Lesson

Hooray for Fluency!
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale: In order to increase fluency in reading, students’ goal should be on reading accurately and effortlessly. Reading fluency is being able to read using automatic word recognition. As students’ fluency increases, their comprehension increases along with it. Improved fluency and comprehension escalates student’s enjoyment of voluntary reading. The best method to improve fluency is repeated reading. This lesson will allow students to apply strategies such as crosschecking while reading an engaging, whole text.   

Materials:

1. Pencils
2. Stopwatch for every 2 students 3. Copy of Hurray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss for every 2 students (https://www.amazon.com/Hooray-Diffendoofer-Day-Dr-Seuss/dp/0679890084)  4. “Haley ate her apple at lunch” and “Allie wants to eat an apple like Haley, but she has grapes.” on whiteboard for teacher to model 5. Peer fluency sheet (one for each student)
  Procedures:
1. Say: Today we are going to become fluent readers! What does it mean to be a fluent reader? [listen to responses] A fluent reader is someone who can read quickly and easily. They automatically recognize each word, which helps them understand what is going on in the story! This makes reading fun because we can quickly figure out what happens next in our stories.

2. Say: Now let’s read the sentence I’ve written on the board. [Haley ate her apple at lunch] I’m going to read it and I want you to tell me if I sound like a fluent reader. H-h-h-/a-a-a//l-l-l/-/E-E-E/, Haley, /a-a-a/-/t-t-t/, at, /h-h-h/-/er/-/er/-/er/, her, /a-a-a/-/p-p-p/-/l-l-l/, apple, a/a/a/-/t-t-t/, at, /l-l-l/-/u-u-u/-/n-n-n/-/c-c-c/. Haley ate her apple at lunc! Wait, that doesn’t make sense. She ate at lunc? Oh, Haley at her apple at lunch! What word did I get stuck on while reading that sentence? Lunch. I forgot that ch says /ch/. But I used the context of the sentence to figure out the word I wasn’t sure about. This is called crosschecking and it is very important in becoming fluent readers! I read the entire sentence and realized that it didn’t make sense, so I looked at the word that sounded funny and realized that it was g /ch/! Make sure you use crosschecking if a word sounds odd in a sentence!

3. Say: Did I sound like a fluent reader when I read that sentence? [wait for responses] No, I didn’t! I had to sound out most of the words and it took me a long time. Here’s how a fluent reader would read that sentence: Nick rode his bike to the park. Quick and easy to understand! Now it’s your turn. Read the second sentence on the board with your partner over and over until you can read it effortlessly [Allie wants to eat an apple like Haley, but she has grapes].

 

4. Say: Today we are going to read Hooray for Diffendoofer Day to practice our fluency. This book is by a guy named Dr. Seuss, you may have heard of him. The story stars a tough teacher named Miss Bonkers and a silly little school called the Diffendoofer School. The school must prove it has taught its students how to think in order to keep running. Do you think the school will get shut down?  I want everyone to read the story once silently to him or herself to see what happens to Miss Bonkers and the Diffendoofer School.

 

5. [Give each student a Peer Fluency Sheet and give each pair of students a stopwatch] Say: Okay now we are going to get into pairs with our partners and show each other our great fluency skills! You will take turns reading. One person will read the story 3 times out loud while their partner times them. I want everyone to be a good partner and give your friend encouragement as they read to you! During the first reading, your partner only needs to use the stopwatch and listen. But during the second and third reading, I want the listener to use the stopwatch to time their partner and listen for the following things: Is your partner reading faster than their last reading? Do they read smoother than their last time? Do they read with expression? Do they remember more words than their last reading? Once you read the story 3 times, switch turns and let your partner read 3 times! [Demonstrate to students how to use the stopwatches. Walk around to help anyone who is struggling] I’ll be walking around, so let me know if you need any help!

 

6. [Teacher collects Peer Fluency Sheets after repeated readings are complete; assess each student’s fluency by using the following formula: words x 60 / seconds]

 

7. The teacher will have each student write a short paragraph about what they learned in the story. After using the formula to assess each student’s fluency, call each student up
individually to read a few pages to the teacher while the class is working on their writing assignment. The teacher will take note of words per minute and how the students’ fluency has improved. They will also answer three comprehension questions:  1) What does Miss Bonkers teach? 2) If the schools get shut down, where will the children have to go? 3) Does the school get shut down?

 

8. After using the formula to assess each student’s fluency, call each student up individually to read a few pages to the teacher while the class is working on their writing assignment. teacher will take note of words per minute and how the students’ fluency has improved. In order to test reading comprehension, the teacher will ask the student questions about the plot.

Reference:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/constr/williamsagf.html