Growing Independency

Flying into Fluency

Lindsay Laycock, Growing Independency

Rationale: This lesson is designed for students to better understand the importance of how fluent reading is essential when comprehending different texts or readings. Fluent reading is being able to identify sight words and to be able to read quickly with expression. Fluent readers can also use correct blending, which will motivate them to want to read and reread decodable words in texts. The goal of this lesson is for students to be able to be fluent readers by decoding, crosschecking, rereading, and quickly reading.

Materials:

- Pencils and paper for each student

- Fluency chart to record each student’s WPM

- Fluency checklist

- Reading rating chart

- Stopwatch

- Dry erase bord with dry erase markers

- Sample sentences

- Book – Rocktalker

- Reading comprehension checklist for each student

Procedures:

1. Say: Today we are going to learn how to become fluent readers! Can anybody tell me what a fluent reader is? [respond to students’ answers/reactions] A fluent reader is someone who can read quickly because of how fast they are able to recognize the words in a text. We can establish this by using certain materials like crosschecking and decoding. To make this happen, we are going to need some practice, which is what we will be working on today!

2. Say: Let’s look at the sentence on the board – ‘Anna drove to work.’ Now, I am going to read this sentence in a different way, and I want you all to tell me if I sound like a fluent reader while I am doing so. Aaa-nnn-nnn-aaa (Anna) ddd-oo-vv-e (drove) to ww-oo-kkk (work). Anna dove to wok? That doesn’t sound right. Oh! Anna drove to work – that must be it. Did anybody notice how I got stuck on a couple of the words? I am going to fix this with a strategy called crosschecking, which is something we must know how to do in order to become fluent readers!

3. Say: We will now read a book called Rocktalker. First, I would like you to all read this book silently to yourselves. In this book, a little girl named Lucy says her special talent is that she is able to communicate with rocks. Can she really talk to rocks? If so, how? Let’s all read quietly to ourselves to find out!

4. Once the students have finished reading to themselves, put students into groups of two. Say: Now that you all have read the book to yourselves, I want you to get with your assigned partner and work together. You and your partner will receive a stopwatch, a copy of the book, a reading rating chart, and a fluency checklist. You and your partner are going to take turns reading the book each three times so we can work on building our fluency. If it is your turn to be the timer, make sure you start the timer as soon as your partner begins reading and stop the timer as soon as your partner is finished reading. Be sure to write down all three times on your chart – this will help to see whether your partner is improving or not. [Before they start, model how to correctly fill in the chart and use the stopwatch. Be sure to be attentive to your students while walking around the classroom, answering any questions they may have].

5. Once the students are finished with their partner activity, I will collect their fluency charts to observe who has improved and who needs improvement. I will then have each student come up independently to read the book to me while filling out comprehension worksheets for each student based on their answers:

Name: _____

Date: _____

1. Who is the main character?

2. What do people think when they first hear about her talent?

3. What sort of stuff do the rocks usually tell her?

Fluency Checklist:

Title of Book: _____

Date; ____

Reader: _____

Checker: _____

1^st reading: _____ words in _____ seconds

2^nd reading: ____ words in _____ seconds

3^rd reading: ____ words in _____ seconds

6. After the students have read to me one by one and brought me their fluency checklists, I will then evaluate their answers by determine each student’s WPM using the formula (words x 60 seconds)/seconds = WPM and record each on my teacher fluency checklist.

References:

Rocktalker: https://www.stuartstories.com/stories/rocktalker.html

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/414049759482255801/

Murray, Bruce. The Readinf Genie. http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/

Bugg, Katelyn. “Flourishing Fluency”. https://kaylynbugg.wixsite.com/readingdesigns/growing-independence-and-fluency

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