"Off We Go!"
Becky Roberts
Rationale:
Fluent reading
is reading
where words are recognized easily and automatically. Readers must
develop
fluent reading in order to become faster, smoother, and more expressive
readers. After a child is able to read fluently they can begin to
develop
their silent reading skills which can only develop after the child has
developed fluency in their reading. Fluent reading is extremely
important
in a child's overall reading development and success. This lesson
is
designed to give students repeated readings of texts in order to become
more
fluent readers. By rereading the book many times, looking at how
long and what mistakes are being made, they will then be able to see
what is slowing them down. In addition, it will help the students
to understand the
importance of automatic, fluent reading.
Materials:
speed reading
record for
each student; partnercheck sheet for each student; stop watches for
each pair
of students; pencils for students; whiteboard; marker; coverup buddies
(a big popsicle stick) for each
student; copies of the book for each student or pair of students: Kite
Day
at Pine Lake by Sheila Cushman & Rona Kornblum.
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:
As I
listened to my partner read, he/she:
After
1. Remembered more
words _______
_______
2. Read
faster
_______ _______
3. Read
smoother _______
_______
4. Read with
expression _______
_______
Procedure:
1. Begin
lesson by
explaining to children that in order to become fluent readers they must
learn
to read with fluency and accuracy. In addition, they must
remember what
they have read in order to interpret the meaning of the text. Boys
and
girls, today we are going to practice reading with speed and
accuracy. By learning to read with speed and accuracy we
are going
to learn to become fluent readers. It is important that we learn
to read
fluently so that we can read things quickly and easily without much
effort so
that we can focus on the meaning of the words we are reading.
Reading a
story many times helps us to become fluent readers. Today we are
going to
read a story many times so that we can become more fluent
readers. Each
time you read I want you to try to read faster.
2. Explain to
the students
the coverup strategy that they can use while reading. While
reading,
you may come across some troublesome words. A way to help you
figure out
the word, you can use your coverup buddy. Write the word thump
on the board. Using my coverup buddy I am going to model how to
decode a
word. When you come across a tough word use the coverup buddy
to cover
up parts of the word so you can sound it out. Cover up all
the
letters except the u and sound out the sound of the short
u=/u/.
Then I am going to look at the letters leading up to the vowel,
th=/th/.
Finally I will focus on the m=/m/ and the p=/p/. So I am
going to look
at just the vowel, and I know that the short u makes and /u/ sound,
remember
like the tugboat. Next, I am going to look at the letters leading
up to
the vowel, so th=/th/ so I have /th//u/ and finally I look at the end
of the
word, so /m/ and /p/, so /th//u//m//p/. So now when you come
across a
tough word, remember your cover up buddy.
3.
Now I am going to model
fluent
reading. I am going to write the following sentence on the board:
The
children love flying kites. Now I want each of you to
listen as I
read this sentence. The first time I am going to read it slowly
without
fluency. The---children---love---flying---kites. Now I
am
going to read it fluently and faster: The children love flying
kites.
Which one sounds better? Which one is easier to understand? It is much
easier
to listen to reading that is fluent and fast than reading that is slow
and is
not fluent. That is why we need to practice reading fluently and
quickly
so that when we read to each other it is easy to listen to and we can
focus on
the meaning of the words instead.
4.
Now I am going to give each
student a
copy of the book Kite Day at Pine Lake . They will
each get
to read it by themselves before coming together with a partner for
timed
readings. This story is about a group of children who love to
fly
their kites at the lake. A young boy named Bob does not have his own
kite and
he is sad because he cannot fly kites with the other kids at the
lake.
All of their kites are wonderful shapes, colors, and sizes. Bob
just
wants a kite too. Will Bob end up getting a kite? Well, read to
find
out. After the students finish reading we will discuss the
events of
the story.
5. Next, the
students will
break up into partners and I will give each group a stopwatch and each
child a
Partner Check Sheet and Speed Reading Record. Each child will
read the
book three times. The listener will time each reading and give a
report
after the second and third readings. They will record the times
of each
reading on the Speed Reading Record. The reports are always
complementary
and do not put down a child. No criticism or advice is
allowed. The
child simply marks on the evaluation sheet. With your partner
you will
read the book three times. Time each reading and record the time
on your
Speed Reading Record. After the second and third readings, you will
mark the
evaluation sheet. You may look at the times to determine if your
partner
is reading faster each time. Explain the rules regarding
criticism,
etc.
Assessment:
The students
will each
bring me their Speed Reading Record and partner checklist. I will
perform one
minute reads with each child to check for fluency and accuracy. I
will
also evaluate their reading record and partner checklist.
References:
Murray, Bruce. Developing
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html
Tate,
Natalie. "Kites are Slow,
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/persp/tategf.html
Marsden, Brigette.
"Hurry, Off We
Go!" http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/navig/marsdengf.html