Growing Independence and Fluency:

Race like a Rabbit to Fluency!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale:

Effortless word recognition is a characteristic of fluency. With practice, fluency will build and so will the speed of the reader reading will. Decoding is very important for reading but when decoding is a slow process, that slow process might hinder the reader. Once fluency is learned, it can help move the student from decoding to fluent reading. Fluency in reading can help with word recognition that will become effortless over time and can also help with reading comprehension. This lesson will focus on strategies like crosschecking, partner timing reading to increase fluency, and also repeated readings.

 

Materials:

-Stopwatches for each pair of students

-Fluency graphs for each child

 -Class set of Red Gets Fed by Shelia Cushman books

-Fluency checklist

 

 

 

 

 

Procedures:

• Explain the Activity: Say: Today you are going to learn how to read just like the way we talk to each other. Once you are able to read smoothly, it helps you understand the words in the passage and how they go together to build a very interesting story that you can remember and understand.

• Model Fluent and Nonfluent reading: First I would review how to use cover-ups and how to crosscheck before modeling for my students. I would have the students listen carefully as I read a few sentences from the book without reading it fluently. After reading it I would then say, “How did that sound? Do you think I was able to concentrate on what the story was about or do you think I concentrated on each word individually?”. Afterwards, I would read the same sentence very fluently without any issues and then ask for input from the students about how they thought that sounded and if they thought I was able to concentrate.Once I modeled how fluent reading sounds, I would then ask the students to open up to the same page in their books and use their cover-ups to read the first sentence. Once they have read the first sentence I would then ask them to crosscheck and then reread the sentence the correct way.

  3.).  Review a Strategy: I would review crosschecking with the students after they have attempted the first few sentences. Say: Did you notice what I did to check myself after I used my cover-ups to read? I first used my cover-ups to read  the sentence and then crosschecked myself after words by rereading each word. Were there any words that did not sound right when you first read them but when you crosschecked them they sounded correct? If so then you did an excellent job at crosschecking yourself!

  4.) Practice Together:  I would then separate the students into groups of two who are on similar levels and give them a readers response sheet and a stopwatch. With this, I would have one of the students start reading from Red Gets Fed and have the other student record the progress of the reader. The recorder will be tining on the stopwatch and will have to keep track of the progress the reader.

 5.) Motivate to Read: Say: I am going to give you a book talk about our story. First I would give a book talk for the book Red Gets Fed: Red is a very mischievous dog that likes to get under Megs skin. One night while she is sleeping, Red goes to Meg and tries to wake her up! What do you think he is trying to do or trying to get her to do? We will have to read to find out!

 6.) Explain the New Procedure for paired practice: Directions will be presented at the front of the class for students to refer to. Say:  I am passing out a checklist which will help you and your partner see how well you guys are at being fluent readers! Remember, becoming a fluent reader can be tricky so remember to take your time if you need to.
 

1. As you pair up with your reading partner, remember to grab a stopwatch and your pencil and the checklist that I just gave you. The recorder will be the one to time the reader so the first thing you will need to do is count all the words in the book and write the number down on your page.

2. You will have three turns each. With each turn you want to try to do the best you can. While the reader is reading, the recorder will have the stopwatch in their hand and start timing. The reader will start reading and the recorder will write each word that is missed. Remember to try every word and not to skip any!
 

3. If there are any mistake, be sure to make a mark on your paper to you can keep up with how many there are at the end of the book.

4. Now subtract the amount of missed words from the total amount and then record that number that you get and also write down how long it took.

5. With every time the reader reads the story again, record the number and time and use the checklist to help them see how fast they got and how fluent they have become!

6. Once you are finished, you can talk with your partner about how well each other did and what you might could work on together or next time to help your fluency.

7. At this point, all papers should be returned to me, along with the stop watchers and the books , and return to your seats.

 Assessment:

I would assess my students by having each come to me individually and read a sentence or two or the book to me. By having my students do this, I will be able to check their fluency or see what I can do to help them build their fluency. When assessing the student individually, I will also keep notes and time them as well and compare it to what their partner turned in and also at the end of the fluency lesson I will want to individually assess the students again and compare to what they originally had as their score and time. Another way I will assess my students is ask them questions about what they read to see if they were able to comprehend what they read.

 

 

 References:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html

Cushman, Shelia. Red Gets Fed. Educational Insights: Caron, CA, 1990