Get Ready, Get Set, READ!

Growing Independence and Fluency

Kristin Bunyard

Rationale: In order for students to read independently and fluently they must be able to comprehend what they are reading and be moving at a steady speed with accuracy and prosody.  Fluency is one of the highest reading skills and is important for students to be able to comprehend complex text. This skill is mastered when the students are able to glide through the words and not have to worry about sounding each sound out, but fully grasp the meaning of the story. The goal of this lesson is to improve children's reading strategies in fluency by repeated readings of the text, focusing on reading at a faster rate.

Materials:

 A Day at the Lake by: Matt Sims

Dry Erase Board/ Marker

Fluency Sheets for each student

Stopwatch (1)

Pencil

Climbing basketball man for progress chart on clipboard

Reading Time Sheet:

Name: _______________ Date: ________

Time for reading the 1st time: _____________

Time for reading the 2nd time: ______________

Time for reading the 3rd time: ______________

Procedure:

1.    Begin by introducing lesson: This morning we are going to practice our reading skills by reading faster, this is called fluency.  This means we are going to practice reading without having to stop and sound out words because with practice these words will come easily to you. We are going to read A Day at the Lake a couple times so you get used to seeing these new words and you really understand what they say. We are reading this for experience, not for punishment and it will help you read faster, harder books. Each time you read the book it will become much easier and pretty soon you'll be an expert!

2.    By modeling the teacher with show how to read fluently. She will explain the sounds and how they feel. Take out the dry erase board and write the title of the book: A day at the lake is fun!  Before we get started I want to review what we should do if there is a word you don't know when you are reading. Lets look at this sentence! Listen as I read it aloud: A dddd-ayy aaa-tt the llll—aaake is fff-uunn, ohhh a day at the lake is fun! When I first read the sentence it took me a minute to figure it out, but now I get what it is saying.  Did you hear the difference when I read the sentence with fluency and when I did not? Each time I read the sentence it gets easier and I'm more fluent.

3.    To practice this skill we are going to use the book A Day at the Lake with a partner. Remember to remind students to crosscheck. You will read and reread the story, attempting to read it faster each time as you decode more of the words. Each read will become easier. Remember to crosscheck your reading and if you can't figure out a word to use your cover-up critter to sound it out!

4.   Model fluency for students by rereading the sentence on the white board first slowly and then fluently and have a quick conversation which way was better and why. Now it is time for the student to begin reading the book with a partner. When you read, I want you to see how many words you can read smoothly and after each time you read your partner is in charge of filling out your reading time sheet so we can track your improvement. You will be reading the book three times and your partner will be timing you as you read, but make sure to focus on your reading and master the skill. Let's get started!

5.     As the students are reading with partners the teacher will walk around the classroom observing and providing help to students when needed.

Assessment:  To assess the students' reading fluency, collect the time sheets and compare each student's beginning time with their latest time. You will then see if their time/accuracy has improved.  You will then assess their words per minute by using the formula: words x 60/ seconds. This is a time for you to call students back one at a time to move their basketball player higher and higher to the goal, making them be able to see their improvement and how much closer they are getting to their goal. Once the child has done this, the teacher will then ask basic comprehension questions, to really see if the student understood what they read.

References:

Sims, Matt. A Day at the Lake. Novato, CA. High Noon Books 2002

On Your Mark, Get Set, READ! By: Mary Claire Sikes