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Growing Independence and Fluency 

Flying into Fluency

A Growing Independence and Fluency Design

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Caroline Brillhart 

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Rationale:

Reading fluently is an important part of reading comprehension and getting comfortable reading independently. Fluency in reading allows students to read words quickly, accurately, and have automatic word recognition. When students are able to read fluently, they are able to shift their focus to reading comprehension. In this lesson, students will practice their skills of crosschecking a decodable text to gain fluency and independence when reading new texts.

 

Materials:

  1. Froggy Goes to School by Jonathon London (class set)

  2. Stopwatch or timer

  3. Whiteboard and markers

  4. Coverup critters

  5. Comprehension worksheet

 

Procedures:

  1. Say: “Today we are going to work on our fluency in reading. Can anyone tell me what they think being a fluent reader means?” (Wait for class answer) “This means that you will be able to read words faster and correctly. When we become fluent readers, we are able to understand the text we are reading better. This makes the story we are reading more exciting and interesting! We are going to practice fluency by reading a book multiple times. We call this method repeated reading. When we practice repeated reading, we become more familiar with the words, and then more confident to read the text independently.”

  2. Say: “Let’s take a look at a practice sentence I’ve written on the board.” (Look at the big plane flying high in the sky.) “Let’s read the sentence together. Llloooookkk aaaattt tttthhheee bbbiiiggg ppplll….” “When I get stuck on a word, I can try to read the rest of the sentence to see if what I’m reading makes sense.” “flying high in the sky.” “Look at the big pl… flying high in the sky. If I’m still stuck on the word, I can use my coverup critter. First, I’ll uncover the first letter, /p/.” (Continue this process with each letter) /p/ /l/ /a/ /n/. “Let’s remember a_e says /A/, so this word is p-l-A-n, oh plane! Look at the big plane flying high in the sky! I used crosschecking to figure out the word, now I know the meaning of the sentence I just read. I can use this method in the future for new unfamiliar words I come across.”

  3. Say: “Let’s see if we can spot the differences between readers who are fluent and readers who are not fluent. I am going to read another sentence I wrote on the board.” (I have never flown on a plane.) “IIIIII hhhaaavvveee nnneeevvveeerrr fffllloowwwnn oonn aaa ppplllaaannneee. When I read this sentence very slow and drawn out, it was hard for me to understand what I was reading. If I read the sentence quicker, I might be able to understand it better.” (read the sentence smoothly, quickly, and with expression) “I have never flown on a plane!” “When I read the sentence this time, it was easier to understand what was being said. This is how fluent readers should read. Let’s read the sentence ourselves, and remember to be quick and use great expression!” (Have students read the sentence themselves)

  4. Say: “It takes hard work and a lot of practice to become a fluent reader. When we first read new sentences, it can sometimes be difficult to read every word well. This is especially true if you’ve never seen some of the words before. Once we read it a few times, it become easier to us, and we become more confident. I became fluent by rereading the words I did not know multiple times until I understood the entire sentence. This is how we become more fluent readers!”

  5. Say: “Now, we are going to practice reading fluently by reading the book “Froggy Goes to School”. This story is about Froggy being excited for the first day of school, and making sure his friends are not nervous. He shows them how fun school can be, and that it is a place we should be excited about going to.”

  6. Students will all have their own copy of the book, their own coverup critter, a comprehension worksheet, and a stopwatch. Say: “Pair up! You are going to read this book with a partner. You will take turns reading the story to each other and will each red it three times. While you are reading, your partner will. Be timing you. Remember to use your coverup critter if needed. When you are finished reading and recording times, discuss the story with each other. You will then complete a comprehension worksheet together to assess your understand of the story.”

 

Assessment:

Walk around the classroom and watch how students are managing reading and recording time. Students should turn in their completed worksheets when they are finished. Look over the recorded times to see if fluency has improved. Use the words per minute formula to help: (words read x 60/ total seconds).

 

Reading Comprehension Worksheet:

 

References:

Book- Froggy Goes to School by Jonathon London 

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