Brooke Baker's Reading Designs
Fly Into Fluency!
A Growing Independence and Fluency Lesson
Rationale:
The purpose of this lesson is to improve students’ reading fluency. If a student can read fluently, they have the ability to read all the way through using automatic word recognition. They are not using all of their energy trying to decode the words and therefore they do not get exhausted. They can easily understand what the passage is about, and they can read through without stopping. As they keep reading, they will build confidence and will become more excited to read. Through this, they will build more sight vocabulary and become more fluent readers. In order to get to this point though, they must learn to decode words. In this lesson, students will learn strategies and skills that will help them become fluent readers by rereading the first chapter in Hi! Fly Guy. When they come to an unfamiliar word, they can decode it. If they still do not understand the word, they can crosscheck, finish the sentence, and reread the sentence.
Materials:
-
A class set of Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
-
Timers/ stopwatches for keeping time
-
Fluency checklist with comprehension questions
-
Chart to record words per minute
-
Whiteboard/ dry erase markers
Procedures:
-
Say, “Good morning class! In order to be the best readers we can be, we need to learn how to read fluently. Does anyone know what reading fluently means?” Wait for response. “Reading fluently means that you can have the ability to read a sentence or a book all the way through, using automatic word recognition. In other words, it means being able to read a sentence all the way through smoothly and quickly. This allows us to focus on what happens in the story.
-
Say, “Now let’s look at a sentence on the board to try this.” Write ‘he was looking for something to eat’ on the board and say it to the class. I will say the sentence again and I want you to tell me if I sound like a fluent reader. He was ll-oooooo-ck-iinngg for sss-oo-mmm-ee-ttt-hhh-iinngg to eee-aaa-ttt. He was locking for some-t-hing to eAt? Does that sound right? No it doesn’t sound right! Let me read it again. He was looookiiiinnggg for sommeeeth-th-th-ing to eeeat. Oh He was looking for something to eat! To fix it, I went back and reread the sentence from the beginning and tried what I thought the word said. It did not make sense, so I went back and tried again. This is called crosschecking. It helped me figure out hard words so I could go back and make the sentence make sense.”
-
Say, “Now it is your turn! You will read the first chapter of Hi! Fly Guy. This story is about a fly named Fly Guy who meets a boy named Buzz. Buzz wants to take Fly Guy to the Amazing Pet Show, but everyone keeps saying that flies are not animals, but they are pests. What will Fly Guy and Buzz do at the Amazing Pet Show? Let’s read to find out.
-
Give them time to read the first chapter silently. If they get stuck, encourage them to use cover-up critters, crosschecking, and rereading. After they get done, have them get into pairs. Make sure each pair has a timer, a fluency checklist, and a reading rate chart. Say, “You and your partner will read this chapter again 3 times. One person will read while the other one times and then you will switch. The reader’s job is to practice fluent reading. You will focus on the story and try to read smoother each time. The timer’s job is to write down the reader’s times on the reading chart. Make sure to fill out the chart all three times so we can see if they are becoming a fluent reader. The person who is timing should also listen for how the reader is reading. Do you think they are becoming a fluent reader? Are they reading with emotion? Make sure you both are paying attention to things like that.
-
When they get done reading in partners, have students come up to your desk and read a page to you one at a time. When they do this, they will bring up the sheet and give it to the teacher. The teacher will be able to see the different times each student read the chapter. While the student is reading the page to the teacher, the teacher should be timing them and using the formula below to figure out how many words per minute they are reading at.
Fluency Checklist
Title of the Book: Hi! Fly Guy
Student’s Name: ___________ Date: __________
Partner’s Name: ___________
​
​
Comprehension Questions:
-
What was Fly Guy doing when he met Buzz?
-
What was Buzz doing when he met Fly Guy?
-
Why did everyone think Fly Guy could not be entered into the Amazing Pet Show?
Words per Minute Formula:
(Words x 60) / seconds = WPM (Words Per Minute)
0---10---20---30---40---50---60---70---80---90---100
Correct Words Per Minute
References:
“Fluency with Junie B.” By Logan Boyd
​
“Dragon Masters of Fluency” By Caroline Whitehead
​
Arnold, Tedd. Hi! Fly Guy. 2006. Scholastic, Inc.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
1st Read Aloud
2nd Read Aloud
3rd Read Aloud
Comments-- How did they do?
Time
