Rationale
Comprehension is an important part of learning to read. Beginning
readers can spend so much of their effort trying to decode the words,
that they do not spend much time comprehending what they read.
These readers need to learn fluency, which is the ability to recognize
words accurately and automatically. Fluent readers use less of
their time decoding, leaving more time for comprehension. To
become fluent readers, children need to learn how to read faster,
smoother, and more expressively. This lesson will help students
become more fluent through repeated readings of text. By working
with partners, students may learn new decoding skills and will get more
practice reading. The more students read, the more their reading
skills will improve.
Materials
Stopwatch
Pencil
Sheet with Baseball Diamond-copy for each student
Class set of Lee and the Team
Sentence strips with a few decodable sentences: James ate some toast
for a snack. The cat jumped in the air. The girl ran home
in the
rain.
One baseball field chart per child (See bottom of page) (The
chart will have a baseball field drawn on it. The goal is to hit a
homerun, which
means over the fence. There will be three
different levels: infield, outfield, and a homerun)
Peer Checklist (See bottom of page)
Procedures
1.
Introduce the lesson by reviewing the self-help strategy of
cross-checking. "Sometimes when we read a sentence, we might read a
word wrong. When we do this, sometimes the sentence no longer
makes sense." Give an example of a sentence read the wrong way
such as "I wanted to take a nap in my bead. Does that make sense?
No. It should say 'I wanted to take a nap in my bed.' Sometimes
after we read we have to look at the whole sentence to make sure that
it makes sense. "One thing to remember when you read is to make
sure that the sentence makes sense when you read it aloud." Tell them
that reading fluently results in reading that is more enjoyable and
that today we are going to work on becoming fluent readers.
2. "Today we are
going to work on reading words as fast as we can. Sometimes when
I read a sentence once, I don't understand what I read or I read it
really slowly. Today we are going to practice reading one book a
few times to see if we can get faster. The point of the activity
is not to skip any words or read them incorrectly. We want to
read correctly as fast as we can." Model reading a sentence
slowly decoding every word. Then read the same sentence faster to
show the difference and the goal for the lesson. "The first time
that I read this sentence, it might sound like this 'J-a-me-s a-te
s-o-me t-oa-st for a sn-a-ck.' If I read it again it might sound
smoother, like this 'James ate some toa-st for a sn-ack.' And if
I read it again it might sound faster and I would have expression, like
this 'James ate some toast for a snack.' Do you hear the difference?
That is what we will be doing today."
3. "Now, I want
each of you to get a partner." Put the sentence strips up on the
board. "I want you to practice reading the sentences out loud to
your partner. Start slow to make sure you read all of the words
correctly. Then try to say the sentences faster and
smoother. Take turns and make sure each of you get practice."
4. Give each
student a copy of Lee and the Team. Give a book talk for
it. "Lee is on a baseball team. He cannot get his teammates
to go run anywhere. They would rather sit in the weeds. How will
he get them to the game? Will they win the game? Read the story
to find out what happens."
5. Ask the
students to spread out and read the book. "I want you to read the
book one time. When you are finished, close your book and put it
in front of you so that I will know when everyone is ready to move
on. Sit quietly until everyone is finished."
6. "Now that
we have read the book once, I want each of you to reread it. I am
going to pass out a worksheet with a baseball field on it along with a
stopwatch. The goal of this activity is to see how fast you can read
the book in order to hit a homerun on the chart. Now boys and
girls, you will each take turns reading to your partner. While one
person reads, the other will keep the time on the watch. The
person who is not reading will be filling out your baseball diamond
sheet for you, so the first thing that I want you to do is to write
your name on the pitcher's mound. Then the next time you read, if your
time has improved, you can move the baseball to the infield. The
goal of this activity is to see how fast you can read the pages you
have chosen in order to hit a homerun on the chart. Now boys and
girls, you will each take turns reading to your partner. While one
person reads, the other will keep the time on the watch. Then the
next time you read, if your time has improved, you can move the
baseball to the infield, then to the outfield, and so on. The
ball only moves if you increase your speed. I want you to do this
activity until you hit a homerun."
7. Once this
is done they should then prepare to read the book for the last
time. The peer should use a checklist like the one attached to
this page to help assess their reading. They should take turns reading
to one another. After this is done they should discuss the book.
They will tell the teacher what they liked and what they did not like.
They should write a few things they talked about down and turn it in
along with the checklists.
Assessment
Observe each group of students by walking around to be able to hear
fluency develop with the repeated readings. Make sure that they
are doing everything correctly and listen carefully to them as they
read. Look at the charts to see if they are improving their
times. Have each student read one of the sentence strips that
they practiced with earlier to you so that you can see if they got
faster, smoother, or more expressive through this lesson. Allow
students more time to practice reading silently.
References
Cushman, Sheila and Rona Kornblum. Lee and the Team.
California: Educational Insights,
1990.
Keith, Cassie. "Hit a Homerun with
Reading Speed" http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/begin/keithgf.html
Miller, Allison. "It's Outta
Here: Hit a Homerun with Fluency" http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/begin/milleragf.html
Peer Checklist
Name of reader:
____________________ Your name:
____________________
Check the list if the reader did the
following:
__________
Read smoothly.
___________ Read the words
fast.
___________ Read most of the
words correct.
___________ Read with
expression.
___________ Cross checked
unknown words.
Baseball Field Chart (label
infield, outfield, and homerun)
Click
here to return to Constructions
