Growing Fluency and Independence
Ready, Set, Read!
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 to comprehension.
This lesson will help students become more fluent through repeated readings of
text. Students will be working with partners to help them learn different
decoding strategies from their peers and to get more time to read.
In order to
become faster readers who read with more expression, one must develop fluency in
their reading. Fluent reading is the ability to recognize words automatically,
and being able to read them easily. Fluent reading is important in developing
silent reading skills as well as a child’s overall reading success. The design
of this particular lesson is to offer repetitive readings of texts for students
so that they become more fluent readers, and to help students understand how
significant fluent reading is.
Materials:
Speed Reading
Record for each student
Partner check
sheet for each student
Stop Watches -
one for each pair of students
Silly Dreamers
Speed Reading
Record:
Name:_________________________
Date:___________
Time:
After 1st read
_______
After 2nd read
_______
After 3rd read
_______
Partner Check
Sheet for students to assess their partner’s fluency:
When I
listened to my partner read:
After 2nd After 3rd
1. Remembered more words _______
_______
2. Read faster
_______ _______
3. Read smoother
_______ _______
4. Read with expression _______
_______
Procedures:
1. Explain to
students what being a fluent reader means. Class, it is important that we learn
to read with speed so that we can read things quickly and easily. Reading a
story over and over again will help us all to become more fluent readers. I
will then ask what they think fluency means, and we will discuss its definition
and its importance as a class. Today we are going to read a story several times
so that each of us will become more fluent readers. I think every one should set
a goal to read faster each time we read a book.
2. Remind the students about the using their cover-ups so that the students can
use this strategy while reading. Remember whenever you come across
difficult words while reading, you can use your cover-up to help you figure out
what the word is. I will write the word car on the board, and model how to use
the cover-up by decoding this word so you can see how to use it. As you
come across a word that you may not be able to read, use your cover-up to help
you sound the word out. I will cover up all the letters except the C and
pronounce the sound. Then I am going to uncover the letters one at a time.
CCCCooollloooorrrr. Color. Great job!
3. Demonstrate a fluent and non-fluent reader. Next I am going to model fluent
reading. I am going to write the following sentence on the board: I like
to ride my bike. Listen closely as I read this sentence to you. At first I
am going to read it slowly without fluency. I ... like ... to ... ride…my
...bike. I like ... to ride... my bike. I like to ride... my...bike. In
order to get better at reading this sentence, I’ll need to read it again and
again. Doing this repetitively will help me read faster, and when I read it
faster, I can read with more expression! Now I will show you how to read it
faster with fluency: I like to ride my bike. Does this sound better to you
when I say it faster and is it easier to understand? It is much easier for
everyone to listen when something is read fluently and quickly. It is boring if
a teacher stands up and reads slow and messes up her words. That is why we need
to practice reading fluently and quickly. When we read to each other, we want it
to be easy to listen to so that we can focus on the meaning of the words and
what the sentence is saying.
4. Explain to students that they are going to be doing repeated readings. Now
I will pass out the book Silly Dreamers.
This book is about two boys who clean up an office and they find a very
interesting letter! They think it is about someone going to rob a store! Do you
think someone will rob the store? What do you think the letter said? What will
happen to the boys? Let’s read and find out! Students will read the book on
their own. Afterwards, we will discuss the story as a class and ask questions to
see their comprehension and understanding of the text. They will each have a
chance to read it by themselves before reading it aloud with a partner for timed
readings.
5. Explain to the students that they are going to be doing one minute
reads. Next, I am going to split the students up into groups of 2. I will do
this by having each child pick a color block from a pail. The color will match
one other child in the room, and that person will be the partner. I will explain
to the students about the Speed Reading Record Sheet and Fluency Literacy
Rubric. When you break into pairs, one of you will be the reader and the other
will be the recorder. The reader will read the book for one minute three
different times. The recorder will start and stop the stop watch and will
announce when it is the time to begin and end after the end of one minute. The
recorder will also write down the number of words read in one minute on the
record sheet. After the reader has read three times, you will swap it up and do
the same thing again.
6. Explain the Fluency Literacy Sheets to the students. When students have
finished recording the one minute read aloud, I will have them fill out a
Fluency Literacy Sheet about their partner. They will check the boxes on how the
student performed on the 2nd and 3rd times reading the book for one minute.
Assessment:
The students
will each bring me their Speed Reading Record and their Partner Checklist. Each
student will do one minute reads individually for me so that I can check for
fluency and accuracy. I will also evaluate the reading record and partner
checklist they turned in.
References:
Murray,
Bruce. Developing Reading Fluency
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html
Smith,
Julie. Ready, Set, Read!
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/navig/smithjgf.html
Sims, Matt.
Silly Dreamers. High Noon Books,
Novato, CA. 2004.