Katie Edema
Yee-haw! Saddle Up Your Books and
Let’s Ride!
Katie
Edema
Rationale: To read fluently, a student must read quickly,
smoothly,
and expressively. In addition, word recognition must be automatic
for
students to comprehend what they read. If word recognition is
automatic,
reading becomes an enjoyable and meaningful activity for
students. For
students to gain automatic word recognition, the reading and re-reading
of
connected, decodable text is needed. The more a student comes in
to
contact with a specific text, the more fluent he or she becomes.
In this
lesson, students will learn how to read quickly, smoothly, and
expressively in
order to gain fluency. Students will gain fluency through
repeated
readings and one-minute reads.
Materials: Marker board with sentence "We jumped in the
pool
after school." written on it, individual pieces of paper with the
sentence
"My dad and I play ball on Sunday afternoon." and a corresponding
picture of a dad and child playing ball, chart with a race track
illustration on it for each student (charts should
go up to one-hundred words per minute), small cut-outs of horses for
each
student(represents the Kentucky Derby, Velcro to attach each horse, one
stopwatch for every two children, multiple copies of Bud and the Sub and
Fuzz and the Buzz
(enough of each book for every two children) (both
books should be marked with pencil after every ten words so that the
children
can count the words), pencils
Procedure:
1. Direct the students to look at the marker board. Read the sentence slowly and then
quickly,
pointing out the difference in reading. “It is very important for
readers
to read quickly and smoothly. If we read quickly and smoothly,
two things
happen as we read: our reading sounds nice and we can understand what
we read
better. Also, our reading becomes more fun and enjoyable!
Watch
me. I am going to show you how my reading becomes more and more
fun as I
read more fluently and smoothly. I am going to read a sentence
one time
just like a beginning reader would, and then I am going to read it
again like a
really good reader would read it. Listen to how different the two
sentences sound. W-e j-u-m-p-ed i-n th-e p-oo-l a-f-t-e-r
s-ch-oo-l. That didn't sound normal, did it? That's because
I
wasn't reading quickly and smoothly. Listen again. We
jumped in the
pool after school. The sentence sounded better that time, didn't
it? What did I do the second time that helped the sentence sound
right
and make more sense?” (Answer: I read more quickly and smoothly.)
2. Pair the students into groups of two. Be sure to pair them off
homogenously so that they can share a graph and be able to use the same
book. Pass out paper with "My dad and I play ball on Sunday
afternoon." “Now I am going to pair you into groups of
two. I am going to give the members of each group a sentence to
work
with. I want each of you to read the sentence out loud to your
partner. Be sure to pay attention to the way it sounds the first
time
that each of you reads it. After you have read it out loud, I
want you to
read the sentence silently to yourself five times. Reading the
sentence
over and over will he make more sense and sound better. It will
also help
you read faster. Then, read the sentence out loud to your partner
again.”
(Allow them to complete the activity.) “Do you notice a
difference from
the first time that you read it aloud? What makes it sound
better?
(Answer: It is quicker and smoother.) Did it sound better when
you read
it the first time or the second time? (Answer: The second
time.)
Way to go!”
3. Pass out the stop watches, cardboard race tracks, horse cut outs,
and
various books. Instruct the students to conduct one minute reads,
record the
number of words they read, and move their cars accordingly. Each
student will
do four one minute reads. “Now we are going to practice
reading with
a real book. Each group will have a book to read. While one
friend
of the group reads the book, the other will be the timer. The
reader will
be timed for one minute. If you are the reader, I want you to
read as
many words as you can. If you come to a word that you do not
know, use
the cover-up method to try to figure it out. If that does not work, ask
your
partner for help. I will walk around the room to help anyone who
needs
it. The reader will read for one minute four times. After each one
minute read,
the reader will record the number of words that they read and move
their horse
to that number on the race track. Then they will draw a medal above
their
horse. The medals will allow you to tell how much faster you read each
time. I
bet that your horse will get farther and farther up the track with each
reading
that you do! Then you will switch so that the timer gets a chance to
race to
read!”
Assessment: Once everyone has finished reading four times I will
ask the
students to be sure that their names, the date, and the title of the
book they
read are on their race track charts. Then, the students will turn
them
in. I will assess the children by looking at their progress
charts.
The chart will show each student's beginning and ending point and will
be
turned in for me to evaluate. The class could discuss the two
books to
make sure that each student comprehends the material.
Sources:
Adams, Jennifer. Off to the Races.
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/innov/adamsgf.html
Eldredge, J.
Lloyd. Teaching
Decoding in Holisitc Classrooms.
Bud and the Sub.
Phonics Readers Short Vowels. Educational
Insights.
Fuzz and the Buzz..
Phonics Readers Short Vowels. Educational
Insights.
Retrun to: Constructions