Zooming
Into Reading
Growing
Independence and
Fluency
Rationale:
Students need to learn to read faster, fluently and
automatically in order to better comprehend what they are
reading. While
first learning how to read, readers must sound out words and read very
slowly
and almost robotically. After practice with reading and gaining
fluency,
readers must learn to read and recognize words automatically and faster
to
improve their comprehension and make reading enjoyable. This
lesson will
help students learn to read with speed and fluency. It will do
this by
having a partner time their reads and critique their fluency in a
friendly manner.
Materials:
Set of the decodable text Doc in the Fog for
each pair of students, a stopwatch for every pair of students, pencils,
one
minute read charts for each student with name, date, first second and
third
read columns on it, fluency checklist for each student that says I
noticed that
my partner after 2nd and after 3rd reading
columns with
checkboxes next to pictures of an elephant for remembered more words, a
cheetah
for read faster, a swan for read smoother and a monkey for read with
expression.
Procedures:
1. Explain to the students why they need to read fast
and fluently and how. "Reading fast and automatically will help
you
to better understand what you read. Today we will work on
repeated
reading with a partner in order to help us read faster and with
fluency." 2. I will then remind the students how to use cover-ups
if
they come to a word they do not recognize. "Do you remember how
to
use cover-ups? If you come to a word you do not know, cover up
everything
except the vowel because you know what sound the vowel makes.
Then look
at the letter before the vowel and blend them together. Next look
at the
letters after the vowel and blend them all together." 3. Pair up
the
students and have them practice repeated reading with their
partner.
"I'm going to write a sentence on the board and I want you to read the
sentence to your partner and then have your partner read it to
you. Next
I want you both to read the sentence to yourself 3 times and then read
it aloud
again to your partner."
Write the sentence The
ship
set sail on
the board. After they have finished ask them which time
they read the sentence faster. 4. Model how to read fluently and
fast by
reading Doc in the Fog aloud to the class. Give a book
talk first
in order to spark student interest. After reading ask the class,
"Did you notice how smooth it sounded when I read that book and how I
changed my voice at different times? That is called reading with
expression. Let's all practice it together."
5.
Write on the board I really like to sail my ship! Read
the sentence together as a class making sure to use expression in the
appropriate places. 6. "Now we are going to read with our
partners again but this time I want you to fill out the fluency
checklist I gave
you about your partner as they read. You are not allowed to make
fun of
your partner in any way. You can only say nice things about your
partners
reading. Take turns being the reader and the listener and read Doc
in
the Fog with your partner." Explain to the students that they
will read as much as they can in one minute and then the stopwatch will
go
off. Have the students read the book 3 times each and fill out
the
checklist for each read. "Remember to use cover-ups if you come
to a
word you don't know." 7. I will assess the students by monitoring
their progress and checking the fluency charts. After everyone is
finished we will discuss the book to check for comprehension.
References:
Bauer,
Tammy. Go Readers Go! http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/bauergf.html
Lydon,
Lili. Lets Rock and
Read! http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/lydongf.html
Phonics
Reader Short Vowel, Doc in the Fog. Carson, CA:
Educational Insights c. 1990.