Growing Independence and Fluency Design
Swimming Into Fluency
By: Haden Bishop
Rational: The goal of this lesson is to get students reading more fluently so they can spend more time on comprehension and less time on decoding. Reading fluently is the ability to read with automatic word recognition which is an important part of reading and being able to comprehend while and after reading. Repeated readings have been proven to help students grow in fluency and help add sight words to their vocabulary. If students are fluent in their reading it allows them to focus more on the meaning of a book rather than the text.
Materials:
· A copy of Can He Swim by Victoria Barron
· Stop watches for each student
· White board and expo marker
· Fluency checklist for students
· Fluency checklist for teacher
· Pencils
Procedures:
1. Say: Today we are going to learn how to become the best readers we can be! In order for us to become great readers we must be able to read fluently. Can anyone tell me what the word fluency means? [wait for students to reply.] Fluency or the ability to read fluently means to be able to read smoothly, effortlessly, and at a good pace. When we learn to read fluently, we can better understand a story and comprehend the text. That will help you read with better expression! Okay guys lets practice reading fluently!
2. Say: have you ever been reading a book and suddenly get to a word that you don’t know? When that happens it normally causes you to stop reading and decode the word. Sadly when you stop to decode a word you might forget what is happening in the story. One way to help with this is to try finishing the sentence so context clues can help you figure out the word you are having trouble with. After you figure the word out you should go back and reread the sentence a couple times so it is easier for you to recognize the word later.
3. Say: What is a good thing to do if we read a sentence and it doesn’t make sense? [Wait for a response.] That’s right, we need to crosscheck! Let me show you how I would crosscheck a sentence to see what word fits best in it. I want you to listen as I read this sentence off the board. [Read sentence out loud] It is hut and Nick will swim. Hmmm it is hut and Nick will swim? What? Ohhhh! It is HOT and Nick will swim! Okay so the sentence says it is hot and Nick will swim. Silly me I thought the word was hut, and that doesn’t make sense. When we are reading today make sure to practice crosschecking. Remember that finishing the sentence helps you figure out a word you don’t know. Once you figure out the word you didn’t know you need to reread the sentence so the next time you see that word you have it stored in your memory, and it helps you remember what is happening in the story.
4. Say: Normally when we pick out a new book to read there are a couple words in it we might not recognize, but that is okay! I am going to show you how to read a couple sentences from the book Can He Swim by Victoria Barron. “They splish and smash. They s-s-wim in the hot sun”. They splish and smash? Smash? Oh! The word is splash! You can see I had to stop a few times to read a few words in the sentence. Let me try again. They splish and splash. They swim in the hot sun. Much better! Let me try it one more time. They splish and splash. They swim in the hot sun. Wow I really got it now! Let me try to add some expression. (Read the sentence again with expression). Now tell me, did you like the first time or the last time I read the sentence? The last time? Yes! This is because you can better understand what I was reading. When I read and reread a sentence I had trouble with at first it gets easier and faster which lets me read with more expression. Now I want you to try so you can become fluent readers.
5. Say: Now we are going to get a chance to practice becoming fluent readers by reading the book, Can He Swim by Victoria Barron. This story is about a boy named Nick and his dog named MJ on a hot summer day. It is very hot so Nick really wants to swim, but he doesn’t know if his dog MJ can swim. Do you think MJ will be able to swim? Do you think Nick and MJ can have fun in the pool on this hot summer day? Read silently to yourself to find out! Reading silently means there is no sound coming out of your mouth, but you can move your lips if you would like.
6. Say: Okay, now that you have read silently to yourselves, I want you to find a partner. You are going to practice reading with each other. (Let the children get together with their partners). I would like for each partner to read our book Can He Swim aloud to the other partner. I am going to give you a stopwatch to use so you can time your partner as they read. (Pass out the stopwatches). I want you to record how long it takes your partner to read. I also want you to write down anything else you observed while your partner was reading. Our book is short. It is only 10 pages. Because it is so short I want you to read the whole book while your partner times you and takes notes. Read the book to your partner at least 3 times. Make sure that each time your partner reads, you write down their time. After this, I want you to use the fluency checklist to track your partners improvement.
7. Peer Fluency Checklist
Total # of words in 11 pages read:
Reader:
Timekeeper:
1. __________ words in __________ seconds
2. __________ words in __________ seconds
3. __________ words in __________ seconds
What changes did you notice?
· Remembered more words?
· Read faster?
· Read smoother?
· Read with more expression?
8. Say: Now I want each student to come up to my desk and read the 11 pages to me one-on-one. I will be checking to see how fast you can read our book. I will also you some comprehension questions to answer. I will be doing these things so I know how many words you can read per minute and if you understand the words you are reading. (Use the teacher fluency checklist to get students scores).
Teacher fluency checklist
Name of reader:
Words X 60/time in seconds: _______ WPM
Comprehension questions:
1. Was it a hot summer day or a cold winter day?
2. Can Nicks dog MJ swim?
3. Did Nick and MJ have fun or no?
Use the graph below to track student progress through the week!
References:
- Find short-vowel decodable books written by teachers – Bruce Murray, College of Education (auburn.edu)
- Growing Independance and Fluency Design | ctrd3000site (wixsite.com)
