Growing Independence and Fluency Design

Partying with Fluency

Rationale: This lesson is to improve a student’s reading fluency. Fluency enables students to read words in a text without having to decode. Since the students are not having to decode each word they come across, they are able to focus on comprehending what they read while also reading with expression. In this lesson, the students will learn how to become a fluent reader and how to decode, crosscheck, reread, and understand. During the lesson, the students will practice reading a passage three times to gain a better understanding how to become a fluent reader. At the end of the lesson, the students will have a better understanding of the student’s ability to read texts fluently and independently.

Materials:

Stopwatch (one for each pair of students)
Sample Sentences
Pencils
Fluency Chart (one per child)
Fluency Checklist
Reading Tracker
Comprehension Check
Class set of Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal by Barbara Park

Procedures:

Say: “Today we are going to learn how to become fluent readers. Fluent readers are able to read a story, and then understand and explain what they read in the story. We should all strive to become fluent readers! Being fluent readers doesn’t just allow us to comprehend what we read in a story, but it also teaches us how to read with expression. We will be able to read in a LOUD voice, a quiet voice, and even a spooky scared voice (add in expressions when reading words). Now, we are going to learn how to become fluent readers.”
Say: “Before we get into our story, I am going to demonstrate how to crosscheck a word that we may not know off the top of our head. Listen to me read the sentence, and tell me if I sound like a fluent reader when I read it out loud. (Write sample sentence from Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal on white board) I think the sentence says ‘/A/ /f/ /t/ /E/ /r/ that, Lucille acted nicer to us’. Did that sound right (allow students to answer)? No, I didn’t think so either. Let’s reread the sentence again to see if we can figure it out. ‘/a/ /f/ /t/ /e/ /r/ that, Lucille acted nicer to us’ wait, I know that is a short /a/ sound, so the word is after, now let’s put the entire sentence together. ‘After that, Lucille acted nicer to us’. See how much more fluent I was the last time I read the sentence? Fluent readers can read the sentence without having to decode words in the middle of the text. This allows for the fluent readers to read the sentence, and easily remember what they read in the story.”
Say: “Even fluent readers make mistakes sometimes, but that is why we practice. Notice how I reread the sentence to understand where I made a mistake, and how I could fix that mistake. When you find yourself stuck, reread the sentence to crosscheck yourself.”
Say: “Now I want you to take your Junie B. Jones book and sit with the partner that I gave you. We are going to practice reading the first chapter from the book called Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal. In this story, Junie B. and her friend Gracie ride the bus together to school every morning. One morning, they saw Lucille and her rich nanna driving next to them. Junie B. and Gracie want to meet the rich nanna, but they do not know how. Do you think they will find a way to meet rich nanna? Do you think the nanna will like them? Read the first chapter silently to yourself to find out.”
Say: “Now that you have read the chapter silently to yourself, we are going to practice reading fluently with our partner.” Pass out the stopwatches, comprehension forms, and the fluency partner checklist. “When you are in your groups, I will tell you the number of words in the chapter once you are seated quietly with your partner. I want you to write that number at the top of the checklist. You are each going to read the chapter three times out loud. While one person is reading, the other needs to be timing them with a stopwatch, and listening carefully for mistakes. If they make a mistake, mark a X on your sheet of paper.”
Teacher: Check student’s progress by examining the answers from the comprehension sheet. You can then check their fluency by looking at the fluency checklist and calculating their words-per-minute (multiply the words read correctly by 60 seconds). Mark their progress with different colored markers. Continue doing this exercise periodically so the students can see their own progress.

Fluency Checklist:

Recorder Name: ______ Reader Name:______ Total number of words in the chapter: ______

First Reading: ______Words in ______Seconds

Second Reading: ______Words in ______Seconds

Third Reading: ______Words in ______Seconds

Which reading sounded the most fluent? ______

Which reading had the least amount of errors? ______

Comprehension Form:

Name: ______

What does Junie B. Jones ride to school every morning?
Who takes Lucille to school?
What did Junie B. Jones and Gracie do when they got to school?

References:

Insights.

http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/insights/

Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal. Scholastic Inc. (1997).

Brewster, Ellison. “Dancing with Fluency”. https://ellisonbrewster.wixsite.com/lessondesigns/growing-independence-and-fluency

Massey, Sarah. “Junie B. and Fluency”. https://skm0044.wixsite.com/lessondesigns/growing-independence-and-fluency