Flying Into Fluency

Growing Independence and Literacy

Bria Pete

Flying Into Fluency

Growing Independence and Literacy

Bria Pete

Rationale:  When a child reads fluently, he or she is able to read faster and smoother than when they first started reading. When fluency is attained they not only better comprehend the text but they enjoy reading more, and become more confident about their reading ability. This lesson will help children learn how to read faster and more smoothly by practicing their reading as another student times.

Materials:

Dry erase marker

One Minute Read Chart for each child

One stopwatch for every group/pair

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff. HarperCollins, 1991.

Procedure:

1.Introduce the lesson. SAY:"Today we are going to work on fluency. Does anyone know what that means? Well fluency is when we recognize words automatically, giving us the ability to read quickly, correctly, and with expression."

2.Demo the difference between fluent and nonfluent readers. Write the following sentence on the whiteboard: She was scared in the plane until it landed at the airport and she saw her mom waiting. Say:  "Here is a sentence I have written on the board. I am going to read it twice. The first way I am going to read will sound like a beginning reader. Sshheee wwwas scccarred in thee pllllaaanne untttiilll it laaanddded at thee aaairrpppoort  and shhee saaww heeer mmom wwwaaiiting. [ Sound the words out slowly, struggling a bit] Now I am going to read the sentence  like a fluent reader. She was scared in the plane until it landed at the airport and she saw her mom waiting. How was each way different? Which way sounded better?"

3.Pair students up into groups of two. Give out the book If You Give a Moose a Muffin and a stop watch to each group. Give book talk: "If you give a moose a muffin, what do you think will happen? Well a boy tries just that but realizes that with that muffin, a moose will need much more. To find out what else he needs, let’s read the book." (Teacher reads If You Give a Moose a Muffin while students follow along and read it to themselves as the teacher reads it aloud.

4.After teacher finishes reading the book SAY: "Now, I want you and your partner to practice reading the story. We are going to work on developing our fluency by rereading during timed reads. You are going to see how much you can read in one minute.  One person will be the timer and will start the stopwatch as the reader begins to read. At one minute, the timer tells the reader to stop. Do not skip any words. At the end of the minute, have your partner fill out a partner check sheet. Swap job with your partner. Repeat until each has read three times. Remember it is not a competition to see how many words you can read faster than your partner. It is a way that can make all of us better readers. I will coming around to observe."

5.I will assess the students by asking them to individually do a one minute read of the book with me. I will then do the same thing, the following day to compare the tow readings.

One Minute Read Chart

References:

Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Moose a Muffin HarperCollins, 1991.

Claire Simpson, "Sailing to Smooth and Speedy Reading". http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/solutions/simpsongf.htm

Rachel Greer, "Really Rockin’ Readers". http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/solutions/greergf.htm

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