Fluency with Fido

A Growing Fluency and Independence Lesson

 

Rationale: Our ability to recognize words quickly and with accuracy and automaticity is called fluency in reading. When children can read words automatically, they are more confident and read with expression and appropriate emphasis. More importantly, fluency allows for reading comprehension. Students learn to read fluently by reading, decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading. By practicing reading, students improve their reading rate and grow into confident, expressive, FLUENT readers.

 

Materials:

-Class set of Henry and Mudge: The First Book by Cythia Rylant.

-Sample sentences written on butcher paper

-Kitchen Timers

-Peer evaluation tables printed on paper

-Cover-up Critters (popsiscle stick and google eyes)

-Sidewalk/Dog House Fluency Chart

-Photo of puppy to track fluency progress

-List of comprehension questions

 

Procedures:

 

​1. In the next step in the fluency lesson, the teacher will exemplify crosschecking and decoding by writing a sample sentence on the board and reading it aloud. Say: “Everyone read this sentence (Look at that dog drinking water from his bowl!). Let’s read it together. ‘Lllloooookk /a/t th/a/t d/o/g ddddrrinnkkinnngg w/a/…’ If a word is too hard for me to figure out, I just finish reading the sentence to see if I can figure it out that way, like this: ‘Look at that dog drinking wwww… fffrom his bowll’.  If the word is still a mystery, I just pick up my cover-up critter, uncover the first letter in the word and pronounce it, then go to the next letter. In the word water, the “a” makes the ahhh sounds rather than the /a/ sound, so that word says water. Oh yeah! That makes sense! Dogs only drink water! Look at that dog drinking water from his bowl! Crosschecking was the tool I used to reread the sentence and find the word. I am becoming more fluent because of rereading. Since I know the correct word, I can make a mental mark of its spelling so I will remember it in the future.”

 

2. Say: “Now, what do you think a fluent reader sounds like when compared to a non-fluent reader? That’s right, he doesn’t sound as skilled! Let’s read this sentence from the board: ‘My six month old puppy likes to eat cheese.’ I might read the sentence like this when I see it for the first time: ‘Myyyy ssssixxx monttttth ollld puppy llllikess to eat cccchhhheeese.’ When I read it slowly and stretch it out, it’s really hard to understand what I am saying. If I read it again, though, I can read it a little faster and more smoothy: ‘My s-i-x m-o-n-th o-l-d puppy l-i-k-es to eat ch-ee-se.’ Didn’t that sound better and more fluent? I bet I can do even better, though! I can use expression. My six month old puppy LOVES to eat cheese! When I tried that time, I sounded more natural and smooth. It was easy for you all to understand what I said, and you understood how much my puppy loves cheese! This is how fluent readers read sentences. Now, can you try reading the sentence fluently and with expression?”

 

3. Say: “you know, being a good reader takes a lot of practice, and that’s okay. We ahd problems reading this sentence because it was new to us, and we had to decode. Each time I read it, though, it got a little easier and it sounded smoother and more natural. Three times was the charm. I became fluent in my reading because I reread the sentence until I understood it. YOU can become a fluent reader too, and you can have fun reading to your friends.”

 

4. Say: “We are going to practice reading fluently by reading the book Henry and Mudge: The First Book, by Cynthia Rylant. Mudge gets into some trouble in this book when he disappears from his owner! What do you think will happen to Mudge?

 

5. Kids will each be given a copy of Henry and Mudge, a cover-up critter, a small piece of paper with an evaluation table on it, a list of comprehension questions, and kitchen timer per pair of students. Tell the children, “now it is time for us to practice fluency by working with our partners. Everyone will take turns reading about Henry and Mudge with their partners. By the time you are finished, you will have read the story three times! You will need to remember to crosscheck and use your cover-up critter in order to help you figure out the words you get stuck on. When you read, your partner will time you by using the kitchen timer. Record this time on your evaluation table. Your partner will be listening very closely to check if you are reading smoothly and with expression. Remember to use only KIND words as you talk to your partner about their reading. Encourage your partner! After you have read three times and have recorded your partner’s three tries, discuss the book with your partner. Then, go back to your seat and answer the read comprehension questions. Place your answered questions in a neat stack on my desk at the front of the room.”

 

6. Assessment: Circle the room and listen as students read to one another. Students will turn in their evaluation sheets when they are finished. Review them to see if fluency improvements were actually made. Calculate words per minute (words per minute= words read x 60 DIVIDED BY the total number of seconds it took to read the text.) Call each student to your desk to read the passage, making sure to put the passage all on one page so the reader isn’t distracted by the illustrations or turning of the page. Time the students while he reads the passage. Once words read per minute is determined, move them up the sidewalk to the appropriate number, closer to the doghouse. The hope is that the student can achieve 85 words per minute, which would allow the puppy to reach the dog house so he can get a good night’s sleep! Before the lesson is over, review the answers to the reading comprehension questions and make sure students understood the story.

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Peer Evaluation Worksheet/Tables

 

MY SPEED RECORD

Name:                                  My PARTNER…

1st attempt:                         Remembered more words? 2nd time/3rd time (circle one or both)

2nd attempt:                          Read faster? 2n d time/3rd time (circle one or both)

3rd attempt:                              Read more smoothly? 2nd time/3rd time (circle one or both)

                                                     Read with expression? 2nd time/3rd time (circle one or both)

 

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.) Why does Henry want a dog of his own? 2.) What kind of dog is Mudge, and how does he behave? 3.) What did Henry worry about on his way to school? 4.) What did Mudge promise himself he would always do?

 

References:

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Revel, Brittany. Swing into Fluency

http://brevel20119.wix.com/ctrdbjr#!growing-indepenence-and-fluency/ct77

 

Cover-Up Critters:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/materials.html

 

Book:

Rylant, C. (1987). Henry and Mudge: The First Book. New York: Bradbury Press.