Growing Independence and Fluency

Scoring Fluency Touchdowns with Repeated Reading!

Growing Independence and Fluency Design

Rationale:

Reading fluency is defined as automatic word recognition for most of the reader’s sight vocabulary. This is the goal of your students because it increases self-confidence when the student can read smoothly, quickly, and with comprehension. The student can understand what they're reading while using expressive inflection. The student should also read twice as quickly when reading in their head (silently). In order to build fluency, this lesson emphasizes the evidence-based method of repeated reading. The students will be reading the instructional level text of “The Berenstain Bear’s Lemonade Stand'' by Mike Berenstain. The formula for increasing fluency is as follows: students read instructional level text using the strategies of decoding, cross-checking, and mental marking. The formula used to assess reading is “words x 60/seconds”. The teacher will test each time the student rereads. The process repeats, rereading the text, until the story can be read fluently.

Materials:

Timer/stopwatch to time each student
Calculator to determine student’s words per minute
Paper and pencils for miscue notes and recording assessments (for each student)
Cover-up critter for each student
Whiteboard and markers for teacher
Sample sentences on a whiteboard for the teacher to model: “I go to the beach and pick up shells.” and “I got fried pickles at the carnival.”
Fluency graphs and pictures of player moving along football field
Partner reading fluency checklist for each student
Teacher Fluency checklist
Class set of “The Berenstain Bear’s Lemonade Stand” by Mike Berenstain

Procedures:

