Growing Independence and Fluency Design: Adventuring with Reading Fluency

Anna Bahme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale:

This lesson aims to help students develop fluency in longer, more developed texts. While decoding is an important part of the reading process, it is often times very difficult for students. Reading can be quicker with fluency instruction, which allows students to transfer new words to sight words. We want students to be able to read and reread decodable words in connected text. In this lesson, students will practice their fluency and gain experience with reading text silently as well as reading to a partner. They will read for fluency with the teacher, graphing progress and going over unfamiliar words between readings. At the end of the lesson, the teacher will have a better idea of the student’s ability to fluently and independently read texts.

 

Materials:

• The book: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (one copy for the group and one copy for the teacher, 40 pages)

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• Stopwatch for each pair of students

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• A chart to record student’s words per minute

• Copy of passage on the smart board to model fluent reading

• Copies of passage (one for the students to read and one for each student that the teacher will record on)

• Fluency checklist (to pass out to students)

• A small image of Beekle with Velcro that moves in relation to the students WPM (1 for each student)

 

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

Correct Words Per Minute

 

Fluency Checklist:

Title of Book: __________________________________

Student’s Name: ____________   Date___________

Partner's Name: ______________________________

After 2nd Reading       After 3rd Reading

_________                    _________                   Remembered more words

_________                    _________                   Read faster

_________                    _________                   Read smoother

_________                    _________                   Read with expression

 

Procedure:

1. First, explain to the students what it means to be a fluent reader.

Say: “We want to all become fluent readers because being fluent means we don’t need any extra help to read things that are interesting to us. Wouldn’t you all like to be able to read whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted to? A fluent reader can read automatically and with lots of expression! They can use special voices for each of the different characters in a story or quiet voices for parts that are more suspenseful. They can also recognize all the words in the book and understand the text they are reading. What is happening in the story is their main focus, and they get to enjoy it! Doesn’t that sound so fun? All you have to do is practice a little bit to become fluent. Today we are going to do that!”

 

1. Say: “There are a few tools that you have already learned that is going to help you become a more fluent reader. Let’s think back on them. First, you have to be able to decode words. Remember, it is okay if you get stuck on a difficult word! I’ve been a fluent reader for a very long time and sometimes I even get stuck on words. Cover-up critters are great to keep around to help break up larger words. If you find yourself stuck, we can use an awesome method known as cross-checking. Cross-checking is when we read the remaining words in the sentence to see if we can get the word we are stuck on instead of using the pictures to help us. This strategy is very helpful because it allows us to focus on what is happening in the story. We also want to try to always remember to discover the word and reread the entire sentence for comprehension. Now we’re ready to read fluently!”

2. Say: “Now, I am going to read from the board out loud. Listen as I read and decide whether you think I am a fluent reader or a beginner.” Sentence: Jim and Mary like to play outside. (Have sentence on smart board so that students can follow along from their seats). M, /a/-/a/-/a/, Rrrr, /e/-/e/-/e/ and j-j- /im/ l-/i/-k to p-lay o-t-s-/i/-d, Mary and Jim lik to play otsid.”

3. Say: “I had a lot of trouble with that sentence. I’m going to use my cover-up critter to decode these difficult words and see if the sentence makes more sense: Mary and Jim l-ike to p-lay ou-t-s-/i/-d-e. I broke the word up into smaller parts that make more sense to me. I think I should try one more time so that the sentence sounds a little bit smoother: Mary and Jim l-ike to play out-side. That was great! Did you understand the sentence I read aloud? I’m sure Mary and Jim like to do lots of things outside. Since I was able to break up the word and figure it out with my cover-up critter, I am going to go back and read the sentence again so I can mentally mark the passage. “Mary and Jim like to play outside.” I was able to read that so much faster and more fluently! Always remember to go back and read the sentence.”

4. Say: “Now I am going to read the sentence one more time so that I can add expression. ‘Mary and Sam like to play outside!’

5. Now, ask the students a question about the way that you read the sentence the first couple of times. Say: “What did you notice about the first time I read the sentence? Did you have a hard time understanding the sentence the first few times I read it? By the end, what changed? Did you find yourself wanting to hear more about the story when I read with expression?”

