Begging for Fluency!
By: Maggie Neal
Growing Independence and Fluency
Rationale: Fluency is key to reading! Being a fluent reader makes reading more fun! When a reader is fluent that means they can read quickly, accurately and automatically. The reader no longer has to decode each word but recognizes them as sight words. Fluency leads to reading comprehension which also makes reading even more enjoyable. We can measure fluency with the equation (words read times 60/seconds) to see how many words are read each minute. This lesson is intended to aid students in becoming more fluent readers through repeated and timed readings of a text.
Materials:
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Class set of “If You give a Mouse a Cookie” (enough for each student)
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Stopwatches for each pair of students
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Cover up Critters
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Comprehension Questions
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Whiteboard/smartboard for sentences
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Pencil
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Fluency checklist
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Reading time sheet
Procedure:
1.I will begin the lesson by explaining to the students what it means to be a fluent reader. Say: Who wants to make reading even more fun? Well, to do this we must be fluent readers! Being a fluent reader takes a lot of practice. Fluency is reading quickly, correctly and with expression! If we can read smoothly it will help us better understand what we are reading which is what makes reading so much fun! We all want to be fluent readers. So, lets hop right in to fluency so we will be begging to read all the time!!
2.Say: Like we said earlier, being a fluent reader takes a lot of practice and patience. Even when you are reading fluently you still come across unfamiliar words that may be difficult. But, have no fear we have ways to figure these hard words out! Let’s take the sentence (put on board) “I like milk and cookies”. Listen again to how I read this sentence on the board. “I-I l-l-i-i-k-e-e m-m-i-i-l-l-l-k a-a-n-d-d c-c-o-o-o-k-k-i-i-e-s-s-. That was very hard to understand wasn’t it? Let me try reading it again. (read it a little more fluently but still slowly and struggling a bit) Even though that time I read it, it was a little better than the first I think I can do better. Let me try one more time re reading that sentence. (read quickly, without trouble, and fluently) “I like milk and cookies!” Now, the sentence completely makes sense! Do you see how by me rereading the sentence a few times helped me master the entire message? Which time when I read was the easiest to follow? The hardest? ( get students to respond to questions) Exactly! See the first time I read the sentence it was not fluent at all and very hard to grasp but the last time I read it I read with fluency! Re reading helped me to read the sentence fluently and with emotion. This is our goal for today to work on being fluent readers so reading is easier to comprehend! Lets jump on in!
3.Say: Now we know what fluency is and what reading fluently looks like let’s move on over to showing you how to practice reading fluently for yourself. When you come across a word that is hard or you do not know we can use our cover up critters to help us make sense! Let me show you an example with my cover up critter! (write word on board) “begs”. I am going to pretend that I am unable to read this word. Since, I do not know how to read this I am going to use my cover-up critter to help. First I will start with the vowel and cover up the other letters. The vowel is e, and I know that e=/e/. Then I will uncover the letters before the vowel. I have b which says /buh/. Then I will include the vowel with b and I will be /buh/ /e/. Now I will uncover the rest of the word. I have g, and s I know g sounds like /guh/ and s sounds like /suh/. So, when I put all my sounds together I get the word “begs”. See, how much the cover up critter helps us!
4.Say: Since we said fluency takes a lot of practice that is exactly what we are going to do today! Practice fluent reading together! We are going to use the book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. (Give an engaging book talk) This book is about a cute little mouse who is given a cookie to eat. But, the mouse keeps asking for more and more after he is given a cookie. But what more could this little mouse need than a cookie? Let’s read the rest of the book and see what all the mouse asks for.
5.Say: Now, I will assign you all a partner and we are going to be participating in a repeated reading! This will further help us with our fluency! I am going to start by reading the beginning of the book out loud to the whole class. I want you all to pay attention to how I read and see how smooth and expression filled it is when I read with fluency! (I will read the first few pages of the book so they can observe this)
6.After I have read the first few pages and the students are in their pairs in different spots in the room I will give each pair two copies of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, a timer, a fluency checklist, a pencil, and a reading time sheet.
7. Say: instructions: "In this activity, one of you will be the reader, and your partner will be the recorder. If I numbered you a 1 you will read first and number 2 will record first. Then you will switch later. If you are the reader, you will start reading when your partner tells you to so they can start the timer on time. You will read the first 10 pages and when you are done say “stop” so the recorder knows to stop the timer. Remember, not to rush through it because we are not racing! We are working on fluency not speed. Once finished, 1s will become the recorder and 2s will be the reader. And you will do the same thing just as different roles since we are taking turns. Write down each other’s time on the time sheet. Then, answer the fluency checklist based on how your partner read that selection. Once you have filled out both sheets, you will switch back who is reader and recorder again. You will do this three different times each. That means each partner will read the first 10 pages 3 times, and be the recorder 3 times. (model this as an example with a volunteer if the students are still confused after verbal instructions)
8.While the students are working I will be monitoring and walking around the room ready to offer help if they are confused or having trouble filling out their sheets or working the timers, etc.
9. Assessment: The students will assess each other by completing the fluency checklist and the time record sheet. Then the teacher will assess each student’s fluency by using the fluency formula (words times 60/seconds) to see how many words per minute. The students will also answer comprehension questions to make sure they were following the reading.
Assessment and comprehension questions:
Reading Record time Sheet:
Name or Recorder: ______________
Name of Reader: ________________
____________: Reading Rate
81+
76-80
71-75
66-70
61-65
56-60
50-55
WPM 1 2 3
Total words read:
1st time :____words in ____ seconds
2nd time :____words in ____ seconds
3rd time :____words in ____ seconds
Fluency Checklist :
I noticed that my partner....
- After 2nd Reading
-After 3rd Reading
1. Remembered more words
2. Read faster
3. Read smoother
4. Read with expression
Comprehension Questions:
What did the mouse do when he found a hair on his head?
What did the mouse want right after he finished his milk and cookie?
Do you think the mouse needed all the things he asked for?
Why does the mouse look into the mirror?
How many rooms does the mouse sweep in the house?
References:
Numeroff, Laura and Bond, Felicia. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. New York, New York. Harper Collins, 1985. Print.
Atkins, Rhiannon: Fluency with the Hungry Mouse: http://akinsrhiannon.wixsite.com/eceed/gif-design
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