Hopping Into Fluency
Growing Independence
and Fluency
Rationale:
The main goal of reading is essentially comprehension and understanding text
that is read.
Fluency, a skill needed to comprehend texts, is the
ability to identify words accurately, rapidly, and automatically, and is read at
the rate in which you speak. To gain fluency, students need to read and reread
the same text multiple times so that they will learn to recognize all of the
words automatically. When students read with partners, they have each other to
help decode words and it allows them to practice reading aloud.
Materials:
Student copies of "Frog and Toad are Friends," whiteboard, student copies of
rubric sheet, individual stopwatches for students, cover-up critters
Rubric Examples:
Name:_______________________
Partner's Name:________________________
First read time: ____________________________
Second read time: _________________________
Third read time: ___________________________
Checklist:
Circle if your partner read faster, smoother, and with
expression after second read:
Read faster
Yes / No
Read smoother
Yes / No
Read with expression
Yes / No
Circle if your partner read faster, smoother, and with
expression after third read:
Read faster
Yes / No
Read smoother
Yes / No
Read with expression
Yes / No
Procedure:
1. Explain to
the students what it means to be a fluent reader. "To be fluent readers we need
to read with expression, which means that we put feeling and emotion in our
voice; we need to read smoothly and rapidly, at a speaking speed." Explain to
students that today will be a reading and rereading day because rereading the
text helps to build fluency in readers.
2. The teacher
should then model what building fluency looks like by writing a sentence on the
board, "Frog and toad are friends." "f-f-f-r-r-o-o-g-g
a-n-n-n-d-d
t-t-t-o-o-a-a-a-d-d-d
a-a-r-r-r-e-e-e
f-r-r-i-i-i-e-e-n-n-d-d-d-s." Next, the teacher should model saying the sentence
fluently, "Now I am going to say the sentence fluently and with expression since
I know what it says. 'Froggg and toaddd are friendsss'." "Now I am going to say
the sentence with expression and more smoothly like a fluent reader would 'Frog
and toad are friends.' Do you think the sentence sounded more understandable
when I said it very slowly or when I said it with expression and smoothly?" The
students should reply that it sounded better the last time you said it.
3. Say: "When
you are doing repeated readings and you come across a word you do not recognize
you can use your cover-up critter to help you sound it out." Teacher can model
cover-up critter by writing 'frog' on board and saying "See that I am only
uncovering one letters at a time. FFF-RRR-OOO-GGG.FROG! This cover-up critter
will help you when you are reading with your partner during repeated reading."
4. "We are
going to practice reading fluently with partners. I will give each of you a
partner and with your partner you will each read "Frog and Toad are Friends" 3
times while your partner times how long it take you to read it. Each time you
read it should take you less time and you should read with more expression! I
will give you a piece of paper so you can mark how long it took your partner to
read, if they read smoother, if they reader faster, and if they read with more
expression. Make sure you put your name and your partners name at the top of
your sheet. Remember that it is ok if your partner makes mistakes when reading.
The cover-up critter can help you and each time you read you will get better at
it!"
5. Engage the
students in a book talk for "Frog and Toad are Friends." Frog is waiting for his
best friend Toad to wake up from his long winter nap. When toad finally wakes up
Frog and Toad do many fun things together. You are going to read to find out
what fun things they do together!"
6. Pass out
copies of text to each student along with rubric sheet for them to fill out.
Have example rubric sheet at front of room in case students get confused.
Remind students not to interrupt partner while they read because it is
timed and you do not want to take any of their time.
7. For
assessment, the teacher will take up the rubric sheets and calculate each
student's WPM with the formula: Words read x 60 / seconds taken to read.
References:
Frog and Toad are Friends.
Arnold Lobel. HarperCollins 1990.
Murray, Bruce. The Reading Genie "Developing Reading Fluency"