Reading like a Rocket- Blast Off!
Developing Fluency
Rationale:
In order for students to become fluent and accurate readers, they must
understand what this means, while having ample opportunities to practice this
type of reading. The more students read and reread books, the easier it will be
for them to become fluent and accurate readers. Being fluent readers means being
able to read text quickly and accurately, while still comprehending what was
read. Students must also learn to crosscheck and decode unfamiliar words while
reading. But students will not be able to comprehend and be interested in what
they are reading until they can recognize and read the words in a text
automatically and accurately. So this lesson allows students to read
individually silently, pair up with a partner and read to me aloud all to
practice fluent reading.
Materials:
Speed Reading Record sheet for each student
Partner check sheet for each student
one stopwatch for each pair of students
pencils for each student
one Bass Lake book for each student
whiteboard
marker
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, he or she read:
After 2nd After 3rd
Remembered more words
______ _______
Read faster
______
_______
Read smoother
______
_______
Read with expression
______
_______
Procedures:
Step 1: Explain to the class what we will be doing today: "Today we are going to
continue working on fluency. Remember that being fluent readers is very
important to helping understand what the story you are reading is about. We want
to read fluently because this means we will be able to read quickly while
reading the words correctly, while understanding what we are reading. Being a
fluent reader and understanding what you're reading makes it more fun and
enjoyable so I hope everyone tries very hard to read fluently! Hopefully with
the more practice you all have, the quicker you will be able to read while
reading words correctly. We are going to practice reading fluently today, so I
want everyone to take advantage of this practice and try very hard to improve
throughout the day. Show me what I already know: you can all be great readers!"
Step 2: Next I will pass out a cover up critter to every student and demonstrate
to students how to use them when they come across a tricky word that cannot
read. "Remember to use your cover up critter I am passing out to help to figure
out hard words when you come across them while you are reading. I will write the
word sledge on the board to do an
example for you, because this can be a tricky word. As you come across this word
you may not know, use your cover up critter to help you sound the word out." I
will cover up all the letters except the e and pronounce the short
e=/e/. Then I will uncover the
letters one at a time leading up to the e vowel,
s=/s/,
l=/l/, and
dge=/j/.Notice that these three letters together make the /j/ sound. Then I
will start at the beginning and tell them, s-s-l-l now add the /e/ sound,
s-l-e-e, put the /j/ sound on the end. s-l-e-dge! Good!
Step 3: Model how to read a sentence fluently to students. "Now I am going to
show you how I read fluently. I am going to write the sentence on the board "I
like to play with my dog at home." Everyone listen very closely as I read this
sentence. For the first time I am going to read it slowly without fluency. I…
like… to… play…with…. my… dog… at… home. I like… to play…with my dog… at home. I
like to play… with…. my dog at home. To get better at reading this sentence,
I'll need to read it again and again. Doing this repetitively will help me read
quicker, so that I can have more expression when reading it. I will now show you
how to read faster with fluency. I like to play with my dog at home. This sounds
better to you because I am talking quicker so it is easier to understand, isn't
it? It is hard to understand a teacher up here teaching using slow language and
not even saying her words correctly. So this is why we need to practice our
fluent and fast reading, so that we can read just the way I did while still
comprehending what we are reading. When we partner up and read to each other, we
want it to be easy to listen to so that we can understand what is being read."
Step 4: Pass out the book Bass Lake
and begin with a book talk to catch the interest of the text with your students.
"Now we are going to read a book together called
Bass Lake. Has anyone ever been to
the lake? This is a book about two people named Gail and Sue who go on a hike to
the lake to go fishing. When they make it to the lake they set up their poles to
go fishing and then cook their fish to eat, but that night when they are
sleeping, they awake to a strange light coming from the woods. What do you think
this could be? I wonder what the strange light is and what Gail and Sue do to
find out." Now students are going to read the book on their own all at once.
Afterwards, we will discuss the story as a class and ask questions to check
their reading comprehension. They will each have a chance to read it by
themselves before reading it aloud with a partner for timed readings.
Step 5: Now we are going to split up in partner pairs to practice reading
fluently. While one of you reads, the other will pretend to be the teacher and
record. This Speed Reading Record sheet is what the recorder will use to write
down the number of words the reader read in one minute. The reader will read the
book three different times, and the recorder will record the number of words
each time. Then students will switch places. The recorder will be responsible
for starting the time and telling the reader when to stop. We will find the
total time it took to read a chapter.
Step 6: These are the Fluency Literacy Sheets: Partner check sheets I will pass
out to each of you that you will use to evaluate how your partner did while
reading. You will make a check if your partner did each of these four things
after his or her second and then third reading.
Assessment:
Students will bring me their Speed Reading Record and their partner checklist.
Each student will read for me so I can assess how they are doing when it comes
to being fluent and accurate readers. Then later I will evaluate the two sheets
they turned in from their partner work.
References:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/sightings/hoodgf.html
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/invitations/longgf.htm