Fly Into Fun, Fluent Reading!

Growing Independence and Fluency

Sarah Plier

Rationale: Fluent readers read quickly, automatically and expressively. In order for a child to become a fluent reader he or she must build up their sight word vocabulary. The best way to do this is to transition from decoding to automatic word recognition. The goal of this lesson is for students to build fluency through repeated readings with partners and tracking their reading times. Through rereading the text, students will learn to read words automatically and with expression, adding to their sight vocabulary. Through tracking their reading times, they will increase the speed at which they read. The more students read, the more their reading skills will improve. By the end of this lesson, students will have learned a strategy to increase fluency in their independent reading.

Materials:

-          timer for each group

-          pencils

-          class set of Iggy Pig’s Big Bad Wolf Trouble

-          class set of reading charts

-          class set of repeated reading charts

-          dry erase board/marker

Reading Chart

 

Name:____________

 

                        Time to Complete:

 

1st Reading     _________

 

2nd Reading     _________

 

3rd Reading     _________

 

Repeated Reading Checklist

 

Your Name:____________

Partner:____________

 

As I listened to my partner, he/she:

                                                            After 2nd Reading:                  After 3rd Reading:

                                                                       

1. Remembered more words                        __________                            __________

 

2. Read faster                                     __________                            __________

 

3. Read smoother                              __________                            __________

 

Procedures:

  1. To begin the lesson you want to talk to your students about what exactly it means to be fluent and explain the importance of fluency. Say, "We are going to learn about fluency. Fluency is reading quickly, smoothly, and with a lot of expression, while comprehending what you read. A fluent reader does not have to continually stop while reading to break down words. Fluent readers read a text in the same way they would have a conversation with someone, saying all of the words without stopping. Fluent readers are able to read with ease and find more enjoyment in reading. Let’s get ready to become fluent readers!"
  2. Model: Say, "When we read a new text we don’t always know every word, and we must read it a few times through in order to read it smoothly and understand what it is saying. I am going to write a sentence on the board and model how I would build fluency through repeated readings of the sentence." Write: Today I ran in the rain. "I am going to read this sentence (read slowly with several pauses and trying to figure out the words). Tooo-ddd-aaa-yyy I r-ann iii-nn the r-aaaa-innn. Let me try again: Too-daaay, today, I raann ii-nn, in, the rai—nnn, rain. Oh, ok! I think it says, "Today I ran in the rain." That makes sense! I wonder why she ran in the rain? Did you notice how I had to read the sentence several times in order to decode the words enough to finally be able to automatically recognize them as I read? Did you notice I used crosschecking to make sure I was decoding each word correctly? Crosschecking is one of the comprehension strategies that you can use when reading a text. To crosscheck, you reread the sentence using the word you decoded to be sure it makes sense within the sentence. Each I time I read the sentence it got a little easier to recognize and read the words, and each time I was able to understand what I was reading a little better. Did you notice when I read the sentence the last time that I read it quickly and smoothly, without pausing?"
  3. Guided Practice: "Now I am going to write a new sentence on the board and I want us to read the new sentence a loud together. Remember to decode each word and crosscheck to make sure that the decoded words make sense within the sentence. We will read this sentence together three times." (Write the following sentence on the board: I went to school today.) "Remember to start by reading the sentence slowly, decoding each word. Let’s begin! I www-eee-nnn-tt t-ooo sss-cchhh-oooo-ll ttt-ooo-ddd-aaayyy. Again: I www-eeennn-tt, went, t-oo ss-chh-ooo-l, school, ttt-oo-ddd-ayy, today. Last time: I went to school today. Oh, I went to school today! That makes sense, right? Great job! Did you notice the difference between the first time that we read that sentence and the last time? Did you notice we used crosschecking to make sure we decoded correctly? Great, this is exactly how you become a fluent reader! The third time we were able to easily read the sentence, without stopping."
  4. "Now I am going to give each of you a copy of Iggy Pig’s Big Bad Wolf Trouble. I want you to begin by reading the book silently to yourself. This will help you to become familiar with the words in the text. The book is about a pig named Iggy Pig who is having a birthday party. A particular character tries to trick Iggy Pig into inviting him to the party. You’ll have to read to see who this character is and if he gets the invite! You may now begin reading silently."
  5. After allowing the students time to silent read, place them with a partner to begin their partner readings. Say: "I am now going to put you with a partner. I want you each to read pages 1-3 of Iggy Pig’s Big Bad Wolf Trouble three different times aloud to your partner. As you read, your partner will time you. You will record the amount of time it takes you to read pages 1-3 for each of the three readings. Your partner will take notes on the repeated reading checklist after your second reading and after your third reading. After you have read pages 1-3 three times, switch roles. The person who read first will now time their partner and fill out the repeated reading check list after his or her second and third readings. The second person reading will also make note of the time it took them to read pages 1-3 after each of the three repeated readings. I will be walking around the room to monitor your reading and partner interaction! Please be sure to discuss the notes you take about your partner’s reading on the repeated reading checklist- these notes are extremely important in helping your partner become a fluent reader! Let’s get started!"

Assessment: First, I will informally assess the students as I walk around and monitor their repeated readings with their partners. I will also collect both the reading charts and the repeated readings checklists. The reading charts will allow me to see the increase in fluency through the amount of time it took for each reading. The student should be able to read pages 1-3 in less time by the third repeated reading than they did on the first reading. The repeated readings checklists will also assess the students by noting if they read faster and smoother with each repeated reading. While being able to quickly read is a part of being fluent, comprehension is another key component in being fluent. A fluent reader must understand what he or she has read. So, I will have the students orally answer comprehension questions to assess their understanding of the text. Some questions that I might ask include: Which character tried to trick Iggy Pig?, Was this character able to trick Iggy Pig?, Who did Iggy Pig invite to the birthday party?, Did Iggy Pig know he was being tricked?, etc.

References:

French, Vivian. Iggy Pig’s Big Bad Wolf Trouble. First Scholastic Printing: 2003.

Deason, Morgan Grace. "Hopping Into Fluency."

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/awakenings/deasonmggf.htm

Wilson, Meg. "Squeal Into Fluent Reading!"

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/awakenings/wilsonmgf.html

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