Reading Wiz!
Growing Independence and Fluency
Lauren Long
Rationale:
One of the most important goals of becoming a
successful reader is learning to be a reading wiz--how to read
fluently!
In order for a child to become a more fluent reader, he or she should
read a
variety of texts and repeat readings on a regular basis. In doing
so,
over time readers will become more confident in their reading
abilities.
More confidence in reading ability often translates into an increase in
voluntary reading! The more fluent a reader becomes, the more he
or she
is able to read with automatic word recognition which in turn frees up
resources for comprehension, and ultimately leads to faster, more
expressive,
and even silent reading (which is twice as fast as oral reading).
Materials:
- Whiteboard or chalkboard
- Markers or chalk
- One Doc in the Fog text for each pair of students ((1990). Phonics Reader Short Vowel, Doc
in the Fog.
Carson, CA (USA): Educational Insights.)
- Reading fluency check sheets (one per student, available on
Reading
Genie Website:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html)
- Pencils
-Stopwatch (one per pair)
Procedures:
1.Explain:
"Today, let's learn
how to become fluent readers! Has anyone ever heard of the word
fluent?"
Give time for students to raise hands and answer. "We become
fluent
readers when we don't have to stop and sound out a word, but we read
quickly
and with expression instead! Don't you want to be able to do
that?
Well, something that helps us to become fluent readers is reading a
book and
then rereading it again! We're going to do a little bit of that
now."
2.Write
this sentence on the board: "Doc
is a wiz." Then read the sentence in an exaggerated manner,
stretching out each sound in the word, modeling a reader that is not
fluent. "Let me read this sentence to you.
'Ddddddoooooccccc
iiiii-s a wi-wi-wiii-z wiz.' Hmm. Let me read this sentence
again."
(Reread the sentence a little faster): "'D-oc i-s a wi-z.'
Hmm. That sounded a little choppy. Now that I've read the
sentence
a couple of times, I'm going to reread it again, this time with more
expression: 'Doc is a wiz.' When I read the sentence, which time
sounded
the best? The first time, second time, or last time? That's
right! The third time sounded the best because I read it to you
quickly
and with expression, so it was more interesting, right?"
3.Write
this sentence on the board: "Doc
has a wand." Have children practice reading the sentence out loud, and
rereading it again and again each time making it more quickly and with
more
expression. Have a few students come up to the board to model how
to read
the sentence fluently.
4.Divide
the students into
pairs. Write a new sentence on the board: "Doc and his wand make
magic." Have them read the sentence to each other, taking turns.
"You
and your partner can take turns reading this sentence. Make sure
you
listen closely and carefully to your partner when he or she
reads. Your
partner can help you by giving tips on how you can read more quickly
and with
more expression." Allow students to take some time to read to their
partners. Walk around the room, listening closely to the partner
activity, giving suggestions when necessary.
5.Ask
the students: "What was
the difference between the first few times your partner read the
sentence and
the last times your partner read the sentence?" Reiterate how rereading
can lead to quicker, more expressive reading which is fluency.
6.Give
a book talk about Doc in
the Fog: "Does anyone know what a wizard is? That's right--a
wizard is a person who can use magic and do all kinds of tricks.
Has
anyone ever been to a magic show before? Well, today we are going
to read
a book called Doc in the Fog! Doc is a wiz, or wizard, who can
use magic
to turn objects into different things. Will his magic ever turn him
into
something? Let's read the book and see what happens to Doc!"
7.Partner
reading: Give one copy of Doc
in the Fog and a stopwatch to each pair of partners. Give
each
individual student his or her own check sheet to keep a record of his
or her
partner.
8.
"Each of you will take turns
reading the story three times each. You will take turns being the
reader
and then the listener." The first time you can read the story to
your partner. And then you listen while your partner reads.
The
second time you and your partner will take turns using the stopwatch to
see how
quickly and expressively you can read the story, starting the stopwatch
when
you start your second reading, and stopping the stopwatch when you
finish that
second reading. After the second reading, you and your partner
will use
the check sheet to see if you remembered more words, read faster, read
smoother, and read with expression. Make sure you and your
partner write
down the time it takes you to read the story on the stopwatch after you
have
finished your second reading! You and your partner will do the
same thing
the third time, and the listener will fill in checks on the '3rd
reading' column on the worksheet. They will also time you again
on your
third reading and write down that time on the worksheet. Then you
can see
how quickly you read and if you remembered more words and read more
expressively
as you reread the third time!"
9.After
the partners take turns
reading and rereading three times each, discuss the results with the
class as a
whole. "How did you read the first time compared with the third
time
you read? Looking at your check sheets and the amount of time
each
reading took, did you get better or worse at reading the text?
Did you
read quicker, smoothly, and with more expression the first time you
read, the
second time you read, or the third time you read?"
10.Evaluation/Assessment:
Study the
check sheets and the checks in each column. Also notice the
amount of
time it took each student to read the text. Assessment can be
based on
the completion of the activity and noting the improvement each child
had with
each reading. The students that did not show improvement during
this
activity will be the ones that will need further instruction and
assistance
with reading fluently.
Resources:
(1990).
Phonics
Reader Short Vowel, Doc in the Fog. Carson, CA (USA):
Educational
Insights.
Larson, Carlie (2007).
Lightning Speed Reading.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/larsongf.html.
Murray,
B Developing Reading
Fluency. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html.