Miss Anna's Designs for Reading

Rationale: Reading fluency means having automatic word recognition so that rather than focusing on decoding every word, students may read most words effortlessly and focus on comprehending the text. Besides improving comprehension, reading fluency also helps children read smoothly, increase expression, and read faster, which makes reading more enjoyable for them. To gain fluency, we use the method of repeated reading. Repeated reading helps students increase their sight word vocabulary. This lesson will allow students to improve their fluency through repeated reading with a partner, silent reading and individual oral reading. Improvements will be measured using the formula: (words read x 60)/seconds.

Materials: Copies of The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler for each student and the teacher; 1 stopwatch for each pair of students; fluency checklists for each student; reader response questions for each student; fluency graphs for each student

 

Procedures:

1. Say: Good readers read fluently, which means they can read quickly and recognize words automatically. In order to become fluent readers, we must practice repeated reading by rereading texts until we become familiar with them. When we can recognize words quickly and understand the meaning of a story, reading can become more fun. When we read fluently we can read faster and add expression, so the story is more interesting.

2. Say: Do you remember how to use crosschecking to figure out tough words? By rereading the sentence and correcting my mistakes to say words that make more sense in the story, I use crosschecking. I am going to read a short story out loud to you. I’m going to read it twice, and I want you to tell me which time sounds better. [Write sentences on the board- Johnny rode his bike to school. It began to rain. Johnny had forgotten his umbrella.]

   1. [Read sentence once, sounding out words slowly, choppy and with pauses.]

      Jooohhn-y rrood, oh, rode, his b-i-kk-e (pause) to ss-cc-h-oool, school. It bbeggaan to rr-aa-i-n, I mean rain. John-ny had ffoo-rr-gott-een his uuumm-bb-rr-ella.

      [Read a second time, with improved progress.]

      Johnny rode his bike to sc-hool, school. It began to rain. Johnny had forrgotteen, oh yeah, forgotten, his (pause) umbrella.

      [Read sentence a third time smoothly and with expression.]

      Johnny rode his bike to school. It began to rain. Johnny had forgotten his umbrella.

3. Say: Was the first, second, or last time I read best? I think the last time was best. Because I had already read the story once, I was able to use crosschecking to remember how to pronounce the words, read the words with more speed and smoothness, and say them in a way that made the story interesting.

4. Say: Now I want you to practice crosschecking and rereading with a partner. [Divide kids into partners; pass out one book for each student.] Each partner will take turns reading The Teacher from the Black Lagoon. This story is about a boy who is going to meet his new teacher, but when he gets to the class he falls asleep. He dreams that his teacher is a terrible monster! I wonder if he will wake up and find out if his teacher really is a monster or not.

5. Write directions on the board for students to see, and explain each step. Say: While one partner goes and finds a spot in the room to sit, the other will come up to me and get two fluency checklists, fluency graphs, and a timer. Once the first partner has found a reading spot, I want them to count the number of words in the first chapter of the book. Say:

• Each partner is going to take turns reading parts of chapter 1 [or the first 6 or so pages] of the story aloud to each other three times each. While one partner is reading, the other will use their stopwatch to time them.

• Each partner needs to make sure to pay attention and write down any mistakes your partner makes when they are reading aloud. You can place a tally mark for each mistake. [Show tally method on board.]

• After you have finished reading, you will then do a math problem to solve for fluency. What you will do is subtract the number of tally marks on your paper from the total number of words in the section you have read. Do this three times, once after each reading.

• The next step will be to figure out the progress of each partner. You can do this by answering the questions on the reading progress checklist I gave you. When you fill out this form you can see which reading was the fastest and which one had the fewest mistakes.

• After you finish reading, answer the questions listed on the reader response paper I gave you. [Questions listed below.]

• Once you have both finished reading three times and have answered the questions and filled out the reading progress checklist, please return to your desks. W down your answers to the reader response questions and turn them in when you’re done. You will also turn in the checklist your partner completed while you were reading.

 

Assessment:

Once students are back at their desks and have turned in their sheets, call them up one at a time for individual oral reading and to mark their fluency graph. Tell the rest of the class will continue reading The Teacher from the Black Lagoon silently.

Say: When I call your name, bring your book to me so we can check your fluency progress and put it on your fluency graph to see your improvement. [Have students read aloud while you scaffold and ask open ended questions. Then solve the equation (words x 60)/seconds to find fluency and move the marker on their fluency chart. Set personal WPM goals for each student.]

Review each student’s responses to the reading questions as well as their fluency checklists using a rubric [provided below].

 

Reader Response Questions:

1. Why did the boy fall asleep in class?

2. What characteristics did Mrs. Green have in the dream?

3. Do you think Mrs. Green will actually be like that in real life?

 

Partner Reading Progress worksheet:

Reader Name:

Partner’s Name:

Total words in the chapter:

1. Tally Marks:

Total words_____ - tally marks_____ = ______ words

_______ words in _______ seconds

1. Tally Marks:

Total words_____ - tally marks_____ = ______ words

_______ words in _______ seconds

1. Tally Marks:

Total words_____ - tally marks_____ = ______ words

_______ words in _______ seconds

 

Which reading turn had the fewest tally marks (mistakes)? _________

Which reading turn had the fastest time? _________

 

Assessment Rubric:

Student Name:

Date:

Answers accurate/appropriate   ______/2

Responded to comprehension questions   ______/3

Improved fluency ______/2

Improved accuracy ______/2

Competed partner progress form ______/1

Total: ______/10

 

References:

Adcock, Savannah. Flying into Fluency. http://savannahadcock.wix.com/wildaboutreading#!growing-fluency/c1m3p

 

Farley, Kate. Fishing for Fluency. http://ksf0004.wix.com/ctrd#!Programs/cee5

 

Gunter, Morgan. Flipping for Fluency. http://mkg0017.wix.com/miss-gunter#!Programs/cee5

 

Thaler, Mike. The Teacher from the Black Lagoon. 1989. Scholastic.