Growing Independence and Fluency

It’s Fluency, Charlie Brown!

Growing Independence and Fluency Design

Katherine Moss

Rationale:

This lesson is designed to improve students’ reading fluency. If a student can read fluently he or she has the ability to read fast and at an even pace while still being able to comprehend what he or she is reading. Fluency can make reading more enjoyable for students because they are able to read more smoothly and use more expression and emotion as they read. First, students must be able to decode words in the text they are reading in order to move towards reading fluency. In this lesson, students will learn the strategies and skills that it takes to become a fluent reader by rereading It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown by Charles Shultz When a student comes across an unfamiliar word, they will first decode, and then they will move on to crosschecking if they are still confused.

Materials:

  • It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown by Charles Shulz - class set
  • Stopwatch for keeping time
  • Pencil
  • Fluency checklist
  • Cover-up critter
  • Chart to record words per minute while reading
  • Whiteboard
  • Dry erase markers

Procedures:

  1. Say: “Good morning class! Today we are going to be working on reading fluency. What do you guys think it means to be a fluent reader? *wait for students to respond* Good job! If you are a fluent reader, reading will become even more enjoyable and fun! When someone is a fluent reader they are able to read through a passage and understand exactly what the story is about. Reading fluency can also help with adding emotion and expression to the story. Fluent readers can read very fast, without making errors or stopping. So today, let’s work on becoming fluent readers!”
  2. Say: “We have cover-up critters to help us decode, which means to read an unfamiliar word. Now let’s look at the word pumpkin for example. *write pumpkin on the whiteboard* I am going to use my cover-up critter to decode the word pumpkin. I will first cover up all the letters except the first letter. /p/.../p/.../p/…. Now I will uncover the u. /u/.../u/.../u/../p//u/.. Then I will uncover the rest of the word and blend the phonemes together. /p/../u/..mpkin..pumpkin. Now let’s use it in a sentence: “I love to carve pumpkins during Halloween.”
  3. Next I will show students how the differentiate between fluent and non-fluent reading. I will write the sentence “I carved a pumpkin on Halloween” on the whiteboard. I will read the word slowly, to demonstrate how a non-fluent reader would read the sentence. So, “I c-aaa-rrr-vvv-ed a ppp-u-mmm-pp-kin on H-h-h-a-l-l-l-o-o-w-w-e-e-e-n”. Next, I will read it faster with expression and more fluently. “I carved a pumpkin on Halloween”. I will then ask the students if they could tell a difference in between the sentence I read fluently and the one I read non-fluently. Say: “The quick reading was more fluent, and so now I want you to try and read quicker and with more expression.”
  4. Say “Now, I want you all to read the book It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. This story follows Charlie Brown and his friends on Halloween. Linus wants to go to the pumpkin patch and wait to see the Great Pumpkin. Linus is able to convince some of his friends to stay in the pumpkin patch this year. Will the Great Pumpkin appear to the gang? Keep reading to find out!”
  5. After the students have read the book silently, I will assign them into pairs. Say: “I want you and your partner to grab a stopwatch and the book It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, a fluency checklist, and a reading rate chart. Each person is going to read the book three times. You and your partner will take turns being the reader and the timer. The reader will focus on reading the story fluently, while the timer will time the reading and write down the times on their partner’s reading chart. Make sure you record all three times on your chart. Fill out the charts after each time the story is read, so that we can see if fluency is improving or not.” I will walk around the room as the students read to each other and observe. I will answer any questions the students have.

Fluency checklist:

Book title: It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Reader’s Name:

Timer’s Name:

After 2nd Reading After 3rd Reading

Remembered more words

Read Faster

Read Smoother

Read with more Expression

(words x 60) / seconds = words per minute

0-----10-----20-----30-----40-----50-----60-----70-----80-----90-----100

Correct words per minute

6. After the students have completed the required repeated readings, we will gather as a class and go over the comprehension quiz questions.

Comprehension Quiz:

  1. What is Snoopy’s Halloween costume?
  2. Who hosts the Halloween party?
  3. Does the Great Pumpkin ever arrive?

Resources: