Reading
Faster, Farther, and More Fluently
Growing Independence and Fluency
Rationale:
Students read very slowly when they first begin
to read, but with practice they are able to read much more quickly. Students'
reading speed increases when they have built a vast sight vocabulary and have
become expert decoders. Since the ultimate goal of reading is comprehension
rather than word calling, it is important that students are fluent readers so
that they can dedicate their attention when reading to getting the message.
Students will build fluency with this lesson through repeated readings.
Materials:
·
Chart with
sentences: Joe walked quickly to the store to get some milk for his mom. The
store was out of milk!
·
Copy of
Madeline at the White House by John Bemelmans Marciano (Penguin, 2011) for
each pair of students
·
One stop watch
for each pair of students
·
Pencils for each
student
·
Assessment
rubrics for students (1 for each student)
Rubric for Repeated Readings:
Name:_____________________________________
Partner's name:____________________________________
Time it took to read the story the first time: ____________________________
Time it took to read the story the second time: _________________________
Time it took to read the story the third time: ___________________________
Checklist:
After the second read, my partner (circle one):
Read faster
Yes / No
Read smoother
Yes / No
Read with expression
Yes / No
After the third read, my partner (circle
one):
Read faster
Yes / No
Read smoother
Yes / No
Read with expression
Yes / No
Procedure:
1.
It is important that we all become fluent
readers. To be a fluent reader, you must read smoothly, quickly, and with
expression. Fluent readers also understand the text that they are reading. You
can all be fluent readers, we just have to practice!
2.
To review what it means to be a fluent reader,
I'm going to read you a few sentences.
Put up chart that says, Joe walked quickly to the store to get some milk
for his mom. The store was out of milk! Now I'm going to show you how a
non-fluent reader might read this: Jjoe wwwaked qu-quickly to the s-st-store to
g-g-get sOm milk for his mom. The s-st-stoorrr w/a/s
/o//u/t of milk. Did you enjoy listening to me read that? Do you think I
spent more time trying to say the words or getting the message? You're right. I
spent so much time trying to read the words that I didn't have any time left to
understand the message. Now this is how I would read the text fluently: Joe
walked quickly to the store to get some milk for his mom. The store was out of
milk! That time, I read the text fluently. I did not have to stop to slowly
figure out each word. I recognized each word immediately and read it clearly.
When I read the text like that, I have plenty of brainpower left to figure out
the meaning of the text. This is fluent reading.
3.
Now we are going to do some repeated readings of
texts so that you guys can all practice reading fluently too! I am going to put
you in pairs and let you take turns reading to each other, fluently and with
expression. You may make some mistakes the first time, and that's okay. I
certainly made some mistakes the first time I read that sentence to you just a
moment ago, but what's important is that each time you read it you read it more
and more fluently.
4.
Pass out copies
of Madeline at the White House. Give a book talk:
Madeline and the other girls in her class
visit the White House for a great Easter Egg Hunt. Madeline makes a new friend
named Candle, who is the President's daughter. Candle feels trapped within the
White House and has never seen any of the extraordinary things in Washington,
D.C. Let's see what Madeline does to change that!
5.
Pass out rubric
sheets. Tell students to write their name and their partner's name at the top of
the page. Tell the students to time
each other as they read through the text the first time and to record the time
on the sheet. They are to take turns reading to each other. The second time each
person reads, the partner should record not only how long it takes but also
answer the questions at the bottom of the checklist about their partner's
fluency. The third time each person reads, the partner should record the time
again and answer the questions on the checklist for a second time. I will assess
their words read per minute by using the formula
words x
60.
seconds
References:
Horsefield, Jessica.
Happily Hopping Our Way to Fluency.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/realizations/horsefieldgf.htm
Strickland, Jessica.
Hungry for Reading!
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/adventures/stricklandgf.htm