Falling into Fluency

by Regan Weakley

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Rationale:

The goal of this lesson is to help students gain reading fluency through repeated readings. Fluency means reading with automatic word recognition. To be able to read fluently, children must read extensively, crosscheck, and reread at the instructional level. In this lesson, students will partake in silent reading and paired reading with the connected text, After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again. The lesson is designed to guide students toward greater fluency by reading the story multiple times, which will help with word recognition and content comprehension. The repeated readings will be explained, modeled, and tracked by the teacher.

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Materials:

• Pre-written sentence on whiteboard: “Sam was so surprised from the scream that he jumped from his chair!”

• Book: After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again (one copy per student & one teacher copy)

• Cover-up critters

• Partner Reading Checklist (one for each student)

• Pencils

• Timepiece

• Paper, Pencil, and Calculator (to record WPM and miscues)

• Large Fluency Chart

• Comprehension questions (listed below under Assessment)

• Computers/iPads (for an AR test)

 

Procedures:

1. Say: Today we are going to be improving our reading fluency. Being a fluent reader means you recognize words automatically. You must practice to become good at reading aloud. When you reread a story, reading gets easier because you learn the words so well they jump out at you! Since the words will be easier to read, you can pick up speed and read faster. It is also easier for you to understand the story. If you read the story aloud to others, your reading sounds more like storytelling, which also makes understanding easier for your listeners.

 

2. Say: Remembering how to help yourself if you are stuck on a word is important. Everyone should have their own coverup critters, so if you are having trouble sounding out a word try to decode it. Uncover letters slowly to see how to say the word. Also, remember to crosscheck—finish the sentence to see if your word makes sense, and if it doesn’t then think of a sound-alike word that sounds better in the sentence.

 

3. Say: I am going to show you how I would reread a sentence to improve my fluency. [go to the white board with pre-written sentence] I am going to read this sentence for the first time as a non-fluent reader. Sam was so suhruhprihhsed from the screhahm, scream, that he jumped from his chair. Oh, it’s surprised. There were a few words that I did not get quite right the first time, so I am going to reread the sentence again now that I know how to say them correctly. ‘Sam was so surprised from the scream that he jumped from his chair.’ I can say the whole sentence correctly, so now I am going to read for a final time with more enthusiasm to better understand the sentence. ‘Sam was so surprised from the scream that he jumped from his chair!’ I got more fluent from rereading that sentence because I remembered the words that slowed me down and knew when to emphasize key words.

 

4. Say: Now, it is your turn to read! Y’all are going to read a book called After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again. [give booktalk] I’m sure everyone has heard of Humpty Dumpty before!? He fell off a great, big wall, and in this story parts of him are pieced back together. But, Humpty is now veryyy afraid of heights, and it keeps him from being able to do some of his favorite things in life. Will Humpty ever overcome his fear? You will have to read to find out! [pass out book copies to students] I want everyone to read the story one time silently by themselves. Remember to use your coverup critter if you are stuck on a word, and finish the sentence to crosscheck! [provide wait time for reading]

 

5. Say: Now that everyone has read the book one time silently, you will be partnered with the person next to you to read the story aloud [pass out partner checklists & have students get out pencils]. You will each read the story three times, and your partner will fill out the checklist for the second and third readings. Only provide positive feedback to your reading buddy, and be nice! Your partner may remember more words, read faster, read smoother, or read with more expression. Make sure to pay attention, and mark in the corresponding box. [walk around the room to supervise behavior and progress]

 

6. Say: Now that everyone has read the story out loud multiple times, I am going to call you up individually to read the story one final time to me. I will assess your fluency progress and story comprehension.

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• Use the timepiece and formulate words per minute and note any miscues for each student. Display the student’s Words Per Minute on a Large Fluency Chart; this chart goal is for Humpty Dumpty to reach the top of the wall, which is 100 WPM. Students will be able to visualize their progress in a fun way. Afterwards, ask comprehension questions to evaluate understanding. After each student has met with you, have them take an AR test on the book.

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Assessment:

• Collect Partner Reading Checklist to see student progress

• Words Per Minute Formula: (words x 60) / (seconds)

• Comprehension Questions:

1. What did Humpty Dumpty miss about the wall? (answer: the birds/being high above the city)

2.  What did Humpty Dumpty make? (answer: planes)

3. What happened to Humpty Dumpty at the end of the story? (answer: he climbed the wall and broke out of the egg into a bird)

• Let students take an Accelerated Reader Test on the book

 

 

References:

• Book: Santat, Dan. After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again. Roaring

            Brook Press, 2017.

• Katherine Johnson, The Magic of Fluency: https://katcjohnson.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-fluency

• Reading Genie website: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/brockel.html

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