Take off with Reading!
Growing Independence and Fluency
Rationale:
A very important goal of reading is comprehension. In order to comprehend during
reading, students must be able to read fluently. They must be able to read with
expression, automatically and accurately. The goal of this lesson is to help
students with their fluency by working on their reading speed. Fluent readers
read faster and their reading is a lot smoother. The reading fluency of students
will increase through this lesson by reading and rereading text. It is also
important to time the student as they read to measure their growth as fluent
readers.
Materials:
Stopwatch (1 per student)
Speed reading charts (1 per student)
Name:
_______________________
Date: _____________________
After 1st
read
_________
After 2nd
read
_________
After 3rd
read
_________
Repeated Reading checklist (1 per student to use with partners)
Name and Partner’s name:
______________________________
As I listened to my
partner read, he/she:
After
2nd time
After 3rd time
Remembered more words
_____
_____
Read faster
_____
_____
Read smoother
_____
_____
Read with expression
_____
_____
Class set of Junie B. Jones Smells
Something Fishy
Procedures:
1. The lesson should begin by explaining to the students what it means to be a
fluent reader and why it is an important part of learning to read.
“We are going to talk about fluency today.
Fluency is the ability to read words quickly, smoothly, and with
expression. Fluent readers can read
automatically, so they rarely have to pause while reading. Whenever a fluent
reader reads, it sounds just like they are having a normal conversation with
someone. Why is it so important for
readers to be fluent? I can tell you a couple of reasons!
When you become a fluent reader, reading becomes more enjoyable and you
are able to concentrate more on the meaning of the text instead of individual
words. So let’s get started!”
2. Pass out Junie B. Jones Smells
Something Fishy to the students.
3. “Have you ever had a book that you liked so much, but it took you a long time
to finish it? Today, we are going to work on our reading speed and becoming
fluent readers. When reading fluently, it is very helpful for you to go back and
re-read parts of the text so that you are able to read it smoothly. This is
called cross-checking. It’s what we do whenever we are faced with unfamiliar
words. Cross-checking is also something that we can use to help with fluency. As
you read text over and over, you learn words and you start to say them
automatically. After you are able to read the words automatically, you are then
able to read with more expression because you don’t have to focus on every
individual word in the text.”
4. Model for students. “While reading, have you ever come across unfamiliar
words? It can be very hard, but I am going to show you how to make all of it
better.” I'll read the first page of the book,
Bo and Rose. “When I am reading books
for the first time, it is sometimes hard for me to finish because I have to read
slow and figure out all of the words that I don’t know.” Read the sentences (not
fluently) and make mistakes. “R-o, Ro ha-s a g-goa-t. Th-e go-goa-t is B-o. B-o
h-as a g g-ray c c-oa-t. Did everyone notice how hard it was for me to read some
of those words? It wasn’t smooth at all and I couldn’t enjoy it because I had to
pause too many times.” Read the sentences for the 2nd time. “Bo h-as
a g-oa-t. Th-e g-oa-t is Bo. Bo h-as a gr-ay c-oa-t. Wow! That time, I was able
to read a little faster because the words that I didn’t know are becoming more
familiar and I did not pause as much. I read it a lot better, but it still
wasn’t completely smooth.” I’ll reread sentences. “Rose has a goat. The goat is
Bo. Bo has a gray coat. It was very smooth that time, but I did not show any
expression while reading.” Reread again with expression. “I figured out
something! The more times I read those sentences, the easier it got and I
learned to read the entire book quickly, smoothly, and with expression. I did
not have to stop, which made the book a lot more enjoyable!
5. “I would now like for every student to take the time to read the first
chapter of Junie B. Jones Smells
Something Fishy. Pet day is coming up at school and Junie B. is excited.
There's just one problem! There aren't any dogs allowed on pet day. That's the
only kind of pet Junie B. has! What will Junie B. do? You'll have to read and
find out if Junie B. finds another pet.
6. “Read until I tell you to stop. If you finish, I would like for you to start
reading it again from the beginning.” Give students 10 minutes to read alone.
After the 10 minutes are up, I’ll place students in pairs.
7. Give students instructions on what to do while in pairs. “I want for you t o
work with a partner this time. One person will read and the other person will
keep the time. I will hand out the stopwatches to you shortly. I want for all of
you to read the book 3 times and write your times on the paper that I hand out.”
Pass out stopwatches and charts.
8. Have students evaluate each other. “I would like for each of you to look at
your partner’s chart to see if they are getting better each time they read.”
9. “Everyone is doing a great job! You will all be fluent readers before you
know it! This takes lots of practice, so I really want everyone to try hard and
stick with it. You can take your
books home and read them to your family so you can practice even more.
The more you read the book over and over, the faster and smoother you
will become at reading it. Continue to practice and we will continue to chart
improvements.”
Assessment:
Take the opportunity to ask comprehension questions and listen to each student
read chapter one to individually assess their improvement. Ask comprehension
questions to see that student is comprehending text. Also assess them to be sure
that there are not other skills they need to improve on first in order to
succeed as a fluent reader.
Sample comprehension questions:
Why didn’t Junie B. want the worm as a pet?
What does Junie B. do when she finds out that there aren't any dogs allowed?
References
Bo and Rose.
(1990) Phonics Readers Short Vowels. Carson, CA (USA): Educational Insights.
Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones Smells
Something Fishy. Random House Books for Young Readers, 1998
Read and Reread by Seth Clark
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/constr/clarkgf.html
Ready, Set, Read! by Amy Lewisead and Reread by Seth Clark)
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/lewisgf.html
The
Reading Genie: Developing Reading Fluency
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html