Read Like a Cheetah
Growing Independence and Fluency
By: Kelsey Fourroux
Rationale: In
order to be fluent readers, children must know how to read quickly, smoothly and
effortlessly. This lesson in specific will focus on one of these factors, which
is their ability to read faster. We will use repeated and timed readings to help
children build fluency in reading.
Materials:
·
Book Iggy Pig’s Silly Day by Vivian
French (teacher and student copies)
·
Timers (One per every pair of students)
·
Pencils
·
Whiteboard/SMARTboard
·
Chart for each pair with a squirrel climbing up a tree
·
Speed Reading Record (for every student):
Procedure:
1. Introduce Lesson: “Today we are going to learn how to become more fluent
readers. This means that we can read quickly and effortlessly with expression.
In order to do this, we need to be able to recognize words quickly without
decoding them. We will practice this by reading our book a few times and then it
should get easier to recognize the words quicker each time.
2. Model Lesson: “I am going to read this sentence to you a few times from the
board” (“Iggy Pig went skipping across the field”). (First read it while
decoding and sounding out each word): “IIIIggggyyy PPPiiigggg wwweeennnttt
ssskkkiippppppiiinngg aaacccrrrooossssss ttthhee fffiiiieeelldd.” (Then read it
correctly with pauses between each word): “Iggy
Pig
went
skipping across
the
field.” (Now read it fluently): “Iggy Pig went skipping across the field.”
“Which one was the easiest to understand? Why do you think so? Do you see how
each time I got a little better at reading the sentence because I knew what
words to expect. This will happen to you when you read and practice your fluency
skills!”
3. Explain Activity: “Today we are going to start by reading
Iggy Pig’s Silly Day. We will read it
together several times so you can see how each time your reading will become
more fluent. This story begins by introducing Iggy Pig and tells us how he goes
off to skip. He then runs into a big gray animal who looks like he is up to no
good. We will have to read to find out what happens. I am going to read you the
first five pages of the book to show you how fluency works. Remember if you come
to a word you don’t know it is helpful to crosscheck, which means to finish the
sentence to see if it makes sense with that word. This will not only help you
learn the correct word, but will help you understand what the story is saying.
(Read first five pages).
4. Student Practice: “Now that we have practiced together, I want you to work
with a partner. Each of you will need a pencil and I will provide you with speed
reading records, a timer, and a squirrel fluency tree. I want each of you to
take turns reading the whole book to your partner. While one person is reading,
the other should be keeping time while listening to the story. Make sure to keep
note of the words you partner missed so you can tell them at the end. When you
are done, put the squirrel on the correct part of the tree. The top of the tree
means they read really fast and bottom means they read really slow; you can put
it anywhere in between. (Model the fluency chart to students. Also show students
how they should fill out the speed reading record chart).
5. Assessment: Walk around classroom and observe students. Make any notes to
help you with this. When the activity it over, take each student’s speed reading
record and check it for an increase in speed. Then ask students questions and
have them write down their answers to check for comprehension: “Who was the big
gray animal?” “What was Iggy Pig doing for most of the story?” “Who was one
friend that was with Iggy Pig?” “Who chased down the big gray animal?”
References:
French, Vivian. Iggy Pig’s Silly Day. Illustrated by Melling, David. New
York: Scholastic, 1998.
Print.
Smith, Rachel. The
Race for Home.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/
reading_genie/awakenings/smithrgf.htm