6. Say: “Now it’s your turn to practice? The book we are going to read today is called The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. This is a story about an unimaginary creature that has not found his forever friend yet. He waits and waits, until one day he decides to do the impossible and go to the real world to find his friend. He travels far and wide through dangerous lands and finally reaches New York City. In New York, he walks for days trying to find his friend. Do you think Beekle will be able to find him or her?”

7. Say: “This book has so many amazing opportunities to practice reading with expression. As you read the book, you will notice many different sentences and movements that show expression. Before we begin, let's go over these expressions and movements together! An example of a sentence you will read is, “No kids were eating cake.” When you hear a sentence that makes you think and wonder, I want you to put your finger to your chin and say “Hmm”. Another movement that we can do is throwing your hands in the air like when you’re surprised! An example sentence that shows being surprised is, “Then he heard a noise below, ‘hello!’. When you hear a sentence that makes you happy or surprises you, throw your hands in their air in excitement! But, remember, when you’re doing these movements, we have to stay quiet so we do not distract the other readers. Let’s try all of our movements together: wonder, surprise, happiness. Great job!! Now, I want you to take a few minutes to read this book silently at your desk. We are not going to do these movements while we read silently, I would like you to try and not make any noise while you read.”

 

Teacher walks around with a clipboard and marks whether students are:

_________ Voicing

_________ Whisper

_________ Lips moving only

_________ Silently reading in their head

 

Assessment:

Say: “It looks like everyone is done. Great job reading silently! I am going to call you back to our reading table in groups and we are going to talk about the book together. When I call your name, please come back here with me. If you are not at this table, you need to keep practicing your silent reading.” (Call students back to the reading table in small groups of four or five. Ask short, quick questions, about 1 per student, to check comprehension and make sure students are actually reading. Send all students back to their desks.)

 

1. Say: “Now, we are going to break into pairs. One partner is going to read the story while the other records progress. Once the first reader finishes page 20, switch roles. Since you have already read this text silently at your seat, you have seen all of the words before. The reader will read the first 20 ages of the book three times and the recorder will fill out a sheet, marking how the reader is improving. The recorder will mark if the student remembered more words, read faster, read smoother, and read with the expression the 2nd and 3rd time they read the book. Then, you will switch places and repeat. Remember to use all of the skills we talked about earlier! You may now use the movements and sounds from the story that we learned. Be expressive with your reading and having fun!” (Pass out fluency checklist to each student, and give them for each partner to read and fill out the checklist for their partner. Take these up. Teacher should walk around and monitor progress.)

2. For assessment, I will call students one at a time to read a passage of text that they have been reading with their partner. (Choose at your discretion. I used the first three pages.) I will also as three comprehension questions: What did Beekle notice that was different about people in the real world? What did Beekle feel when he left his home? Was Beekle able to find his friend? (I will time the students on how long it takes them to read the first three pages. I will record the student’s words per minute on a chart.)

Text: He was born on an island far away from where imaginary friends were created. Here, they lived and played, each eagerly waiting to be imagined by a real child. Every night he stood under the stars, hoping for his turn to be picked by a child and given a special name. He waited for many nights. (55 words)

 

Words x 60 = WPM

Seconds

 

When the student receives his or her words per minute, they will then move Beekle to the correct WPM. The goal is to get Beekle through New York City to the tree as quickly as possible. The student will reread the passage a few times, moving Beekle to the appropriate point on the graph each time. Between readings, I will scaffold by asking open-ended questions like, “Would you have been scared to leave home to travel somewhere new?” I will also point out words they have trouble with and use cover-ups to help them decode the word properly.

 

 

 

                          Beekle token to be used to show WPM; one per student

 

 

 

Reference:

Santat, D. (2014). The adventures of Beekle: The unimaginary friend. New York, NY: Hatchett Book Group.

Caroline Hall, Flashlight Fluency:

http://ceh0057.wixsite.com/misshallswebsite/blank-vug9c