Rationale: Fluency is the ability to read words automatically and accurately. In order to grow fluency and become better independent readers, students need to be efficient at making sight words. This means decoding, cross-checking, mental marking and rereading. An effect of fluency the ability to read faster and with more expression. Additionally, the student frees up resources for reading comprehension. In this lesson, students will gain fluency by learning to read words smoothly, quickly, and accurately by repeated, timed readings.

 

Materials: Class set of Tigers at Twilight by Mary Pope Osborne (Scholastic, 1999), stopwatch for each pair of students, fluency checklist for each student, fluency graph and my racing Bitmoji for each student, calculator for each pair

 

Procedures:

1. Say: “Today we are going to work on our fluency. Fluency is the ability to read words effortlessly and correctly. When you become a fluent reader, you can read bigger books by yourself and enjoy reading more."

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2. Say: “Let’s take a look at the sentence on the board: (Flowers will bloom in the Spring). I am going to read the sentence twice, and I want you to listen to which one has better fluency. ‘Flowers will boom in the S-s-p-p-r-r-i-n-g-g (oh, Spring). Oh, flowers will bloom in the Spring!’. I was able to cross-check and fill in the word bloom, after I finished the sentence to get more context. Let me try this sentence again. (Read smoothly and with expression.) ‘Flowers will bloom in the Spring!’ Which one sounded better? Raise your hand for the first time; raise your hand for the second time. That’s right! The second time was smoother, faster, and I used expression. That is what fluency is!”

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3. Say: “Here’s a tip! If you are stuck on a word, you should finish reading the whole sentence to try to figure it out. Usually, there will be a clue! This is called cross-checking. After you figure out the word, go back and reread the full sentence. This will help you make sight words and become a fluent reader! You can also still use cover-up critters to help you sound out a word.”

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4. Say: “Today we are going to work on our fluency by reading a Magic Tree House book! It is called Tigers at Twilight by Mary Pope Osborne. (Pass out the book so each student gets one.) In this book, Jack and Annie find their friend Teddy, who is a dog under a spell. In order to free him from the spell, Jack and Annie must complete four special tasks. Will they do it their task? Will Teddy be freed? I am going to read the prologue out loud. I want you to follow along while I read.” (Read the prologue.)

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5. Say: “Now we are going to work with a partner to time our reading! *Put students in partners* One partner needs to find a place to sit and the other needs to come get a stopwatch, a calculator, two fluency checklists and two fluency graphs. (Give students time to grab materials and get settled.) One partner is going to read the first chapter (pages 3-9), while the other one times it with the stopwatch and marks down any mistakes by using tally marks. Remember, we learn from our mistakes in order to be successful! Both partners will read three times. After each reading, you will fill out the fluency checklist and calculate the fluency graph for your partner. After three readings, you will switch roles. I will also be giving you the total number of words in the chapter and help with your calculations!” (Walk around to help with calculating WPM.)

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6. Say: “Now, I am going to call you up one by one to read me chapter one. I will also fill out the checklist and time you, just like your partner did! After you read to me, I will ask you some reading comprehension questions. While I am doing this, the rest of the class can continue reading the book! I can’t wait to hear what happens next.”

 

Assessment Questions:

1. Who took Jack and Annie to the magic tree house? (Teddy)

2. What is one word to describe Teddy? (Smart, Wise, Funny, Enchanted, etc)

3. Where do Jack and Annie have to get a gift from this time? (From a forest far away, India)

 

 

Fluency Checklist:

 

Reader: _______________  Partner: _______________

Total # of words in chapter: ________

1st Reading: ______ correct words (total-mistakes) in _______ seconds (______ WPM)

2nd Reading: ______ correct words (total-mistakes) in _______ seconds (______ WPM)

3rd Reading: ______ correct words (total-mistakes) in _______ seconds (______ WPM)

Which time sounded the smoothest? 1, 2, or 3? _________

Which time had the most errors? 1, 2, or 3? _________

Which time had the least errors? 1, 2, or 3? _________

Which time had the best facial and voice expression? 1, 2, or 3? ______

 

Fluency Graph:

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:

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

 

Osborne, Mary Pope. Tigers at Twilight. Scholastic, 1999.

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