“Shh.. It’s a Secret” Reading
Growing Independence and Fluency Design
Rationale:
The ability to be able to read to oneself is one of the most satisfying
components of reading. Once the student has mastered decoding skills, then the
next step to becoming a fluent reader is learning to silent read. It is
essential that students are able to read silently because they are then able to
be independent readers where they can enhance their skills. Reading silently
will increase the automaticity, pace, and ease that the child reads as well as a
love for voluntary reading. Students will learn how to silent read by first
reading aloud, whisper reading, reading while moving lips, and then eventually
reading silently.
Materials:
Class set of Iggy Pig’s Silly Day! By
Vivian French, check list
Check List:
Reads aloud fluently
___
Reads in a whisper
___
Reads while moving lips ___
Reads silently ___
Procedures:
1. Introduction
Say: “You are all wonderful readers. One of the most special things about
reading is that you can read and enjoy a book all by yourself without having to
bother anyone. You can do that by reading silently. Reading silently also helps
you practice being fluent readers. Reading to yourself helps you read faster,
and it also helps you understand the book better!”
2. Directions
Say: “We are going to learn how to read silently by practicing reading out loud,
whispering, only moving our lips, and then we will practice reading silently. We
are going to practice by reading the first page in our book,
Iggy Pig’s Silly Day. Iggy the pig
loves to skip and skips all over town. A big grey hungry animal asks to join
Iggy and skip with him. Is the grey animal going to eat Iggy? We are going to
have to read to find out!”
3. Reading Aloud
Say: "Let’s practice reading the first sentence in our books. First, let me show
you how we would read this sentence. Iggy
Pig was skipping. “Watch me skip, Mother Pig! Watch me skip!”(Read with
expression at a steady pace). Okay, now it is your turn to echo read back to me.
One more time! Remember, when we read a passage more than once it helps us be
good readers. Great job!
4. Whisper Reading
Say: “Now, we are going to read this same page in a whisper. I like to call this
secret reading because it is like you are telling someone a secret. We are very
quiet so no one else can hear unless they really try. I am going to show you how
to whisper-a-secret read. Listen closely and follow along in your books. Iggy
Pig was skipping. “Watch me skip, Mother Pig! Watch me skip!” (Read is a
whisper audible for them to hear.) Okay now I want you to show me how to
whisper-a-secret read. You should barely to be able to hear the people around
you and you should still use expression like we did when we read aloud. I loved
how softly you read that, but still used expression!
5. Moving Lips
Say: “Next, we are going to practice reading with only our lips moving. This is
also like telling a secret because we can’t hear the person, but we can see what
they are seeing when they use their lips. I am going to show you how to secret
read using our lips, I call this secret-lips.
Watch my lips carefully. Iggy Pig
was skipping. “Watch me skip, Mother Pig! Watch me skip!” (Slowly read using
lips and no sound). Could you hear a sound? No, I only used my lips. Now it is
your turn. I want you to listen to your thoughts as you read and tell me if you
can hear yourself reading although you are only using your lips. Great! Could
you hear yourself reading in your thoughts? That is how we silent read!
6.
Silent Reading
Say: Now that you have experienced what silent reading is like, we are going to
practice, but this time we wont even move our lips. We already read secretly,
now it is time to keep that secret in our heads and not tell a soul! I am going
to read silently to myself, and I want you to watch my face very carefully to
make sure I am not moving my mouth and my eyes are following the words. (Read
silently). What did you notice about me as I read to myself? I could hear myself
reading although I wasn’t making any sound. I was using my thoughts to read.
Now, I want you to practice reading silently and I will come around the room to
watch your faces.
7. Practice
Say: Now, I want you to practice reading this book secretly
and silently. You can practice whisper reading, lip
reading, and
reading silently. Show me what you got!
8. Assessment:
As the children are reading, I will call them each up to my desk when I feel
they’ve had enough practice. I will pick a page in the book and have them first
read aloud, then whisper read, then silently read while moving lips, and then
read silently. I will use the check list for each child.
Check List:
Reads Aloud Fluently
___
Reads in a whisper
___
Reads while moving lips ___
Reads silently ___
After the assessment is completed we will talk about what we have just read.
(Ask comprehension questions to make sure they understand what is going on in
the book). Comprehension questions: What was the big grey animal? Why did the
big grey animal run away at the end of the story?
References:
Carley Leavitt. “Shh! I’m Reading!!”
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/awakenings/leavittcgf.htm
French, Vivian, and David Melling. Iggy
Pig's Silly Day. New York: Scholastic, 2002. Print.