Ready, Set, Read!

By: Allison Bragg

Growing Independence and Fluency

Rationale: The goal of this lesson is to help students read with reading fluency and expression.  It is important for students to be fluent readers because it assists in their development of reading comprehension and speed.  This lesson will have students reread a decodable text with a time limit and will have students partner read.

Materials:

White board with marker

Cope of Lee and the Team for each student. Phonics Readers (1990).

Timer for each student

Reading Time Sheet for each student

Partner checklist for each student

Baseball diamond with bases chart for each student to track his/her progress

Reading Time Sheet

Name: __________________          Date: ________________

Time:

     After 1^st read: _________

     After 2^nd read: _________

               After 3^rd read: _________

Partner Reading Checklist

Name: ___________________        My partner's name: _____________

When my partner read, he/she:

                                                After 2^nd reading   After 3^rd reading

Remembered more words        ________             ________

Read faster                              ________            ________

          Read smoother                        ________            ________

          Read with expression               ________             ________

Procedures:

1.  Ask the class if anyone knows what fluency means.  Explain that it means to read faster, like they were racing and smoother at the same time.  When we read fluently, we also have expression in our voices.  We want to be good fluent readers because it will help us remember more words and to understand what we are reading.  In order to become fluent readers, we need to practice rereading and using timers.  That is just what we are going to be doing today!

2.  Write the following sentence on the white board: He slid into home plate and won the game for his team.  Read the sentence to the class slowly and without expression: "He sllliiiiid into hooome plllllaaaate and wooooon the gaaaaame fooorrrr hiiis teeeam".  Ask the class if that sounds like an exciting part of a story.  Now read the sentence quickly and with great expression: "He slid into home plate and won the game for his team!".  Ask the class what you did differently to make the sentence more exciting.  Now, ask the class to practice their speed and expression by reading the sentence just like you did.  Make sure students heard the difference in your change in speed and expression and how the second sentence sounds much better and more exciting. 

3.  Distribute a copy of Lee and the Team to each student.  Give a book talk by saying that this book is about a boy named Lee who is the captain of a baseball team.  They have a game to practice for but his teammates just want to lie in the grass all day.  While Lee is trying to get him team to practice, a bee flies around Lee's leg.  Will the bee sting Lee?  Will his teammates listen to Lee and practice?  You'll have to read fluently to find out!

4.  Pass out a Reading Time Sheet to each student along with a timer.  Explain to each student that they are going to read the book three times.  They need to time themselves with the timer and record the number on the sheet.  Bring the baseball diamond poster to the students' attention on the board.  Explain that after each reading, they will come move their piece to the appropriate base according to how fast they read.  Ready, set read!

5.  Now, pair students up and pass out the Partner Reading Checklist.  Explain to the students that one of them will read the book with fluency, while the other partner listens to them and fills out the checklist.  They need to put a check in the boxes to show that their partner either did or did not remember more words, read faster, read smoother, and read with expression after the 2^nd and 3^rd reading.  Ready, set read!

6.  Assessments: While the students are reading during self rereading and during partner reading, the teacher needs to walk around and have each student do a one minute read to test for fluency.  The teacher will also collect and evaluate the Self Reading Checklist, Partner Reading Checklist, and baseball diamond to check for progress of the students' reading fluency.

References:

Daniels, Callie http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/projects/danielsgf.html

Daughtry, Sarah http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/projects/daughtrygf.html

Cushman, Sheila. Lee and the Team (1990). Carson, California: Educational Insights.

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