1-2-3,
Reading Fluency!
Cydney Dorsey, Growing
Independency & Fluency
Rationale: One of
the major
markers to becoming a successful reader is becoming a fluent reader.
There are
several different components to reading fluency, including: increased
reading
speed, reading with automaticity and accuracy, expressiveness in
reading, reading
fluidly, and the ability to read silently (all of these components help
to
increase reading comprehension). This lesson will focus on increasing
student
fluency through the use of repeated readings and one-minute reads.
These types
of activities help students build confidence when it comes to reading,
increasing the fluency of their reads, and making the reading
experience more
pleasurable for the readers and their listeners.
-Class
set of Frog & Toad are Friends
-Class
set of stopwatches
-Post-It
pads (one per each group)
-Monkey
climbing the banana tree fluency charts for each student
(these
should be laminated and the numbers written from 0-85 with a Vis-a-Via
marker
so that the scale may be adjusted depending upon the student’s reading
level)
-Fluency
Notebooks
(several
of the fluency worksheets together in a "notebook" or
"tablet" created by the teacher – see attached for Fluency Worksheet)
-pencils
1.
Introduce the
lesson to the students.
Begin
by explaining to the students what it means to be a fluent reader and
why being
a fluent reader is a very important thing.
Say:
"Students, it is time to begin working on a new part of reading that is
very important. We are going to begin working on becoming more fluent
readers.
Being a fluent reader means that you are able to read books easier and
more
smoothly, at the appropriate speed and with the appropriate expression.
When
you are a fluent reader, you can enjoy reading more, because you are
able to
comprehend easily."
Say:
"Students, to help develop you become more fluent readers, we are going
to
be doing some one-minute repeated readings. This means you will be
reading the
same book for one minute at a time. After your minute is up each time,
you will
go back and count the words that you have read. Although it is
important to
read quickly, it is also very important to read with accuracy, and to
make sure
that you are understanding what you are reading."
Say:
"Students, watch me read this piece of text several times."
(Put 2-3 sentences of text from up on the
board and read it 4 times.
Molly
always
wanted a puppy, but her mother and father only said, "Someday,
Molly…" On her birthday, Molly woke up to something cold on her cheek,
and
wondered, "What is it?" She opened her eyes and saw a surprise
birthday present, a puppy!
Teacher
- First, read quite slow and choppy. Second, read not quite so slow,
smoother,
and without expression. Third, read faster, completely smoothly, and
with
little expression. Fourth, read faster, completely smoothly, and with
appropriate expression.
Say:
"Students, did you hear differences in each time I read? Which time
sounded the best to you? What kind of differences did you hear?"
[Give
students time to respond.]
"Yes,
those are all good observations. I first worked on reading smoother and
a
little faster. Then, I worked on reading even faster and smoother, but
added in
a little expression. And finally, I read the text with an appropriate
speed,
smoothly, and with plenty of expression. This is an example of how
repeated
readings of the same text can help you improve the fluency in your
reading."
Say:
"Frog & Toad are best friends. Frog & Toad experience many
things
together, including the coming of spring and losing a button. Through
it all,
Frog & Toad have fun and stay best friends. Read more of Frog & Toad are Friends to learn
about all their amazing adventures."
Provide
each student with a copy of the decodable text, Frog &
Toad are Friends. They will also need their fluency
chart, their fluency notebook, a stopwatch, and a pencil. Pair the
students up
with partners.
Explain
to them that as they read, their partner will be timing them for
one-minute.
When the minute is up, their partner will stop the stopwatch and let
them know
time is up. They should place a post-it note where they stopped reading
and go
back to where they started and count all the words in between. They
should be
certain to record each result on their fluency notebook sheet for that
day. The
partners should alternate back and forth until each one has completed 3
one-minute reads apiece.
Assessment:
Assessment will
involve the teacher’s observation and recording of the 4th
and final
one-minute read. The teacher will also assess by collecting the fluency
notebooks
and reviewing each students' records.
Resources:
White,
Amy. 1-2-3 Go.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/whitegf.html
Murray,
Bruce. Reading
Genie: Developing Reading Fluency.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html