Zot,
Zap, Read!
Rationale:
For
a student to become a fluent reader, one must read and reread decodable
words
in connected text. Rereading helps student’s who struggle with word
recognition,
improves comprehension by overcoming the decoding barrier, and improves
fluency. Fluency refers to a reader’s
ability to read
words automatically and accurately. In
this lesson, students will learn how to read quickly,
smoothly, and expressively in order to gain fluency. Students
will gain
fluency through repeated readings, timed readings, and one-minute
reads.
It has been proven that the more students read the more their reading
skills
will improve.
Materials:
Copies of Doc in the Fog for every student
Teacher copy of Doc in the Fog
“Wizard
hat” progress chart (piece of paper for each student with a wizard hat
on the
table, three wizard hats floating in the air, and the final wizard hat
on the
wizard. Leave the wizard hats blank, so
the students can write the number of words read in the hat and see
their
progress.)
Stopwatch for each pair of students
Dry Erase board and marker
Sticky notes for each student
Procedures:
1. Explain
the purpose of the fluency lesson to the students.
“Today we are going to talk about reading
fluency. In order to be a successful
reader, you must be able to read fluently.
Fluency means to read a sentence correctly without stopping to
sound out
each word. A fluent reader also reads
with expression and recognizes words almost automatically.
One way we can work on our reading fluency is
reading a book more than one time. Each
time you read a book, you read it faster because you are able to
recognize the
words. Today we are going to reread a
text several times, so we can improve our fluency.”
2. Model how to read with
fluency for the students. Write on the dry
erase board the following sentence:
The ball fell in the cup. “First, I am going to read the sentence
without
fluency. The bbbaaaalllll fffeeellll in the ccccuuuuppp. Now I am going to read the sentence as a
fluent reader would read. The ball fell in the cup. Can you
hear
the difference between reading with fluency and reading without
fluency?
Listen as I read the sentence once again. The ball fell in
the cup.
This time I read the sentence faster because it was not the first
time I
had read these words. The first two times I read the sentence
gave me
practice and helped me read the sentence fluently the third time.”
3. Remind the students to
cross check if they do not automatically
recognize a word during their reading. “Do not forget that cross
checking
is an important tool that fluent readers use to make sense of the
sentences
that they read. Use a cover-up if you do not automatically
recognize a
word to cover-up part of the word to make it easier to sound out.
Once
you have determined the pronunciation of the word, go back and reread
the
sentence to see if the word makes sense in the sentence. If the
word does
not make sense in the sentence, you can change your guess to a word
that fits
the sentence. If you and your partner cannot figure out how to
pronounce
a word correctly, come ask me and I will help you figure it
out.” Now, we
are going to use the book Doc in the Fog to practice improving
our
fluency. “Doc in the fog is about a wizard who uses his powers to
change
things. One thing Doc changes is a dog
in to a pot, what do you think will happen to the pot?
We will have to read and find out what
happens!” Model reading Doc in
the Fog aloud as a fluent reader for the students.
4. “Now that you have
heard me read the book as a fluent reader, you
are going to practice reading fluently with a partner.” Divide
the
students up into groups of two and give each student a copy of the book
and
each pair a stopwatch. One student will be the reader and the
other
student will be the timer. Then, the two students will switch
jobs.
“When it is your turn to read, I want you to see how many words you can
read fast
and smoothly in one minute. Remember: you can not skip any words.
Put a
sticky note on the pager of where you left off so you know where to
stop
counting. When you are finished reading, count the number of words that
you
read in one minute and write that number on your wizard hat progress
chart. I want you to switch with your partner until you have each
read
the book three times. You may start reading now.
Don’t forget to start the stopwatch.”
5. The teacher will walk
around the classroom to listen to the
students reading and to assist with the progress charts if needed.
6. To assess the students I will call each student to my desk one
by
one and have them bring their progress chart they completed with their
partner.
I will review it with the student, highlighting their areas of
improvement.
Then, I will have the child read Doc in the Fog once
more and
monitor fluency by jotting down whether they read smoothly, quickly,
stopped
rarely, or less smooth, less quick, or stopped frequently. Also,
while
the student is reading I will note the miscues. Then, at the end
I will
do a quick check for comprehension of text (See Questions Below.)
2.
What does Doc do with his wand?
3.
What happens to Doc and the green fog?
References:
Lincoln, Katie. Buzz,
Buzz, Buzz! http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/invent/lincolngf.html
(1990)
Phonics Readers Short Vowels, Doc in the Fog.
Carson, CA
(USA): Educational Insights.