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Flying into Fluency

Rationale:

 In order to comprehend reading, you have to be a fluent reader. Students must practice expression, pace, and comprehension if they want to read effortlessly and automatically. Effortless word recognition allows students to reflect on what they are reading. Through reading, decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading, students will be able to confidently improve their reading rate and grow into fluent readers. Students will gain fluency and independence in reading by crosschecking after reading decodable texts and repeat readings. 

 

Materials: 

  1. Time/Stopwatch for each pair 

  2. Sample sentences on white board for teacher to model 

  3. Peer fluency sheet (one for each of the students) 

  4. Reading rate forms for teacher

  5. Teacher Fluency Checklist (one for each of the students) with attached comprehension questions

  6. Pencil for each student 

  7. Class set of Maisy Goes on a Plane by Lucy Cousins 

 

Procedures: 

  1. Say: “We are going to achieve one of our goals in becoming a fluent reader in class today. Does anyone know what a fluent reader is? (Calls on students to answer). A fluent reader is someone who is able to read very quickly and smoothly because they are able to recognize the words. If we can recognize the word, then we can better understand what we are reading because we instantly know each word’s meaning. Reading fluency can also help with adding emotion and expression to the story. It makes reading much more enjoyable!” 

  2. Say: “Now let’s look at a sentence written on the board: The plane is as big as a house. Everyone put your listening ears on. I want you to tell me if I sounds like a fluent reader when I read this sentence aloud to you. The p-p-p-p-l-l-a-a-n-e, p-l-a-n-e, plane is as bag as a h-h-o-o-u-s-s-e? Oh, that doesn’t make sense. It must be big. The plane is as big as a house. Did you notice that I got stuck on that last word when I read the sentence? To figure out what that word was, I reread the sentence from the beginning and tried what I thought the word big said, bag. That did not make sense, did it? To fix myself I went back and reread the sentence to figure out which word made the most sense. This strategy of rereading is called crosschecking, and it is super important to use when we are learning to become fluent readers! Since I figured out these hard words while reading, it helped me become fluent. Here’s how a fluent reader would have read that sentence: The plane is as big as a house. I read the sentence effortlessly which meant it was much easier to understand. I want you to turn to your partner and practice reading the second sentence on the board. “Matthew likes to walk his dog.” Read it aloud to one another until you read the sentence fluently.”

  3. Say: “Now class let’s think back to when I read the first sentence when I got stuck on the word big. To figure out the what the word was, I had to reread the sentence from the beginning and tried to figure out what the word big said; I pronounced it like the word bag. The sentence was very confusing, so I reread the sentence to figure out what the word should say to make the sentence sound correct. This is called crosschecking, and it is very important to use when we are learning to become fluent readers!”

  4. Now pass out the book to each pair that you have assigned. Say: “We are going to practice being fluent readers by reading Maisy Goes on a Plane. BOOK TALK: Maisy is going to visit her friend Ella, and she is taking a plane to get there! Maisy loves planes because she likes spending time at the airport, boarding the flight, and traveling to new places! Read the book to find out what kind of adventure Maisy takes this time! 

  5. Students will read the whole book silently to themselves. Then they will read the book to their partner without helping them or getting frustrated. 

  6. Pass out the recording sheets and stopwatches to each group. Say: “We are going to play a game to test everyone’s fluency. Put your listening eras back on to understand how to play. Reader 1 is going to start the game off, and Reader 2 will be in control of the timer. Reader 2 is going to time how fast Reader 1 reads the first two pages. Reader 2 will then record the time on the sheet that I have handed out. You and your partner will switch places after Reader 1 is done. You will each do these three times. As you listen to your partner read aloud the pages, I want you to be listening for how their reading changes each time. Do they remember more words, do they read with more expression, meaning more facial movement and change in their voice? Please mark these changes you notice on your paper.” 

  7. When they are finished with their partner work, have one student at a time come to your desk to read the first two passages to you. They will bring their record sheet, so you can attach it to the back of their assessment sheet. As they read you will time them on the paragraph read aloud and use the formula given to record how many words per minute they read. 

  8. At the end, the students will answer the reading comprehension questions about the book to measure their comprehension skills. 

 

Reading Comprehension Questions: 

 

  1. What is the name of the friend that Maisy is going to visit? (Ella) 

  2. Who drops Maisy off at the airport? (Cyril) 

  3. Who did Maisy sit next to on the plane? (Mr. Percy and Betsy)

  4. What does Maisy drink on the plane? (Orange Juice) 

 

Fluency Checklist: 

Title of Book: __________

Student’s Name: __________ Date: __________
Partner’s Name: __________

After 2nd Reading       After 3rd Reading 

______________              ______________        Remembered more words

______________              ______________        Read faster 

______________              ______________        Read smoother

______________              ______________        Read with expression

 

(Words x 60)/seconds= WPM

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0 - - - - 10 - - - - 20 - - - - 30 - - - - 40 - - - - 50 - - - - 60 - - - - 70 - - - - 80 - - - - 90 - - - - 100

Correct Words Per Minute

 

References: 

 

Bruce Murray, The Reading Genie, http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/

 

Caroline Harris 

Reading Genie Website 

Swimming into Fluent Reading 

https://ceh0108.wixsite.com/carolineharris/growing-independence-and-fluency

 

Julia Sbrissa 

Snacking for Fluency 

https://juliasbrissa.wixsite.com/sbrissa/growing-independence-and-fluency

 

Story: Maisy Goes on a Plane 

Lucy Cousins 

Published: October 13, 2015 

https://www.amazon.com/Maisy-Goes-Plane-First-Experiences/dp/0763678252

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