Racing
to Read with Fluency!
Growing
Independence and Fluency
Materials:
1.
Timer/Stopwatch
for each pair of students
2.
A
copy of the book Kite Day at Pine Lake
(Written by Sheila Cushman. Illustrated by Patti Briles. Published by
Educational Insights, 1990) for each pair of students
3.
A
dry erase board
4.
Dry
erase marker (to write i_e=/I/ correspondence words and the sentence
"my
dog like to go on walks.")
5.
Pencil
for each student
6.
Assessment
sheet: Fluency Checklist (one for each student)
Name
of Reader:
Name
of Partner:
Words read 1st time (in 1 minute):
Words read 2nd time: (in 1 minute)
Words read 3rd time: (in 1 minute)
Did
my partner:
Circle one
-Read
smoothly?
Yes No
-Read
Faster?
Yes No
-Comprehend?
Yes No
Procedure:
1.
1. Begin
the lesson by reviewing the
i_e=/I/ correspondence. Teacher will give the word kite as
an example, and will write it on the dry erase board.
Teacher will then ask students to display their knowledge with i_e
correspondence by naming words with that correspondence. Teacher will
write
words on the board as the students say different words with the i_e
correspondence.
2.
2. Next,
do a book talk for Kite Day at Pine Lake. "Have you
ever flown a kite? The kids in this story are all flying their kites at
the
lake and having so much fun. One little boy named Bob does not have a
kite to
fly, and gets very sad when he sees everyone else flying their kite.
What do
you think Bob will do? You will have to keep reading to see if Bob will
ever
get to fly a kite and see what happens!"
3.
3.
Today we are going to practice reading
with fluency. This means we are going to practice reading quickly,
smoothly,
and with expression. When we read quickly, we are able to
comprehend/understand
what the story is about much easier rather than reading slowly. The
teacher
will then write the sentence my dog likes
to go on walks on the dry erase board. She will then show how a
non-fluent
reader would read the sentence. (reading very slowly without fluency
and with
pauses in between words, and sounding out each word) "My dooooog
(pause)
lliiiiikes (pause) to gggooo ooonn (pause) waallkks. This is how a
non-fluent
reader would read. It makes it more difficult to remember what you read
if you
read it slowly and choppy with pauses."
4.
4. Teacher
will now read the same sentence,
but this time modeling how a fluent reader would read it. "My dog likes
to
go on walks. Do you see how smoothly I read that sentence and how much
I
improved compared to the first time I read it? I was being a fluent
reader because
I read smoothly and with expression! I figured out the tricky words and
crosschecked to make sure it made sense in the sentence. It is very
important
that we crosscheck because if the sentence does not make sense we need
to go
back and crosscheck to make sure it does!" Ask students to tell the
difference between the two ways that you read the same sentence. (First
way was
choppy, slow, and with pauses.—not read with fluency. Second way was
smooth,
quick, and with expression—read with fluency.) After reading the
sentence with
and without expression, I will explain and emphasize how important it
is that
we read with fluency so that we can comprehend and enjoy what we read.
5.
5. Divide
the students into groups of two.
Give each student a copy of Kite Day at
Pine Lake and a timer/stopwatch (1 per group), and a fluency
checklist that
they can use to record how many words they read in a minute three
different
times. This will show whether or not they progress each time with
fluency. Give
directions. "First read the book to yourself silently to become
familiar
with the text. After you and your partner are both done reading it to
yourself,
one person read aloud, while your partner uses the stopwatch. We are
going to
see how much you can read in one minute to practice fluency! When you
are the
one not reading out loud, you will follow along and listen to see if
your
partner is reading smoothly, quicker each time, and with expression.
After all
three times that you read, you will record the number of words you read
next to
the first, second, and third column on your fluency checklist. If you
need any
help or have any questions, please raise your hand and I will be happy
to come
help!"
Assessment:
Have
students write their names on the fluency checklist to turn in. In
order to measure
each student's success in reading with fluency, call each child up to
your desk
individually. "I know that each of you have practiced reading with
expression and fluently with your partner, so I know you will all do a
great
job!" Take notes of how the child reads (smoothly or choppy, quickly or
slowly, boring or with expression) Also take note of how many words the
child
reads correctly and incorrectly. Compare how they read to you compared
to their
fluency checklist to see what steps you need to take with them, and to
assess
their progress. Also, look at their fluency checklist to compare the
number of
words the child read per minute the first time, and then the number of
words
they read per minute the last time they read to see if it increased.
Name
of Reader:
Name
of Partner:
Words read 1st time (in 1 minute):
Words read 2nd time: (in 1 minute)
Words read 3rd time: (in 1 minute)
Did
my partner:
Circle one
-Read
smoothly?
Yes No
-Read
Faster?
Yes No
-Comprehend?
Yes No
Kite
Day at Pine Lake by
Sheila Cushman. Illustrated by Patti Briles. Published by Educational
Insights,
1990
Morgan
Montgomery. "Take the
Fluency Test With Henry and Mudge!"