Rationale: This lesson is designed to improve students reading fluency. Reading fluently means that a student has the ability to read where nearly all the words are sight vocabulary. As a result, readers can read at a fast pace and with expression. They must first be able to decode words in the text they are reading in order to have reading fluency.  In this lesson, students will learn the strategies and skills that it takes to become a fluent reader through modeling and practice. Students will use the strategy of crosschecking after readings of a decodable text and repeated readings to gain fluency and independence in reading.

 

Materials: Pencils, stopwatch and timer, coverup critters, Amelia Bedelia On The Move by Herman Parish, fluency checklist, reading time log, partner reading progress sheet

 

Procedures:

1. Say: “Today we are going to learn how to improve our fluency when reading. Can anyone tell me what the word fluency means? Fluency is when you read words quickly and automatically with expression.  When we read with fluency, we comprehend more of the story and the story becomes more exciting, too. To become fluent readers, we must be able to recognize a large amount of sight words, or words that we know automatically, without having to decode them. To gain sight words we have to practice reading through a method of repeated reading where we can decode, crosscheck, mental mark, and reread.”

2. Say: “We have cover-up critters to help us decode, which means to read an unfamiliar word. For example, let’s look at the word street. (Write the word street on the whiteboard). I am going to use my cover-up critter to decode this word. I will cover up all the letters except for the first s. /s/…/s/…/s/. Then I will uncover t. /t/…/t/…/t/st/. Next, I uncover the letter r. /r/…/r/r/r/…/s/t/r. Then I will uncover the ee. /ee/…/ee/…/ee/ s/t/r/ee. Finally, I will uncover the t and blend all the phonemes together. /s/t/r/ee/t/…/s/t/r/ee/t/… street. This word is STREET.  Let’s use the word in a sentence: “He walked down the street to his house.”

3. Now I will show the students the difference between reading a sentence fluently and not reading it fluently.  I will write the sentence “I like my new book.”  I will read it very slowly at first to show them how a reader who is not fluent would read it. “I went to my fffrrriiiiennnds hoouussse.” Then I would read it more fluently and faster to show how a fluent reader would read it.  I will read it very smoothly, and with expression. “I went to my friend’s house.” Then I will ask, "Did anyone notice the difference in how I read the sentence?  Could you tell that one was smoother than the other?  Right, the smoother reading was a more fluent reading and that's how we want to read.  Is it easier to understand when it’s read faster and smoother?  That's right it is! Now I want you to try and read faster and with expression!” 

4. Say: “I want you to read the book Amelia Bedelia On The Move by Herman Parish silently at your desk. In this book, Amelia Bedelia loves the house she lives in, and she really loves her neighborhood. When her parents suggest a move, she turns it into an adventure. Together they visit open houses, explore new neighborhoods, and discover that home is where the heart is. Amelia Bedelia learns all about different types of houses. Will they find a new house they will live in? I want you to read and find out. Reading silently is without whispering or moving your lips. I want you to read it silently in your head.”

5. After the students read silently, I will then pair them up with partners. Say: “You and your partner will now get a stopwatch and a copy of Amelia Bedelia On The Move, a reading rate chart, and a fluency checklist. You and your partner are going to read, three times each, to build on your fluency. You will take turns being the reader and one will be the timer. The timer will time your partner reading the book and will record their time on the reading rate chart. When you’re the one timing your partner, be sure that you hit start as soon as your partner starts to read and hit stop as soon as they are done reading. Record all three of the times on your chart. After your partner has read the book once, make sure you fill out the fluency checklist along with the reading rate chart. This will help your partner and see if you’re improving.” Before the students start reading, I will model how to fill in the chart and use a stopwatch. I will then observe the students reading the book. I will walk around the room and ask any questions the students may have and make sure that they are filling in the correct time.

6. After the students are done reading collect the data for yourself to analyze and assess how your students did and who still needs to work on. Use your observations of the class as well. Each student will read to you individually. Mark improvements needed and miscues, and ask comprehension questions. I will ask questions such as:

   1. “What was the first kind of house Amelia went to?

   2. “What kind of house was the open house they went to?

   3. “What animal did Amelia look for at the ranch-style house?”

   4. “What happened to his shoes when he stepped in the mud?”

   5. “Did Amelia’s parents buy a house?

7. Each day, I will set a certain time for the students to get to go with their partners to practice reading for fluency. After a week of reading, I will assess each student individually and give them a different partner. This will allow them to see how another student is reading and what they could learn from them.

 

Checklist:           

1. Did he/she read smoothly?

2. Did he/she show facial expression?

3. Did he/she have voices changes?

4. Does the student have an overall understanding of expression?

 

Name____________________

 

Time after first reading___________

 

Time after second reading____________

 

Time after third reading______________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following fluency checklist filled out for each reading partner will also be used as an assessment:

·         Title of Book:

·         Student’s Name:

·         Partner's Name:

·         Make a check if the following is true after the 2nd and 3rd Readings:

·         Remembered more words: 

·         Read faster:

·         Read smoother:

·         Read with expressions:

 

References:

“Splashing into Fluency” by Abby Watson https://abbywatson120.wixsite.com/lessondesigns/growing-independence-fluency

Book: Parish, Herman. Amelia Bedelia On The Move. Greenwillow Books, 2017. Print.

Clip Art: https://www.kindermusikwithfriends.com/news/3722/attachment/moving-truck-clipart-image-colorful-cartoon-moving-van-or-truck-moving-truck-cartoon/

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