Say: “Today we are going to learn how to read like professionals! We are going to be speedy and smooth with our reading, just like your favorite wide receiver! This is the Superbowl of reading! To do this, we have to practice. We have to ‘run our plays’ and read/reread our story until we get it down. Everytime we read the story, we will start to learn the words that we do not know as well and eventually read fast and smoothly! Also, you will be able to understand what is happening in the story and learn how to fix our reading if it is a little more difficult than we expected. To become a fluent reader is like becoming a professional athlete- it takes hard work but it’s so much fun if we practice it! Has anyone ever read you a bedtime story? The bedtime stories that I have read are always interesting and take my imagination all over the place. But...has anyone ever read you a bedtime story all in one tone? (Say next part in monotone) Kind of like this. No, that would be boring! Reading is not fun or exciting if there is no expression. It’s like scoring in a game and no one cheers. Together, we are going to learn how to understand what we read and read it fluently with expression so we can be professional readers too!”
Say: “Do professionals get the play the first time they run it? Sometimes, but there are some runs or passes they don't understand the first time. This is like reading. Sometimes, it takes me a couple times to figure out the words I am not sure about. So how do we go on if we don’t know a word? We use this strategy called crosschecking. I use the letters in the word to spell close to what I think it might be and then finish the sentence and see if I can figure out what it is! If I still don’t know what it is, I can use my coverup critter to break apart the word. Let me show you! [Write “I go to the beach and pick up shells.” Read all words correctly except for beach.] Hmmm what is that b word? I go to the /b/ /E/ /k/ /h/? Oh! What is that? Let me use my coverup critter! /b/ /E/ /ch/. Oh! I go to the beach to pick up shells!”
Say: “Now, we will practice being fluent readers. Here is one more sentence that we will read together. [Write: “I got fried pickles at the carnival.” on the board.] I read the sentence slowly the first time. I gggooooottttt ffffrrrrriiiiiieeeedd pppiiiiiccccckkkklllllleeeesss aaattt the cccccaaarrrrnnniiiiivvvvaaaaallll. If I read it slowly and stretched out, it is hard for me to understand what I read, but I’ve sounded it out well. If I read it again I try to sound it out a bit faster and smoother so I can understand what it’s saying too. [Read faster and smoother.] “I g-o-t f-r-i-e-d p-i-c-k-l-e-s a-t t-h-e c-a-r-n-i-v-a-l.” Let me try to read it one more time to see if I can read it with a little more expression now that I know what it says. [Read with expression] “I got fried pickles at the carnival.” The third time I read it, I could understand what it said as well as read it fast and smoothly AND with expression. I am becoming a fluent reader with practice! TOUCHDOWN!”
Say: “Just like professional athletes, we need practice to become fluent readers. Just like I did not get the sentence, ‘I got fried pickles at the carnival.’ every sentence is a new play that we have to learn. I had never seen it before but because I used my reading strategies and rereading, I could decode the words the second time. Then, by the third time, I could read it fast, smoothly and add expression. By reading this sentence multiple times I understood what I was reading and practiced to become a fluent reader!”
Say: “Another way we can practice is by reading our book! Today we are going to be reading ‘The Berenstain Bear’s Lemonade Stand’ by Mike Berenstain. We all have a copy so everyone please take out your book. While Brother, Sister and Honey Bear were all playing outside one day, Mama saw that they were all hot and parched (thirsty). She brought them some lemonade to sweeten their day. All of the sudden, Mail bear Bob came rolling up to their mailbox and he was pouring in sweat! What do you think Mama bear does when she sees how sweaty he is? Do you think that they give him some lemonade? Do they give it to him for free or if he does pay them, how much do you think they charge him? Let’s keep reading to find out! (booktalk)”
Say: “I am now going to give you some time to read the story. You will have 10 minutes to read the story. If you make it to the end of the story, reread it so that you can add more expression and read it faster and smoother. Remember to use cross-checking or your cover up critter if you get stuck on a word.”
[Timer goes off] Say: “Now, I want you to turn and talk with your table group. What happened in the story? What did you notice about the story? What words did you have trouble on and how did you read them? When you are finished with that, we will be reading the books to each other. Turn to a partner and say ‘You’re a reading pro!’ Each pair will receive a timer and reading checklist for your partner. While one partner reads, the other one will time the reader with the timer. Read the story 3 times to your partner. You can go all at once or take turns. Make sure to write down each time after each person finishes each time. Just like we get faster when we practice running, we get faster when we practice reading too! Continue to practice so we can read fast, smoothly, and with lots of expression. You will put their speed in the top boxes and a checkmark if they completed the tasks in the bottom part!”
Say: “As each of you are reading to each other, I will call you up one by one to my desk. You will read the story to me and try to read to me as fast and smooth as you can! I am your coach for this drill. [While student is reading, mark miscues, take their time, and then use the reading fluency formula to assess the reader’s words per minute. The formula is words correct x 60 / seconds. Mark how far down the football field the student gets to allow them to gauge their fluency scores. If the student misses a word, go back when time is done using coverups and then have the student reread the sentence.
Finish with exit comprehension questions such as:
1. ‘Did mail bear Bob have to pay?
2. If so, how much? Did Brother, Sister, Momma and Honey Bear give lemonade to anyone else?
3. Who? How did the bears sell more lemonade?’

(use this template if you are allowing your students to also mark miscues as time goes on in the lesson or having them evaluate each other)

Partner Reading Checklist

Total # of Words in Chapter: __________

Reader: ___________________________

Checker: __________________________

1: ___ words in ___ seconds

2: ___ words in ___ seconds

3: ___ words in ___ seconds

Which turn sounded the smoothest? _____

Which turn had the least amount of errors? ____

Teacher Fluency Checklist (1 per student)

Name of Reader: _________________________

Date: ___________________________________

Time: ___________

Words x 60 / time in seconds: ____________ WPM

9. Mark the student’s progress on the football field to make it from one end zone to the other, moving the player as the student progresses.

References:

Berenstain, Mike (2014). Berenstain Bears’ Lemonade Stand. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers

Garber, Eliza. Leaping into Fluency

https://ehg1998.wixsite.com/readinglessons/growinew-page

Griffin, Emily. Picking Up Perfect Fluency with Olivia the Pig!

https://emily-marie-griffin.weebly.com/growing-independence-and-fluency-design.html

Murray, Bruce. Making Sight Words. Linus Publications, Inc., 2012. Print.

Sistrunk, Lauren. Cheering for Fluency. https://sistrunklauren.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-fluency