How Does
This Make You Feel?
Fluency Lesson
Design
-
Rationale- Students need fluency to
become
successful readers.
-Materials: The
Grouchy Ladybug big book Harper Trophy (September 30, 1996), Green
Eggs
and Ham copies for each student Random House Books for Young
Readers; 1st edition
(August 12, 1960), board, dry erase markers, and my
evaluation for
assessment for each student (shown below).
Evaluation for
Expression
___Did the
student change his/her voice from high to low
when needed?
___Did the
student change his/her voice from loud to soft
when needed?
___Did the
student recognize the punctuation mark present
at the end of each sentence and read it accordingly?
___Did the
student show emotion with facial movement?
___Did the
student respond well to peer or teacher suggestions
when reading if applicable?
-
Procedures:
-
I will first explain to my class why
expression is important to reading. I would say, "Boys and girls,
have you ever heard someone tell you a great story or secret
before? Did
they sound like when I say, (say very unenthusiastically) 'I have a
great
secret to tell to you' (yawn). No, you're right. I would
say, (full
of excitement) 'I have a GREAT secret to tell you!'. When we read
out-loud, we should use the same expressions with our voices and even
our faces
to make the story come alive. Not only will you enjoy it, others
will
too. You will probably remember more information if you read with
expression than if you read without it."
-
Now, I will tell the students how
they can
change expression by saying, "We can change expression of sad, happy,
excited, and made feelings by changing several things. We can
change our
voices going higher or lower. Also, we can make our voices louder
or
softer to change expression. Let's continue to investigate our
expression
with reading."
-
Then I will explain how to use this
concept by
saying, "First, listen to what we are going to say as a class.
Put
your good listening ears on. There are several sentences on the
board. Ya'll read them all to yourself first and think about
appropriate
expression for each sentence. Now, I am going to say a sentence
and I
want you to put your thumbs up if I say it with good expression or put
your
thumbs down if it does not have good or appropriate
expression". (go through all the sentences). "Great
listening skills to see that I used expression only part of the
time."
-
(The students will then practice
using
expression as a class. I will pull out my big book The
Grouchy Lady Bug
so that the whole class can read together practicing expression.)
I will
say, "Now that you can recognize what expression is, let's practice
using
what we learned. This is a story called The Grouchy Lady Bug.
What kind of expression do you think we will use most often based of
the
title? You're right, we will be angry and probably use low, gruff
voices. This is a story about a lady bug who wants to pick a
fight with
everyone. The others do not care. There is even one ladybug
who
tries to be nice. Let's read and see what happens to the grumpy
lady
bug.". (read book as a class using expression). "Great
reading. I can really tell a difference because you used
expression. What did you notice about this sentence (show a
sentence with
the angry lady bug that has an explanation point)? You're right,
usually
the explanation point means louder expression. Is it always
linked with
bad expression? Good thinking. Sometimes an explanation
point can
mean very excited too. What can you tell me about question marks
and
expression? You're right, it means your voice shows you're
confused or
wanting to know an answer".
-
(Break children in twos and have
them read Green
Eggs and Ham. They have a partner that can help with
expression while
reading). "Ok boys and girls, I want you to get with your reading
buddy and practice using expression. Let's help one another
nicely.
You do not have to say 'You're wrong' because that isn't very
nice. A
polite way to help is to say, 'That is great reading, but this is how I
would
read the sentence'. I will be coming around to see how you are
reading. This book is about Sam who wants his friend to try green
eggs
and ham. That doesn't sound very good and the friend keeps on
getting
angry when asked to eat the green eggs and ham. Do you think he
will try
it? Why do you think so? Let's read and find out!".
-
I will assess the children's
learning by going
around to each reading group with my check list (bottom) and see if
they read
with expression. I will then be able to help them if any
confusion is
there.
-References:
-Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham. Random House Books for
Young
Readers; 1st edition (August 12, 1960). Seventy-two pages.
-Eric Carle, The Grouchy Ladybug. Harper Trophy
(September 30,
1996). Forty-eight pages.
-Maggie Saye, 'Express Yourself?'.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/sayegf.html
-Amy Berger, 'We're Messin' With
Expression'.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/bergergf.htmlÊ