Ready…Set….READ!
Fluency
Rationale: It is important when trying to be a successful reader that you can read fluently. A good way to become a fluent reader is to read often and repeat what you read over and over. By doing repeated readings readers can gain fluency and become more confident about their reading abilities. Repeated reading also helps them gain a better knowledge of text. Readers who can read fluently read with a excitement and enthusiasm in their voice; making a more pleasurable experience for their listeners. Being able to read fluently also allows readers to have better comprehension and understanding of the text they are reading.
Materials: dry erase or chalk board at the front of the
room, enough copies of A Cat Nap for
every pair of children in your class, pencils, chalk or dry erase
markers, an
eraser, enough progress charts for every child in your class (the
progress
chart can be a neighborhood with a sidewalk linking different house,
this is
where the student can write in the word counts, the sidewalk will lead
through
backyards or by house then finally to a basket on the porch of a house
for the
cat to nap in), fluency checklists (enough for every child in your
class),
stopwatch, one post it note for every pair of children
Procedure:
2. Tell the students that you are going to work
on become a fluent reader by doing repeated readers today.
“Boys and girls today we are
going to do
something called repeated reading. This
is when we read a portion of a book for a minute. After the
minute is up you count how many
words you read in that minute. We will
do this a few times, but each time we do it we will read for a
minute.
It is important though that you remember what
read too, speed is important but I want what you are reading to make
sense to
you.”
3. “If you come
to a word you do not know try
and make sense of it by using a strategy.
A strategy I like to use is the cover up strategy. Let’s say I
come across this word in my book
(write the word band on the board; model for the students).”
Cover
up the a n d and so only the b is visible. Make the b sound, “b
makes the b b b
sound….(uncover the a n d) and… oh band!
This is a good strategy to use when you are reading!” It is important to review an old strategy
for kids.
4. Now it is time for you to model a repeated
reading. “Let
me show you how a
repeated reading works boys and girls.” Write
the sentence The cat sat under the house on the board. “I am going
to read this sentence for the
first time… the c-c-at
s-s-a-a-t
un-d-under the h-h-ou-house. Man that
took me a while to read! I think I am
going to re-read the sentence and see if I can make it sound a little
better…the c-a-a-t sat und-er the
h-h-hou-se.
That was a lot better but I sounded so boring! Lets see if I can
put some excitement in my
voice…the cat sat under the house (do not use monotone this
time).
That sounds great to me now! See how repeated readings can help
you as
readers. It makes it so much easier for
me to understand what I am reading and for you as the listener to enjoy
it
more!”
4. Now it is time for the children to be
partnered up with each other. Partner
your students up in your class. “Boys
and girls I have just partnered you up with a friend. This is who
you will work with for your
repeated reading practice.” Pass out
the speed recording sheets, post its, and books. It’s important
now that you explain to your
students what they will be responsible for doing with their
partner.
“In your group one of your will be the
recorder and one will be the reader.
Then you will switch. The person
sitting on the right is going to be the recorder first. Then you
will switch. I will tell the reader when to start
reading. I will give you one minute to
read then when I say stop the recorder will put a post it where the
reader was
when I said stop. Then the recorder will count the number of words that
the
reader read in that one minute. Write
that number on the recording sheet. We
will do this three times. Reuse the post
it note each time. Each time the reader
reads the recorder will also check boxes on the fluency
checklist.
If the reader reads smoother or faster you
would check that box. If they don’t do
it then don’t check the box.” Let
the first student do their readers three times.
It is your job as the teacher to keep track of time and say
start and
stop. When the children switch turns you
may want to go over what the jobs are again.
5. After each student does his/her three
repeated readings pass out the progress charts.
Tell the students to record where their first, second and third
word
count was. They can place the cat where
their third reading count was. “Boys
and girls the goal is to get the cat home to its bed so it can take a
nap!”
6. Bring the class back together by having some
students share what they thought helped them or made them read slower
and less
fluent. You may want to close by reading
A Cat Nap to the students so they can know the whole story! Also it is a good idea to post the students
charts up so they can see their progress with the repeated readings.
Assessment:
I will assess the students work
by looking at their
progress charts. The more repeated
readings the child does the more words they should be reading per
minute. I will also look at the fluency
checklist
that the recorder did while their partner was reading.
References:
"Race to the
Finish Line". Dorsey Tibbit.
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/connect/tippettgf.html
"Go, read.
Go!" Landon McKean. http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/constr/mckeangf.html
A Cat Nap.
Educational Insights. 1990.
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