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Hi, Fluency Guy!

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale: 

Reading fluency is a vital component of reading and reading comprehension. Reading fluency is the ability to read with automatic word recognition. Fluency is important for readers because they can focus their attention on becoming quick readers, smooth, more expression and comprehending the content. This lesson was designed to help readers become more fluent through repeated readings and timed readings. Reading, rereading, and decoding develop fluency. With this lesson, students will be able to read texts smoothly, quickly and with expression, thus it improves their fluency. The student will start enjoying reading, instead of getting frustrated by showing their improvement in fluency and independent reading.

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‪Materials:

  • Paper

  • Pencils

  • ‪Sentence strip that reads: "the fly goes by”

  • ‪Cover-up Critter

  • ‪Class set of Hi, Fly Guy! By Tedd Arnold 

  • ‪Timer/stopwatch

  • ‪Fluency checklist

  • Reading record time sheet

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‪Fluency Checklist

‪I noticed that my partner.... 

  • ‪ After the 2nd Reading    

  • After the 3rd Reading

  1. ‪Remembered more words 

  2. ‪Read faster

  3. ‪Read smoother

  4. ‪Read with expression

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‪Time Record Sheet:

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‪Name: ______________________

‪Date: ________________________

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‪1st Reading: ____________________

‪2ndReading: ____________________

‪3rd Reading: ____________________

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‪Procedure:

‪1. Begin the lesson by saying, "Alright class, today we will be learning about how we can become fluent readers. Does anyone know what the word fluent means? (Wait for response). Our goal today, is learning to become fluent readers. When we are fluent readers, we are able to recognize words automatically, which means we can identify words quickly and smoothly. To be a fluent reader means we begin to read quickly, easily and with expression. When we have fluency while we read, it helps us understand what we are reading, because we aren’t stopping to make sense of each word. With fluency, reading can be really fun!”

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‪2. Next, display the sentence strip on the board which reads: "the fly goes by." Say: "Alright Class! Listen to how I read this sentence. (Read by separating each sound in each word) “T-h-e-e-e-e-e f-l-y-y-y-y-y g-o-o-o-o-o-e-e-e-e-e-s-s-s-s b-y-y-y-y-y-y”. Was that very hard to understand? (Wait for response). Let me try to read it again (This time read a bit faster and bit more fluently). Even though that was better, I still did not get the full message. Let me try to read it one more time (This time read quickly, smoothly and with much fluency). OH! The fly goes by! Now it makes sense! See how I had to re-read a few times so that I could really understand the message?" Ask: "Which reading was easiest for you to understand and easiest to follow?" (Wait for response). “That is exactly why it is so important that we learn to become fluent readers. Today our goal is to learn how to do just that!”I want each one of you to become fluent readers, and today we are going to work on that. So, let's get started!"

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‪3. Next, say: "When you come across a word you do not know, you can use your cover-up critter to figure out what the word is! I will show you an example." Write the word tell on the board. " I will use my cover-up critter to help me. First, I start with the vowel and cover up all of the other letters in the word. The vowel in this word is e, and I Know that e = /e/. Then I will uncover the letters before the vowel. So in this word, I have t which says /tuh/. Then I will include the vowel with my first two letters and I will get /tuh/ /e/. Now I will uncover the remaining letters, l and l, and I know when these two letters are together, they make a /ll/ sound. When I put all of my sounds together I get the word block, tell. That isn’t too hard, right? It can even be fun if you look at it like a riddle. “If the cover-up critter doesn’t work, I can also ask my neighbors to help me figure out the word."

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‪4. Give an engaging book talk about “Hi, Fly Guy!” In this book, we meet a fly who goes flying and a boy who goes on a walk! The boy catches the fly in a jar while the fly is trying to get some food! What happens the boy keeps the fly as a pet? Let's read to find out what happens."

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‪5. Next, the teacher will explain to the class that they will be participating in a repeated reading with their assigned partner. "We participate in repeated readings because they help us become more fluent readers. The more we read, the better we become at reading. I am going to read the beginning of the book aloud to you, and I want you to follow along in your book. I am going to read with as much fluency as I can, so I want you to pay careful attention as I read." Read the first 3 pages aloud with much expression and with much smoothness.

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‪6. Next, the teacher will divide the students into reading partners (pairing a struggling reader with a successful reader is best). To eliminate distractions, the teacher should give each group a spot in the classroom. Each group will receive a copy of “Hi, Fly Guy”, a timer, a fluency checklist, a pencil, and a reading time sheet.

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‪7. The teacher can begin giving instructions once each group is in their spot. "In this activity, one of you will be the reader, and your partner will be the recorder. The student whose birthday is last will be the first reader. If you’re the reader, you will begin reading when your partner tells you to. If you are the reader, first you will read the entire first chapter while your partner times you. But remember this isn’t a race This activity is to help us improve our fluency, not our reading speed, so be sure to take your time. Then, you will swap with your partner and record for them. When it is your turn to be the recorder, you will tell your partner when to begin reading. That will be when you start your timer. Time your partner until they have finished the whole first chapter; when they are done, stop the time. Write your partners name and time on the time sheet. Then you will fill out the fluency checklist based on how your partner read that selection. Once you have filled out both sheets, you will take switch tasks again. You will do these three times each, so you will each read the first chapter 3 times, and you will each have a turn to be the recorder three times."

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‪8. Before you start, have a student volunteer come up to the front of the class to show how it will work with you so that each student understands what to do for this activity. While reading and recording is taking place, walk around the room to monitor their progress and offer help.

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‪Assessment: Students will assess each other by filing out the time sheet and fluency checklist. The teacher will assess each student's fluency using the fluency formula to determine students' words per minute:

‪Words x 60/Seconds

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‪The teacher will also assign each student to write a complete paragraph based on what he or she read in this first chapter. This will help the teacher determine the student's comprehension of the selection.

‪ References:

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