We Need Speed!
Growing Independency and Fluency Lesson Design
Katie Anderson
Rationale: First
children learn to decode words in order to read.
Materials:
-charts to record one-minute reads (one for each child)
-multiple copies of Doc in the Fog
-fluency checklists (The checklist will include headings such as: read
fast,
read slow, stopped many times, or no stopping during reading.)
Procedures:
1. Explain to students that to become better readers we must begin to
read
fluency which mean reading faster, automatically, and
effortlessly.
Say: Becoming more fluent readers will make reading easier and
more
fun! One way to becoming a fluent reader is by reading the same
story
more than once and each time getting faster because you are more
familiar with
the book. Another way of saying this is rereading. Today we
are
going to read a book and then reread a book with better fluency.
First
let’s review how you can figure out a word own your own that you are
stuck
on. First use cover-ups: for example, if you wanted to figure out
the
word cost, first you would cover up everything but the vowel, o.
The o makes the /o/ sound. Then uncover the first letter, c.
The c makes the /k/ sound. Now combine the sounds.
Next
uncover the second to last letter, s. The s makes
the /s/
sound. Next uncover the last letter, t. The t
makes
the /t/ sound. Combine all the sounds, cost. Also
remember
to crosscheck. If you stuck read the rest of the sentence to see
what
would make sense.
2. Demonstrate to students what reading fluently is compared to reading
without
fluency. Say: I am going to read the same sentence twice
(write the
sentence on the board). The first time read without fluency. A
d-o-g s-a-t o-n a m-a-t.
Notice that I read very slowly and it is harder to get the meaning of
the
sentence when the words are choppy and do not flow. Now listen to
me read
fluently. A dog sat on a mat. It is easier to
understand the
meaning of the sentence when the sentence flows and is read
faster. This
is what I want you to do as you read your story today. Practice reading
faster
with fluency while understanding the meaning of the story.
3. Say: The book we will be reading today is Doc in the Fog.
Give a book-talk: Doc is a wizard with a magic wand.
He taps things with his wand and it turns
into something else. He touches a mop, a
doll, and many other things. Will he
keep his magic? What do you think will happen?
We will have to read to find out!
4. Hand out a copy of the book to each student. Have the students
read
the story quietly to themselves first. If students finish early they
can reread
the story.
5. After reading discuss the story. Ask questions to check for
students
understanding of what they read. Allow students to reflect and
make
comments.
6. Divide the students into partners. Have each partner read the
story to
his/her partner all that way through one time. Next have the
partners
take turns reading to each other while the one listening fills out a
fluency
checklist on the student reading. Then they will switch and the
other
will read. Before beginning partner work go over how to fill out the
fluency
checklist with the class. The checklist will include headings
such as
read fast, read slow, stopped many times, or no stopping during
reading, etc...
The students will have to make a check under the headings that apply.
7. Assess the students by having them individually come to teacher’s
desk and
have the students read the book to you as you do a one-minute
read.
Record each student’s time and chart his or her times on a graph.
As you
test students have the other students read a new book that you will
reread
tomorrow.
Resources:
Darby Wallingsford. Gaining Fluency: Speedy, Speedy
Students
Reading Fast.
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/openings/wallingfordgf.html.
Doc in the
Fog.
Educational Insights:
Shelly Bennett. Speed Read.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/discov/bennettgf.html
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