"DEAR, Mrs.
R.!"
Fluency
Lesson
Rationale:
A
primary goal of reading instruction is to teach students to read
fluently. Reading fluently means reading quickly and accurately
with smoothness and expression. This involves automatic word
recognition, a primary goal of reading for fluency.
To learn to read fluently, students must practice
reading and rereading decodable words in connected text (as opposed to
guessing from context clues). When students do not have to
concentrate on decoding words, they can focus on the meaning of the
text, which will increase comprehension. The goal of this lesson
is to help students improve reading fluency and comprehension through
an indirect approach, as students will read and reread a book of their
choice silently. Also, to encourage students to become life-long
readers, students will have access to a variety of interesting topics
to choose from. Research shows that children who
have choices during their silent reads have a more positive outlook on
reading, which ultimately leads to reading success.
Materials:
Library
of Choices- Magazines and decodable readers of varying subjects for
every student.
During
DEAR, a teacher should have a book of their own to read.
Pig
on the Loose
by Geri Murray found at:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/bookindex.html
Cover-up buddies
Pencil
and paper for one-minute reads
Reading
Logs- One for each student.
Procedure:
1.
Begin the lesson by setting a purpose. Say, "Can anyone
tell me something you have to practice to be good at?"
(Anticipate responses such as sports activities or playing a musical
instrument.) "Well, just like playing an instrument, playing a
sport or creating art, you must practice to get good at it! Did you
know that you also have to practice reading in order to become a fluent
reader? It makes sense, right? A fluent reader is a reader who can
read quickly and smoothly and with expression. When you read
fluently, you can understand the story better because you don't have to
stop and sound out each word. Instead, you can focus on what the
story is about. The best way to become a fluent reader is by
rereading stories over and over. Today we will learn strategies
for reading fluently while reading silently.
Let me explain to you how this works."
2.
On the SMARTboard, pull up text from Pig on the Loose by Geri
Murray. Display the text for fluency strategy modeling session.
Say, "If
I were really struggling with the words because I could not read
fluently, I might read the first page like this: T-i. T-ime- Tim and Jane, er, Jan weer guh-gul-gla,
glade to her thee neh-ne-u-ne-ws, news. . . Did
you hear how hard I had to concentrate on every word? I sure had
trouble with the word "glade." But, now that I have read the rest of
the sentence, I think I know what the word is now! Let
me try that again. Timmm and Jaaan were glad (oh, glad!) to hear the
nnews."
When you get to a word you don't know or aren't sure about,
remember to crosscheck by first reading to the end of the sentence and
then rereading the sentence again to see if the word makes sense.
Now, listen to how much better the sentence sounds when I read it
fluently, "Tim and Jan were glad to hear the news." Which
way do you think the sentence sounded better, when I read it the first
time or the last time? The last time I read it, it was much smoother
and easier to understand because I read it quickly, accurately and with
expression. Just like any other sport, instrument or hobby, you
have to practice at it to get better!"
3.
Write the word Boil on the board and show students the
cover-up buddy they've used for other reading lessons. Say, "If
you get to a tricky word, you can still use your cover-up buddy to help
you sound it out. Remember how to use them? If I come to a word I don't
automatically know, I use my finger and my buddy to cover up everything
but the vowel." (Demonstrate.) "I see that oi says
the /oi /sound.
Take finger off of the first. "I know that b says /b/,
and I read /b/ and /oi/ together, "boi." Now you
may uncover the last sound /l/. When I blend all of
those sounds together, I can read the word boil. I would
like for you to read the word for me. I'll practice with you beginning
with the vowel and then uncovering one sound at a time." Model how to
use the cover-up buddy while students read the sounds and then the
word. "Great job! Remember to always look at the vowel
first."
4.
"What I want you to do when you read silently, is use a few
strategies along with cover-ups that will help you practice to get
better!
First, when you read your choice for the first time, you may use
cover-ups, but you may also use your whisper voices. This
will help you hear yourself saying the words. Listen
to me read this in a whisper voice, "Dad and I will be going on a
cruise in June."
I could hear myself the say the words, and I could practice my
expression while I read. The second time I read it,
I will not use my whisper voice anymore, but mouth the words while I
read them in my head.
Watch: (demonstrate). Now, the third time I
read, I am not going to read in a whisper voice, or mouth the words.
I am going to read this silently to myself. (demonstrate)
These are the strategies that will help you become a more fluent
reader!
5.
"Today we're going to "Drop Everything and Read!" (Thunderous
Applause)
You will have reader's choice for this time, but you will be
using the three strategies I just showed you: Whisper
voice/cover-ups, Mouth Moves and Mental Reading. There
will be no finishing of homework, talking, drawing or book reports, for
that matter!
You may read anything that interests you, for instance, I am reading Street
Gang, the Complete history of Sesame Street by Michael Davis.
I won't ask you to do a report on your reading; however, I will
ask that we come together at the end in small groups to talk about what
you have read.
This is purely your chance to gain fluency and comprehension
while reading a book you are interested in reading, and to share your
new knowledge with someone else!
6.
(Break students into groups) When I call your group, you may
silently walk to the library and make a selection. Find
a quiet place in the room where you will not be disturbed and can
concentrate.
I ask that you be as far away from another student as you are
tall.
Make sense? Ok, group one, you may go..."
7.
"Excellent, students. I saw many of you
using our strategies already. When I call your
group, you may go back to your tables and discuss what you have read.
Everyone in the group will have 2 minutes to share. When
you are done, keep your reader's choice on your desk, but take out your
reading log and write about your reading while I take one-minute reads.
"
Assessment:
During
reading log time (25 min), record a one-minute read for each
student, making notes of miscues. Compare this to past recorded reads.
Resources:
Developing
Reading Fluency," by Bruce Murray, The Reading Genie,
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html
"The
Race is on!" by Lindsay Phillips:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/solutions/phillipsgf.htm