Rationale:

Students will be able to read fluently, effortlessly, and with automaticity by practicing expression, pace, and comprehension. Fluency is reading where nearly all the words are sight vocabulary; speed and expression are results. Effortless word recognition allows students to reflect on what they are reading. Through reading, decoding, cross-checking, mental marking and rereading students will be able to confidently improve their reading rate and grow into fluent readings. Students will use the strategy of crosschecking after readings of a decodable text and repeated readings to gain fluency and independence in reading.

 

Materials:

• A copy of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst for each student and teacher

• Paper and pencils for each student

• Stopwatch for each pair of students

• A cover-up critter for each student

• Sample sentence on a white board for teacher to model

• Peer fluency sheet (one for each student)

 

Peer Fluency Check

Name of Reader: ____________________

Date: _________________

1st Time: ________

2nd Time: ________

3rd Time: ________

I noticed that my partner…

After which read?       2nd       3rd

Remembered more words

Read faster

Read smoother

Read with expression

 

• Reader response questions

 

Reader Response/Comprehension

1. What was this page about?

2. What characters are being discussed?

3.What is one of the reasons Alexander is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?

 

• Teacher fluency check (one for each student)

 

Teacher Fluency Check

Name of Reader: _______________

Date: _________________

Time: ________

Words x 60/time in seconds: _______WPM

 

• Reading rate graphs (growth chart will be themed with a sun rising and then setting. Each time the student reads, their partner will record the number of words they can read in a given time period (chart is numbered 0-85) and place their girl/boy above that number on the ground. Their goal would be to make it through their terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and get as close to sunset as possible. Each time the student reads, they should be able to get a higher number and track their progress).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                            5    10    15    20    25    30    35    40    45    50     55    60     65    70    75    80    85

 

Procedures:

 

1. Say: “Today we are going to learn how to become fluent readers. Who can tell me what fluency means? [Wait and listen to responses] Fluent readers are able to read quickly, smoothly, and with expression, because they are able to recognize words effortlessly and automatically. This also helps us read quicker and understand faster because you do not have to take extra time to stop and think about what words are. This makes reading more fun! One way that we can work on fluency is by reading a book more than once! Each time you read a book, you read it faster, because you are becoming more familiar with the words in the text. Today we are going to practice fluency by Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day more than once and keeping track of our progress.”

 

2. Say: “Now let’s look at the sentence written on the board: I do not like lima beans. Everyone put your listening ears on. I want you to tell me if I sound like a fluent reader when I read this sentence aloud to you. I do not like l-l-l, /I/ - /I/, m-m-m, /a/ /a/ /a/, oh lima! I do not like lima b-b-b, /e/, /e/, n-n-n, s-s, bens. I do not like lima bens. Oh, that doesn’t make sense. It must be beans. I do not like lima beans! Did you notice that when I reread the sentence I got stuck on the last word? To figure out what that word was, I reread the sentence form the beginning, and tried what I thought the word beans said, bens. That did not make sense, did it? So, I went back and reread to try and figure out what the word should be if the sentence was going to make sense. This strategy is called crosschecking, and it is so important to use when we are practicing to be fluent readers. Since I worked and found out what the hard words were while I was reading, I am improving and becoming a more fluent reader. Raise your hand if you thought I was reading like a fluent reader when I read that sentence? [Wait for responses] That’s right! I wasn’t reading like a fluent reader, because I had to stop and work to figure out some of the words in the sentence. Here is how a fluent reader would read that sentence: I do not like lima beans. I read the sentence with no problems, and it was much easier to understand! Now I want you to turn to a partner and practice reading the second sentence on the board (My bath was too hot, and I got soap in my eyes.) Read the sentence to your partner until you sound like a fluent reader!

 

3. Say: “Now let’s think back to when I read the first sentence when I got stuck on the word beans. To figure out what that word was, I reread the sentence from the beginning and tried what I thought the word beans said, bens. That did not make sense, did it? So, I went back to the text to reread to figure out what the word should say that would make sense in the sentence. This strategy is called crosschecking, and it is very important to use when we are learning to become fluent readers!”

4. Assign partners for each student, and pass out books. Say: “We are going to read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to practice improving fluency. Have you ever had a really bad day? A day where nothing really seemed to go your way? Well in this book Alexander is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. He got gum in his hair, tripped on his skateboard, he got in trouble at school, and he dropped in his sweater in cold water! His day is going so badly that he decides that he is going to move to Australia! Let’s read and find out if Alexander’s day gets any better and if he actually moves to Australia!

 

5. Students should read the first three pages silently to themselves. Then they should each read nine pages aloud to each other. Explain to students that while they are reading they are not to help each other out, that way the student can use his or her own strategies to improve their fluency.

 

6. Pass out recording sheets and stopwatches to each group. Say: “Now get with your reading partner and find a spot in the room. We are now going to play the fluency game! Put your listening ears on to hear how to play! Now that you know how a fluent reader sounds, you are going to get to try to be one while you read aloud to your partner! Reader one is going to start the game off and reader two will be in control of the timer. Reader two is going to time reader one reading pages one through eleven, then he/she will record the time on the sheet I have handed out to you. After you record the information, reader two will read pages twelve through twenty-one and reader one will record the time.  Read and record three times each. As you listen to your partner read aloud the pages, I want you to be listening for how their reading changes each time. Do they remember more words? Do they read with more expression? Write down the changes you notice on your paper.”

 

7. After the student pairs have each read through their pages three times, have the students come to you one at a time, and read three pages from their part of the book. Ask them to bring their record sheet so you can attach it to the back of the assessment sheet that you have. You will time each student on the pages read aloud and use the formula given to record how many words per minute they read on their reading rate graph.

 

Formula: words x 60 seconds/seconds read aloud

 

Assessment: Use a list of comprehension questions to understand how fluency is affecting their comprehension.

 

Reader Response/Comprehension:

1. What was this page about?

2. What characters are being discussed?

3.What is one of the reasons Alexander is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?

 

Resources:

The Fluent Reader that Could by Ms. Klibanoff http://corinneklibanoff.wixsite.com/classroomwebpage/growing-fluency

Having a Party with Fluency by Haley Dellaccio https://hed0022.wixsite.com/haleydellaccio/growing-fluency

Viorst, Judith, and Ray Cruz. Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Little Simon, 2014.