Speed,
Speed, Speed into
Fluency Design
Rationale:
Students
need to be able to read
with fluency. Fluency means the ability
to read words automatically and accurately.
Students also need to learn to read with expression. In this
lesson, we
will focus on getting the student’s to read smoother, faster and with
more
expression. Students will gain fluency through one-minute readings and
timed
readings.
Materials:
1. Copies of Jane and Babe for each student
2. Stopwatch for each pair of students
3. Chart with sentence (I like to ride my bike)
4. Fluency checklist (1 per student)
1. Pitch rose and
fell.
YES / NO
2. Paces sped up and
slowed. YES / NO
3. Volume rose and
fell. YES
/ NO
4. Phrasing made
sense. YES
/ NO
5. Number of missed
words _______
6. Number of words read in 1
minute_______
Procedures:
1. Introduce the lesson to the students
by explaining how important it is to read fast and fluently. Explain to students
what the word
fluency means. Explain that the work fluency means to read quickly,
accurately,
and with expression. “Today we are going
to be
working on improving your reading skills to make you more fluent readers. Fast reading is going to be our goal
today.
2. “I am going to read a sentence from the chart in two different ways. I am going to read this sentence without fluency.” Read the first sentence in a word-by-word slow reading. II llike tto rridde my bbike. “Now I am going to read it differently.” Repeat passage, but model fast, fluent reading. “I like to ride my bike.” “Were you able to tell the difference between reading with fluency and reading without fluency? Listen once more as I read the sentence again. I like to ride my bike. Did you notice how I read it fast this time because I have read it a few times and with that practice, I was able to read it fluently.”
3. Have children practice reading the sentence: I like to ride my bike. Have them
repeat it until they are able to read it fluently and then move on to
reading
through the book.
4. Model
fluent and timed reading. “I am
going to show you how to read fluently. Today, I am going to read
Jane
and Babe. Jane is a zookeeper at the
zoo where Babe, a lion, lives. They are very good friends. One day,
Jane tries
to wake Babe so they can play, but Babe only wants to sleep! You will
have to
read the book to find out if Jane is able to wake Babe.”
After reading the Jane and Babe talk
about fluent reading. “Did
everyone notice how I read the book smoothly and my voice went higher
and
lower, faster and softer, and louder and softer.”
5. Have
students get into partners. I am going to
split you into pairs. You are going to
take turns. We are going to be reading Jane
and Babe. I want one student to read
while the other
student times that student’s reading. Afterwards, you will switch and
the other
person will time while you read. When it is your turn to read, I want
you to
see how many words you can read in one-minute at a smooth, but quick,
pace. You
will hear the stopwatch go off in one minute. At the end of
one-minute,
place a sticky note where you stopped and go back and count the words
that you
read. The reader will read the book
three times and the listener is going to fill out the checklist after
the
second and third time the reader reads the book. If
you miss a word use cover-ups and then go
back and reread. If you miss more than one word on a page you
might want
to choose a new book to read. Remind the students they are
reading with
fluency.
6. To assess, I will call each student to my desk one by one and have them bring their fluency checklist that they completed with their partner. I will review it with each student, highlighting their areas of improvement. Then, I will have each child read Jane and Babe once more and monitor fluency.
Reference:
Rockwell, Lauren. Zoom Zoom Zoom.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/constr/rockwellgf.html
Copper,
Erin. On Your Mark…Get Set…Read!
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/catalysts/coopergf.html
Dr.
Bruce Murray, The