Growing Independence and Fluency Design
Race to the Finish Line: Ready, Set, Read!
Rationale: To read fluently, a student must read quickly, smoothly, and expressively. In addition, word recognition must be automatic. If word recognition is automatic, reading becomes an enjoyable activity for a student. For students to gain automatic word recognition, the reading and re-reading of connected, decodable text is needed. The more a student comes in to contact with a specific text, the more fluent he or she becomes. In this lesson, students will learn how to read quickly, smoothly, and expressively in order to gain fluency. The goal of this lesson is to help children to become fluent readers in order to increase their comprehension of the text. This will be achieved through repeated readings with partners.
Materials: Class set of decodable books, Let’s Go to the Circus; stopwatch for every two children; post-it notes; copy of fluency checklist for each child (included below); teacher copy of the progress chart for each student (example provided below); pencils; construction paper; crayons.
Procedures:
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[Start the lesson by explaining to the students the importance of fluency. Explain how rereading the text helps with comprehending it.] Today we are going to learn a something new that will help us read faster and with more expression. This is called repeated readings. Can you tell me what repeated means? [Wait for responses]. Great job explaining it! Repeated reading means to read a text over again. We are going to practice this together! Are you ready?
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I am going to write a sentence on the board and read it aloud. I want you all to tell me if I sound like I am reading the sentence fluently or not. [Write the sentence, “Let’s go to the circus,” on the board]. [Read the sentence like a beginning reader: choppy and emphasizing each phoneme slowly]. Do I sound like I am fluent in reading? [Wait for responses]. You are right; I do not sound fluent! Now that I know what the sentence is, I am going to reread the sentence to make sure I understand what I am reading. [Now read the sentence again, smoothing the words together with more expression]. As you can see, I reread the sentence quicker and understood what I was reading. What was I having problems with? [Wait for responses]. You are correct, I was having problems with the correspondences and sounding out the words to help figure out the words. Once I realized my mistakes, I was able to continue with the sentence and figure out the rest. After I fixed all my mistakes, I went back and reread the sentence to get the full meaning of each word. This strategy is called crosschecking.
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Now it is your turn to practice rereading the text like I just did. [Pass out, Let’s Go to the Circus, the decodable book, to each student]. This is a story about three friends, Jupe, Bank, and Lurk, who want to go to the circus. They check their pockets for money, but oh no! They only have a few pennies! How will they get to the circus? Let’s read to find out. Please read this book quietly to yourself. If you miss more than one word on a page you might want to choose a new book to read.
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[Once it appears most kids have finished the book, hand out post-it notes to each child]. I am going to put you into partners, so you can read this book together. You will listen to your partner read the story through three times. On the first time, I want you to time your partner reading. When your partner has finished reading, I want you to write their time on your post-it note. [Introduce the fluency checklist]. On the second time your partner rereads the story, you check the boxes that tell how they read. For example, if they read smoother, check that box, if they read faster, check that box, and if they read with more expression, check that box. You will do the same thing for the third time they read. Once you are finished switch with your partner and do the same thing. Remember to only say kind words to your partner! [Put the students into pairs and allow them to time each other as they read a book].
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[Pass out a piece of construction paper, box of crayons, and a pencil to each student]. Now everyone is going to draw and color a picture of their own circus character that might have been at the show that the three friends went to after the book ended. Underneath your picture, write a sentence explaining what your character is doing in the picture. We will display each of your pictures and sentences on our reading bulletin board! As you draw and color your picture, I am going to call you up to my desk one at a time so that you can prove to me how smoothly and quickly you can read Let’s Go to the Circus! [In order to assess each student’s reading fluency, let them individually reread a few pages from, Let’s Go to the Circus, aloud to you. While the student is reading the book, time them and note reading miscues. After the reading, mark your copy of their chart with the appropriate number of words read. Also collect each student’s post it note to calculate how quickly the student read with his or her partner. To calculate words per minute, use the formula: total number of words x 60 all divided by total number of seconds].
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[After each student has completed reading with the teacher, review the meaning of a fluent reader with the class, ask assessment questions, and give the students their homework assignment]. Today we have learned how to become a fluent reader. At home tonight I want you to reread, Let’s Go to the Circus, to a parent or older sibling so that they can enjoy the book while you show them how to read fluently!
Assessment Questions:
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What were the names of the three friends?
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What did they do in order to make money to go to the circus?
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What ran by their stand?
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What happened at the end of the book?
References:
Let’s Go to the Circus. Maribeth Boelts. https://www.raz-kids.com/main/BookDetail/id/299
Tippet, Dorsey. Race to the Finish Line! http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/connect/tippettgf.html
Williams, Andrea. Start your Engines! http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/connect/williamsgf.html
McKean, Landon. Go, Read. Go! http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/constr/mckeangf.html
Adams, M.J. Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print. Department of Education, University of Illinois: 1990.
