Read Fast to Win the Race!
Growing
Independent
and
Fluency
Rationale: The lesson is important for improving
reading, specifically in improving fluency. Fluency includes the
ability to
decode words automatically and effortlessly; fluent readers are at a
much
better advantage because they read with more expression, a faster pace,
and a
lot more smoothly. One proven way to improve reading is to reread
decodable
words in connected texts several times. In many instances, the more a
student
works with a particular text, the more familiar they become with it,
and
therefore the more fluent they become, which is the purpose of this
lesson.
During this lesson, the students will perform repeated readings and
practice
reading fluently.
Materials:
Stopwatches
for each pair of
students
Racecar
reading chart for each
student (this will consist of a piece of paper shaped like a race
track. The
racecar will begin in the in the lane closest to the crowd and try its
best to
make it the inside lane which is known as victory lane)
Racecar
stickers for students to
use
Class
set of the book Fuzz and Buzz:
Cushman, S (1990). Fuzz and
the Buzz. Carson, CA: Educational Insights.
Class
set of Tin Man Fix It:
Tin
Man Fix It. (1990)
Phonics Readers Short Vowels. Carson, CA (USA):Educational
Insights.
White
board
Cover-up
critter for teacher to
model
Popsicle
stick for each student
2
googly eyes for each student
Glue
for the students to use when
creating the cover-up critter
Pencils
Paper
for teacher to record
assessment notes
Speed
Reading Record sheet for each
student (see below)
Fluency
Literacy Rubric for each
student (see below)
Speed
Reading Record Sheet:
Name:______________________________________
Date:__________
1st
time:____________
2nd
time:_____________
3rd time:_____________
Fluency
Literacy Rubric:
Name/(Reader):
__________________________
Date: __________
Evaluator/(Recorder):_____________________
I
noticed that my partner:
1st
observation 2nd
observation
3rd observation
Remembered more
words
_________
_________
________
Read Faster (with
time)
_________
_________
_________
Read
Smoother _________
_________
_________
Read with
Expression _________
_________ _________
Procedure:
1.
I will start the lesson by
explaining to students what begin a fluent reader means and why it is
important
that students are fluent readers. Today we are going to practice
reading with
speed and accuracy; this helps us become more fluent readers. Reading a
story
many times helps us to become fluent readers. It is important that we
learn to
read fluently so that we can read things easily and we can read with an
appropriate speed. Reading fluently also allows the reader to be able
to focus
on the meaning of the words; this will allow us to understand the
comprehension
of the text better.
2.
I will then go over the cover-up
technique with the students. I will remind them how we use our cover-up
critter
(a popsicle stick with googly eyes on it) and how it helps us decode
words we
do not know. Sometimes, we come across words that we do not know right
away.
Something we can use to help us figure these words out is a cover-up
critter. I
will show the class the cover-up critter and model how to decode a word
using
my cover-up critter. Let’s see if we can use our cover-up critter to
figure out
this word. I will write the word prize
on the whiteboard. Now watch what I do. I will cover up the pr
and the z. I know that i_e says
/i/,
so next I will sound out what becomes before the vowel, which is pr. I will say each sound that these
letters make, and then blend them together to get /pri/.
Last, I will look at the end of the word z= /z/ and I
will blend /pri/
together with /z/. So, the word is prize.
This strategy of covering up the
letters and starting with the vowel sound will help us figure out
tricky words
more easily. Therefore, next time you come across a word that does not
look
familiar to you, you can use your cover-up critter. I will distribute
the
cover-up critter materials to each student. The students will make
their own
cover-up critter so they can use it to decode words.
3.
Then, I will show the students
the difference between reading with and without fluency. Class, I am
going to
show you how important it is to read with fluency. You will see how
much reading
fluently will help us; listen to me read a sentence with fluency and
read a
sentence without fluency. I will write the following sentence on the
board: The
big kid took a dive in the pool. First, I will demonstrate how a
non-fluent reader
would read the sentence. Look at this sentence (point to the sentence
on the
board). I’m going to read it first without fluency. T-th-the
b-b-bi-bi-g-g-big
k-ki-i-d-d-kid t-t-to-too-k-took a d-d-di-v-div-dive i-i-n-in t-th-the
p-p-pp-poo-pool. Did you notice how slowly I read the sentence and how
there
was hardly any expression in my reading? I am not going to read it
again, but
this time I am going to read the sentence with fluency. I will read the
sentence fluently, a lot more smoothly, and with a lot more expression.
The big
kid took a dive in the pool. Did you notice that my words were closer
together
and they were a lot smoother? Which time was easier for you to
understand? The
students will respond (hopefully saying the second time I read the
sentence it
was easier to understand.) Right! It is much easier to understand text
when you
read it fluently. I will explain to the class that it was hard to
understand
the non-fluent sentence is because the words were all chopped up and
did not
flow together to make sense; also I will explain to the students that I
got
better when I was modeling fluently because I learned all the tricky
words.
4.
I will distribute the book, Fuzz and Buzz to each
student. Once each
student has received a book, I will give a book talk. Fuzz
and Buzz is about a bear cub that gets into mischief and gets
stung by a lot of bees! What do you think the cub is going to do when
he gets
stung by so many bees? Let’s read and find out how he gets out of the
sticky
situation! The students will read the book individually, and we will
then
discuss the story as a class to assess their comprehension on the book.
5.
I will split the students up
into groups of two. I will explain the Speed Reading Record Sheet and
Fluency
Literacy Rubric. Then, I will explain and model how we are going to do
our
class activity. Now that you all have
heard me read
the book as a fluent reader, I want you all try. You are going to
reading
fluently with a partner. Divide the students into pairs and give them
one
stopwatch and two copies of the book. Explain to the students that one
will be
the reader and the other will be the recorder and then they will switch
roles. When
you are the reader, see how many words you can read smoothly in one
minute.
Remember not to skip any words. Place one of the racecar stickers where
you
left off at the end of one minute. Then continue reading the book
without the
timer. Now go back and then count the number of words that you read in
one
minute and write that number down on your racecar progress chart. Then
switch
with your partner until you have both read the book three times each.
You may
begin reading.
6.
After the students have recorded
the one minute read aloud, they will fill out a fluency literacy sheet
about
their partner’s performance. The teacher
should be walking around the room listening and providing assistance
where
needed.
Assessment:
In order to
assess each student, I will call them
up to me one by one and have them read Tin Man Fix It aloud as
monitor
their fluency by taking notes on their ability read smoothly and
quickly. I
will also record the student’s miscues. After the student has read the
book I
will ask the following questions to check for comprehension:
1.
Who is Tim?
2. What was the kid riding on that hit Tim?
3. Were they
able to
put Tim back together?
I
will also assess the students by
recording their first reading and comparing it with their last reading.
The
students should have been able to read more words per minute during
their last
read. While each student is doing their
assessment
with me, the rest of the students will be at their desks practicing
their fluency
while reading a decodable book.
Reference:
Brock,
Sarah Jane. "It’s a Fluency Party!" http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/brockgf.html
Cushman,
S (1990). Fuzz and the Buzz. Carson,
CA: Educational Insights.
Murray,
Bruce. Developing
Reading Fluency
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html
Simpson,
Angela. "Ready, Set, Off We Go!" http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/encounters/simpsongf.html
Sweatt,
Keri. "Race for Reading."
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/sweattgf.html
Tin
Man Fix
It. (1990)
Phonics Readers Short Vowels.
Carson, CA (USA): Educational Insights.