Swimming into Fluency with Junie B.
Growing Independence and Fluency Design
Rationale:
Students must become fluent readers in order for children to be able to use their comprehension strategies. If students do not know how to decode how to decode words, comprehension can become very difficult. Mastering fluency can only come after the student has learned the major correspondences. Reading comprehension can only happen after students gain automatic word recognition. Automatic word recognition allows children to read with expression and add emphasis. Through reading, decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading students will become fluent.
Materials:
Record sheet (for each child), Class set of Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy, Stopwatches for each pair of students, Sample sentences for teacher, Peer evaluation worksheet for each student, Cover-up critters (popsicle stick with ‘googly eyes’), Comprehension worksheet for each student
Procedures:
1. Say: “Today we are going to learn how to read fluently! Fluent readers are able to read words effortlessly and accurately. Fluent readers are able to understand the text and can read a story with expression to make it more entertaining and exciting. We can practice expression and the ability to understand the text by reading the same book more than once. Each time we read it, we will be more familiar with the words. This is called repeated reading.”
2. The teacher will then model decoding and crosschecking by reading a sample sentence that is written on the board. Say: “Everyone to look at this sentence” (sample: The fish is swimming in the bowl.). Let’s read it together. “ttttthhhheee ffffiiiissshh is….” If I get stuck on a word, I first finish reading the sentence…. Sssswwwiiiimmmmmmmiiiinnnggg iinn ttthhheee bbbbooowwwlll.” If I can’t figure out the correct word I will use my cover-up critter. First, uncover the letter “s” This tells us to say /s/” [Continue uncovering each letter at a time]. /s/w/i/m/m/i/n/g/ [May pronounce it as “swahming”]
“That doesn’t sound right. Oh! It must be swimming! The fish is swimming in the bowl! I used crosschecking to reread the sentence to try to figure out the word. Now I can make a mental mark the correct spelling to help me remember it next time.
3. Say: “Now, let’s see the difference between a fluent and non-fluent reader” (sample: There is an orange fish). A non-fluent reader may read it like this: There is an ooorrraanngggeee fffiiissshhh. It is hard to understand when I read it stretched out, but I can try to read it again faster and smoother: There is an o-ra-nge f-i-sh. Though that was more fluent I think we can read it better. [Read smoothly and with expression] There is an orange fish! That time, the words flowed smoothly and it was easy to understand what I read. That is how a fluent reader would read the sentence. Now you try reading the sentence fluently. [Have students read sentence aloud and practice using expression].
4. Say: “Now we have to practice to become great readers. When I read a sentence I have never read it before it is not fluent. I had to spend time decoding the words. The second time it was easier because I had already decoded the words. The third time I read it smoothly and added expression. I became fluent in reading by rereading. That is how you can become fluent readers too!”
5. Say: “To practice reading fluently, we are going to read the book. “Now we are going to practice being fluent readers by reading the Junie B. Jones book, June B. Jones Smells Something Fishy. Junie B. is so excited for pet day at school. She can’t wait to bring her dog when she finds out, no dogs! This is the only pet she has. We will have to read to find out what Junie B. does.”
6. Children will be given a copy of the book, a cover-up critter, evaluation worksheet, comprehension worksheet, and one stopwatch per pair of students. Say: “Now we are going to practice reading fluently. Each of you will get a partner and take turns reading the story. You will each read it three times. Remember to crosscheck and use your cover-up critter to help you figure out words if you get stuck. Your partner will time you by using the stopwatch while you read. Write down the time on the worksheet. Your partner will be listening carefully to see if you are reading smoothly and with expression. After you finish reading and recording, discuss the book with your partner. Then have each person should then fill out their reading comprehension worksheets.
Assessment: Observe students’ reading and recording while they are working. Check their worksheets when they are finished. Review them to see if fluency improvements were made. Calculating words per minute can be helpful [Words per minute formula: (Words read x 60) divided by total seconds it took to read the text]. Also, review the answers to the reading comprehension questions to see how well the students understood the story.
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
Teacher Fluency Check
Name of Reader: _______________
Date: _________________
Time: ________
Words x 60/time in seconds: _______WPM
Comprehension:
1. What was this paragraph about?
2. What characters are being discussed?
3. Is there a problem happening in the story?
Resources:
Brady, Celeste. Reading Genie Website. “Fluency is Fun!”. http://celestebrady4.wix.com/minimal-layout#!growing-independence-and-fluency/c1l1j
Park, Barbara., and Denise Brunkus. Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy. Random House, 1998.