Super
Fast Speedy Readers
Growing
Independence and Fluency
Rationale:
Reading
fluently is reading at a fast, even pace and with expression. For
children
to become fluent readers, they must first be able to decode words in
the text
they're reading. This lesson encourages students to practice reading
decodable
books fast and smooth. Student's will build fluency by reading these
decodable
texts independently and then timed by a partner for 1 minute.
Materials:
-Decodable book: Jack the Cat by Emily Mills (Reading Genie) 1
copy/student
-Classroom clock for one minute timer
-Clipboards for students to write on
-Pencils and Paper
-Large piece of chart paper to record times
-Black sharpie marker to record reading times
on the chart. One column titled "Number of Words Read" should list
vertically numbers 5-100 in 5's; second column titled "Name of
Student" to record who read each number of words in 1 minute.
Procedure:
1.
"Hello boys and girls! Today we are going to practice being SUPER
FAST SPEEDY READERS! This means that we are going to practice how to
read fast
and smoothly when we read. Do you have
any ideas why you think it might be important to read fast? We
want to
read things quickly because it helps us understand what we are reading.
If we
read slowly, sometimes we forget what we read and we can get confused.
Reading
is more enjoyable when it's done fast!"
2. "We
will begin by reading this sentence that is on the board. [The sentence
"The
cat ran to the red ball." will previously be written on the board] "I will start off reading this sentence
slowly and then I will read it again faster. When I speed up each time,
listen
how the sentence becomes easier to understand. By practicing
reading this
sentence over and over again, I can begin to read it smoothly and
faster.
Listen to me: "Thhhhheee ccccaaaattt rrraaaannn ttttooo ttthhheee
rrreeeeddd bbbaaallll." Now
let's read it a little bit faster, "Thhee
ccaaat rrann tttoo theee reed bballl",
and once more even faster, The cat ran to the red
ball. Do we all hear how the
sentence is better
when we read it faster?"
3.
"Boys and girls, now it's your turn to try. I am going to give
you
each a book that we are going to practice being fluent readers
with. We
are all going to use this book to practice reading fast and smooth. No one has read this book before so we are
all starting at the same place. When you
have a book, you may spread out all over the classroom to get your own
space
and begin reading. I want you to work on reading the book smoothly
and
fast, just like we just practiced. "The
book that I am passing out for you to read is called Jack the Cat.
Jack is a sad cat that is trapped in a cage.
He finds a way to escape the cage and begins searching for fun! He meets many new animals along the way and
tries to help them or play with them.
What do you think will happen? Do
you think Jack the Cat will be happy?
4.
"Now everyone take your time reading and practicing the story. When you have read the whole story and feel
like you are a super fast speedy reader, you may come back to the
circle and
sit quietly until everyone is finished."
[When
everyone has returned]
5.
"Now that everyone is back sitting down in the circle, I am going to
give
each of you a partner, a piece of paper on a clipboard and a
pencil. Each group needs to find a
place in the
classroom to sit together and work quietly together. One partner will
be the
recorder and one partner will be the reader. When I say GO, the reader
will
begin reading the book again for one minute. At one minute I will say
STOP.
When I say STOP, count up all the words you have read and tell them to
you
partner who will write the number down on the paper. Then you will
switch
and the other person will read. This
means that each person will get a turn being the reader as well as the
recorder. Any questions?"
6.
"Now I want all of you to come back to the circle and we are going to
share our times. We have this big chart
to record our times. I want each of you to write your name beside the
number of
words you read in the story."
7.
"I am so proud of you boys and girls!
You have become super speedy fluent readers today.
Let's practice more and more everyday so that
we can become even better super fast speedy readers!"
Assessment:
The
chart with every student's name is going to be a key assessment tool
for the
teacher. The teacher will be able to
compare children's scores on the words and tell which students are
reading
slower and faster and the number of student's that will need extra
practice in
reading faster and more fluently. The
teacher may want to instruct an additional fluency lesson with a more
difficult
decodable story for the readers that may not have been challenged
enough with
the story today.
References:
Jack
the Cat
by Emily Mills http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/teacherbooks.html
Reading
Genie; Rachel Noto - "Speedy Reading" http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/sightings/notogf.html