated readings to increase fluency.
Materials:
1. The Book
Pat’s Jam (Published by Educational
insights) (one for every two students)
2. A
stopwatch for every group of students.
3. A sheet
of paper
(one for each student) with a banana tree (with bananas) on
it.
The sheet should also have a list of numbers going up along the tree
starting
with the largest number on the bottom.
4. One cut
out picture of a monkey for each student.
5.
A chalkboard to write
practice words for blending.
Procedures:
1.
Explain to the
students what you are going to work on.
Explain that you are going to talk about being a fluent reader. Today
we are going to learn how to become a fluent readers. To become a
fluent reader
we must learn how to decode and blend words. When we learn to
blend and
decode we will be able to read words that we come across that we are
unfamiliar
with. We will use these strategies and practice reading texts over and
over. This will help us become fluent
readers.
2.
Explain to the
students what decoding is. Explain the
strategy involved with decoding a word. When we decode a word
we
always start with the vowel sound, then go back to the first letter and
work
through the word one sound at a time. For example, if I used the
word ‘bad’,
I would start with looking at the vowel a = /a/, then go back to the
/b/
sound. /b/ /a/ /t/. Have the class try this strategy
on some
other words: hat, ram, lip. Now
let’s try a sentence. My lip is red.
3.
When we sound out
the letters of
a word together like b – a – d, it is called blending. Have
the children tell you which way to say ‘bad’ is easier to understand:
b –a – d, or bad. They should say the more flowing way. It
is
easier and more fun to read if we could read smooth and not
choppy. This
means we would read more fluently.
4.
Now it is time to
practice
reading fluently by using our decoding skills.
Have to students get into
pairs and give each pair a stopwatch, a copy of Pat’s Jam, and
two
sheets of paper with the banana tree on it (one for each
student). Have
the students read the book to each other one at a time. On the
second
read, have their partner time to see how long it takes them to read the
story. If they read it in a fast time the monkey should be able
to make
it to the top of the tree to get the bananas. Remind them to use
the
strategies that you worked on earlier
Assessment:
Have the students
read the book Pat’s
Jam to show you that they are reading fluently. If this book is
too
simple, teacher should have more advanced books for students to read. Record the time it took for them to read for
future reference or conduct a one-minute read.
Through this assessment teacher will be able to see which
students need
further practice with blending and fluent reading.
Catherine Moore: The Fast and The
Fluent.
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/insp/mooregf.html
Jeremy Knowles:
Ready, Set, Read
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/inroads/wellsgf.html
Pat’s Jam.
1990.
Educational Insights. Carson, CA.
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