Quickly, Let's Go Fly a Kite
Andrea
Shelton
Developing
Fluency
Rationale:
Fluent reading is when
one recognizes word easily and automatically as they read them.
If readers want to be able to read quickly, smoothly and with
expression they must become fluent readers. When a student has
mastered fluency in reading they can begin to develop their silent
reading ability. This lesson is designed to give
students continual readings of a book in order to become a more
skillful fluent reader. It will also give the students the
knowledge of how important automatic reading is.
Materials: speed reading record
for each student, partner check sheet for each student, stop watches
for the couple of students, pencils for students, whiteboard, marker,
cover up sticks for each student, give copies of the book to every
student: Kite Day at Pine Lake by
Sheila Cushman & Rona Kornblum. c1990.
Speed Reading Record:
Name:_________________________
Date:___________
Time:
- After 1st read
_______
- After 2nd
read _______
- After 3rd
read
_______
This is the partner check sheet for students
to evaluate their partner's fluency:
When I take note of my partners read, he/she
can:
After 2nd
After 3rd
1. Remembered more
words _______
_______
2. Read
faster
_______ _______
3. Read
smoother _______
_______
4. Read with
expression _______
_______
Procedure:
1. Begin lesson by explaining to the
students that in order to become fluent readers they must learn to read
with fluency and accuracy. Also, they must retain the information
of what they have read in order to comprehend the meaning of the
text. Teachers says: Boys and girls, today we are going to
practice reading a little faster and with accuracy. When
one learns to read with speed and accuracy we will have achieved
fluency. It is essential 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. To become a
fluent reader one must read the same book several times which helps us
to become fluent readers. Today we are going to read a story many
times so that we can become more skillful fluent readers. Every
time you read the book I want you to try to read it faster each time.
2. Explain to the students how to use the cover up approach that
can help them decode harder words while reading. While
reading, you may come across some difficult words. One way to
help you read a word that is to hard is by using your cover up stick.
Write the word champ on
the board. By using my helpful cover up stick I am going to
demonstrate how to decode a word that is harder to read. When
you come across a word that is too hard to read use the cover up stick
to cover up parts or chunks of the word so you can sound it out.
Cover up all the letters except the a
and sound out the sound of the short a=/a/. My
next step is to look at the letters leading up to the vowel, ch=/ch/.
Finally I will look at the m=/m/ and the p=/p/.
So I am going to look at just the vowel, and I know that the
short a says /a/ sound, remember like the doctor telling
you to open wide. Next, I am going to look at the letters leading
up to the vowel, so ch=/ch/ so I have /ch//a/ and
finally the end of the word, /m/ and /p/,
so now we can read our word that we could not read before,
/ch//a//m//p/. As you read your book and you come across a tough
word, remember to use your cover up stick.
3. Next I am going to demonstrate how to
read with fluency. I am going to write the following sentence on
the board: The children love flying kites.
Now I want everyone to use their listening skills as I read the
sentence. The first time I read it, I will read it very slowly
and without fluency.
The---children---love---flying---kites. Now I am going to
read it fluently and faster: The children love flying kites.
Which one do you think sounded better? Which one do you think is easier
to understand when I read it? 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 all need to practice reading faster and fluently so that
you and anyone else that is listening to you read can understand what
you are trying to read. That is why we need to practice.
4. Now I am going to give each student a copy of the book Kite
Day at Pine Lake. Each student
will get his or her own copy of the book while reading it to
themselves. This story you are about to read is about a
group of children who love to fly their kites at the lake. A boy named
Bob does not have his own kite and he is upset because he cannot join
the other children and fly a kite. All of their kites are
different shapes, colors, and sizes. 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 be assigned a partner and will be
given one stop watch per partner as well as a Partner Check Sheet and
Speed Reading Record for each child. 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 to only be positive. The student records the
answers 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.
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.
Resources:
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