Shh! I am trying to READ!
Growing
Independence and Fluency
By:
Meaghan Lambert
Rationale:
A very
important component of reading
fluently is the ability to silently read.
As a teacher, it is also extremely important that you have
available a
classroom library diverse enough for your students to choose their own
books,
as well as learn to read them silently.
By doing this, students will begin to read voluntarily and they
will
also gain comprehension skills. In this
lesson students will be able to choose their own book and practice
reading it
silently, and hopefully they will see that this is not something they
are
forced into doing, but something that is fun!
Materials:
*
A
classroom
library enriched with a variety of books to choose from (color-coded
depending
on level).
*
Teacher's
book of choice.
*
Dry
erase
board.
*
Dry
erase
markers.
*
Big
book
copy of Jan Brett's The Hat (Brett, Jan. The
Hat. New York,
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1997.)
*
Chart
with "Stuck
on a word?" strategies on it (see attached example).
*
"Stuck
on a word?" bookmark for every student (see attached example).
Procedures:
1.
Begin
the lesson by introducing what you
plan to do. Ask the students if they
are ever in a quiet place where you can't really talk.
"Have you ever been somewhere maybe
with your mom or dad where there was not anything to play with because
you had
to be quiet? Have you ever thought
about reading a book during this time?
Well, today we are going to
learn how fun it is when you read a book silently to yourself! By practicing reading this way, you will all
become better readers! When you read a
book to yourself, silently, you are able to focus more on what you are
reading. This is very important to you as
you become
a better reader! Reading can be so much
fun, let's learn about silent reading!
2.
[Click here
for bookmark.]
Next,
we will review our "stuck on a
word" strategy. Pass out the
bookmarks to the class (see attached example), so that they may use as
a
reference if they have trouble, and as a bookmark.
Model how the strategy works.
"Sometimes when I am reading a book, I stop after I read a
sentence
and think to myself, I don't think that made sense!
I am going to show you an example. Read
the sentence "I love to read bikes about cats."
(that you have prewritten on the board).
Ask the class if the sentence makes sense? Model
on the board the strategy cover-up, cover the word and
reveal only one letter at a time. "I
love to read b-o-o-k-s about cats!"
"Does this make more sense?
I think so! Refer to the chart
with the "stuck on a word" strategies. They
may look at their bookmark or at the chart. Explain
all of the ways you can use to
figure out why a sentence is not making sense.
3.
Now,
the teacher will model how to read
silently. You can use any big book, for
this lesson, I have chosen Jan Brett's The Hat.
It is best to use a big book so that the
students can see exactly what the teacher is doing.
"In our reading groups, we sometimes read out loud, don't
we?" [Allow time for response.]
Begin reading loudly the first page of the book.
"Is this how we are supposed to
read in class?" [Allow
time for response.] "No, we are supposed
to use our quiet
voice." Now, model whisper
reading. "When we are supposed to
read silently to ourselves, should we read like this?"
[Allow time for response.] Now,
model silent reading by only moving
your mouth and not saying out loud the words to the story.
"This boys and girls is how you read
silently. You can move your mouth to
the words, or you can read in your head!
Now, I want you to read the page I just read in your whisper
voice. Now read the page in our silent
voice, you
can move your mouth or read in your head." [Use
this time to assess which students are reading silently
without using their whisper voice, regular voice, and even note the
students
who are not having to move their mouth as they read.]
4.
"EXCELLENT
JOB EVERYONE!! I think that you are ready
to try reading
silently to yourself. " Allow the
student to go to the classroom library and pick out a book that
interests
them. Remind them that they need to
pick a book with their reading level color on the spine.
(Most of the books in the classroom library
will be color coded into reading levels, and the students may choose
any book
that falls under their color for their particular reading level.) "Once you have selected your book,
please find your special reading spot, either at your desk or in the
reading
well."
5.
"Now
I would like for everyone to
practice silent reading to themselves.
Remember we can't read out loud, we have to read in our head! We will read for 15 minutes.
When you hear the bell ring, you may put
your book up and return to your seat."
[Set the timer for 15-17 minutes, allowing a few extra minutes
to settle
down and get into the book.]
Assessment: For
assessment, observe the students while they are reading silently
to themselves. It is also important for
the students to see you reading a book you
have chosen at your desk. But you can observe and read at the same
time. Once the students have finished
reading, have them return to their
seats and get out their journals.
Ask them to write about what they have just
read, and what they thought about the book.
Once they have
finished
that, have them write one or two things they
liked or disliked about silent reading.
The teacher may collect the journals to complete the
assessment on
whether or not the student comprehended what they read, and whether or
not they
were able to successfully read silently.
References:
Brett, Jan. The Hat. New
York, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1997.
Shh! It's Reading
Time! By Bethany Rice:
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/discov/bicegf.html
"Silence
a
Key to Successful Reading" by Laura Meadors:
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/inroads/meadorsgf.html
The
Reading Genie Website, Dr. Bruce Murray"
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/oralrdg.html
Background
provided by: School Icons.
Click
here to return to Inspirations.