Growing Independence and Fluency Lesson Design
To Infinity and Beyond with Fluency
Rationale: This lesson is designed to aid students in developing fluency with instructional-level texts. Fluent readers can recognize words quickly, accurately, and automatically. Fluency is important in terms of comprehension, which can make reading more enjoyable for beginner readers. Revisiting words throughout decodable text will help improve both fluency and speed. Throughout this lesson, students will practice their reading fluency with their repeated reading of “Charlie the Ranch Dog” and they will gain experience with partner reading. They will read for fluency with the teacher and go over unfamiliar words between readings. This lesson’s goal is to improve the student’s fluency through timed and repeated reading.
Materials:
1. Timer to time each student
2. Calculator to determine student’s words per minute
3. Pen and paper for miscue notes and recording assessments
4. Cover critter for each student
5. Whiteboard and markers for sample sentences
6. Fluency graphs and pictures
7. Class set of Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011)
8. Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Procedures:
1. Say: “Hello class! Our goal for today is work towards becoming more fluent readers! Does anybody want to take a guess at what the word fluent means? That’s right! We want our reading to be smooth and quick! Practice always makes perfect, so today we are going to practice a story a few times until we master it! Each time you read the story, you will recognize some words you weren’t so sure about, and it will become easier each time until you can read it smoothly, or fluently. Being able to read our stories fluently also helps us remember and understand what is happening throughout the story. This is called comprehension! That is what fluent reading is all about and it is so important! What are some reasons why we think being a fluent reader may be important? Awesome answers! Once we perfect our fluency, we can start adding expressions and detail into our reading and become great aloud readers!
2. Say: “Now let’s look at a sentence written on the board: Jack likes to play kide and seek with Joe. Listen as I read the sentence aloud and I want you guys to decide if I am a fluent ready! Jack liks, oh wait I see and e on the end, likes, to play hid and sek, oh wait that doesn’t make sense…with Joe. Jack likes to play hide and sek, OH hide and seek with Joe. Did you notice that when I read the sentence the first time, I struggled with a few words? To try and read those words correctly, I went back and reread the sentence from the beginning and tried what I thought the word should say. Then I went back to reread to figure out what the word should read that would make sense. This strategy is called crosschecking! Crosschecking is so important to use when we are learning to become fluent readers! Let’s try again. Jack likes to play hide and seek with Joe. Give me a thumbs up if you think I read that like a fluent reader or a thumbs down if you think I could use more practice. Exactly, I was able to read that sentence like a fluent reader. I read that sentence effortlessly, and it made it much easier to understand. My reading was more fluent because those words are becoming sight words! I don’t need to continue decoding them because I know them automatically. Now turn to a partner and practice reading the second sentence on the board.” Bill and Jan are in a race to the cake. “Read it aloud to one another until you read fluently.”
3. Now it is time for you guys to practice just like I showed you! “To practice reading fluently we are going to read the book ‘Charlie the Ranch Dog’. This book is about a dog who lives on a ranch and loves to help with chores. However, he also loooooves to nap. Will he be able to complete his chores without taking a nap? Let’s read to find out!”
5. Students will be given a copy of the book, a cover up critter, fluency chart and checklist, reading comprehension worksheets, and a stopwatch. “Now we are going to practice reading fluently by working with a partner. Pair up with your neighbor and each of you are going to take turns reading the story three times each! Does anyone remember what we do when we stumble upon a word we don’t know? That is right! Use our coverup critters and crosscheck! While you are reading, your partner is going to be timing you using a stopwatch. Your partner is going to record three things about your reading; your time, if you were fluent, and if you used expression. After you finish reading and filling out the fluency chart on your parrtner, discuss the book with your partner. After you complete your readings, you will need to work on the comprehension worksheet and turn it into the box.
6. I am going to be calling you up one by one to read the story to me! We are going to work towards a goal of increasing our correct words per minute with this book. Our goal is to move buzz light year as far up the line as we can! Be listening for your name and bring your book with you! [While the student reads, use a stopwatch to time how long it takes the reader to finish the book. Then use the formula: words x 60 divided by seconds to get the reader’s words per minute. Use an adaptable graph to mark where the student starts, preferably personalized for the student for added motivation. Take miscue notes as the student reads, and when the student is finished reading, go back to the misread words, help the student use coverups to get the word, and have the student reread the sentence. End by asking one of the comprehension questions
Example graph for repeated reading words per minute (Words x 60 / Seconds = WPM): [Personalized for a student who participates in cheerleading.] Our goal is to move buzz light year as far up the line as we can!
0-----10-----20-----30-----40-----50-----60-----70-----80-----90-----100
Correct Words Per Minute
Reading Comprehension Worksheet:
1. Charlie has a friend. What is their name?
2. Compare Suzie and Charlie. How do they look different?
3. After breakfast, Charlie ______.
4. What is Charlie known for?
References
Clark, Katie. Wagging Through Fluency with Charlie https://mkc0026.wixsite.com/katieclarkslessons/growing-independence-andfluency-de
Hicks, Elyssa. Flying into Fluency. http://erh0014.wixsite.com/elyssahicks/growing-fluency-and-independence Fluency Chart: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/speed-readingprecision-teaching-6131775
Book: Drummond, R. Charlie the Ranch Dog. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011 http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/horizons.html
