Fishing for Fluency
By: Summer Rose
Rationale: This lesson is designed to improve student’s reading fluency in texts that are a little more difficult. Students begin reading slowly, but their speed increases as words become automatic. Fluency is being able to read with automatic word recognition. It makes reading more enjoyable for students because children are reading at a faster pace while still being able to comprehend the story. To become fluent, students must be able to decode the words in the text they are reading. In this lesson, students will learn about the strategies and skills that it takes to be a fluent reader through rereading the story Edison’s Tackle Box. They will work on silent and partner reading to gain experience. They will read along with the teacher to go over unfamiliar words between readings and gain fluency. The overall goal of this lesson is to improve fluency and independence in the students by timed and repeated readings.
Materials:
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Class set of Edison’s Tackle Box by Meghan Colvin
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One stopwatch per group
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Pencils
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Cover-up critters for each student
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Copy of the checklist/reading tracker per student
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Whiteboard
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Dry erase markers
Procedure:
1. This lesson will begin with the teacher explaining the concept of fluency to the students. Begin the lesson with, “Good morning class! Today we are going to be working on fluency. What does it mean to be a fluent reader? *Wait for students to respond* Those are some really good answers! Being a fluent reader can make reading so much more enjoyable and smoother. When someone is a fluent reader, they can read a passage and understand what the story is about. Fluent readers are also able to put emotion and expression into their reading. One more thing a fluent reader can do is read quickly without making errors or stopping. Today we are going to work on becoming fluent readers!”
2. I will first model the decoding strategy with my cover up critter. Say: “Sometimes when we are reading, we come across some words that give us trouble and we feel stuck. One thing I like to do to help is use my cover up critter. For example, let’s look at the word pond. *write the word on the board* I am going to use my cover up critter to decode the word pond. I am now going to cover up all the letters except the first one, which is the letter p. /p/…/p/…/p/. I am now going to uncover the next letter which is o. /o/…/o/…/po/. Next, I will uncover the next letter n. /n/…/n/…/pon/. Now it’s time to uncover the last letter and blend everything together. /p/…/o/…/n/…/d/…/pond/. This is the word pond. Now let’s use it in a sentence: “A pond is a place where fish live.”
3. Next I will show the students the difference between not reading fluently and reading fluently. I will write the sentence: There is a pond beside my house. Say: “I am going to read you this sentence on the board. First I am going to read it very slowly at first to show you how a non-fluent reader would read this sentence. “Therrreee is a pooonnndddd beeesiiiddee my hooouuuussseee.” Next I will read it faster and smoother to show you how a fluent reader would read this sentence. “There is a pond beside my house.” Could you see the difference *Wait for students to answer* Yes, there is a difference between the ways I read it. The smooth and fast reading was the more fluent reading and that is how we want to read. Now, I want you to try and read quicker!
4. Say: “I want you to read the book Edison’s Tackle Box by Meghan Colvin quietly at your seat. This story is about a boy named Edison who really enjoys going fishing. It’s finally time to go fishing, but when Edison goes to get his tackle box it’s empty! He runs through the house to find things that he can use to catch a fish. What is he going to pick? I want you to read this book silently in your head to find out what Edison decided to take on his fishing trip.”
5. Once the students have read the story silently, pair them up with a partner. Say: “You and a partner are now going to get a stopwatch, a copy of Edison’s Tackle Box, a reading rate chart, and fluency checklist. You and your partner are going to read this book three times each, you are going to take turns being the reader and timer. The person who is the timer will time the person reading and record the time on the reading chart. If you are the reader, focus on the book and try your best. When you are the timer, be sure to start the stopwatch as soon as the reader starts and stop it as soon as they are finished. You will time the other person three times and record each one on the chart. After your partner has finished reading the first time you should fill out the fluency reading checklist and reading chart. *show the students how to use the stopwatch and fill out the chart* Okay and you may begin. *Walk around and observe the students to see if they have any questions and check that they are correctly filling in the chart*”
6. After the students are finished reading, collect their sheets for yourself to analyze and assess how your students did along with your observations of the class to see who needs extra help. Each student will read to you individually. As they are reading, mark improvements needed, miscues, and ask comprehension questions at the end.
Checklist/Reading Tracker:
Book title: Edison’s Tackle Box
Reader’s Name: _________
Listener’s Name: _________
(Words X 60)/seconds= Words per minute (WPM)
0 - - - - 10 - - - - 20 - - - - 30 - - - - 40 - - - - 50 - - - - 60 - - - - 70 - - - - 80 - - - - 90 - - - - 100
WPM after first reading: _______
WPM after second reading: _____
WPM after third reading: _______
Which reading was your partner the fastest: ______
Which reading sounded the smoothest: _______
Which reading did your partner get the most words correct: ______
Comprehension Questions:
1. Where was Edison’s tacklebox located at the beginning of the story?
2. What was the first item Edison put into his tacklebox?
3. How many fish did Edison and his dad catch?
4. What did Edison say his best tool was that he took with him?
References:
Tindall Morring, Finding Fluency with Rainbow Fish: https://ktm0014.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-independence-and-fluency
Fishing Gif: https://media1.tenor.com/images/35406d4107e824cb0570861f451c33b3/tenor.gif?itemid=15961876
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