Rationale: Reading fluency is the ability to recognize words quickly and automatically by creating many sight words. As young readers develop new sight words, they begin to read faster, more accurately, smoother, and with expression. Making sight words begins with decoding, but fluency can be developed through repeated and timed readings. Using these methods will help decrease the amount of time spent decoding. This lesson utilizes modeling and practice of these repeated readings so that students gain independence in reading strategies and become more fluent.

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Materials:

• Dry erase board and markers per student

• dry erase board and markers for teacher

• class set of Junie B Jones Is A Party Animal

• stopwatch per pair of students

• Fluency Checklist Sheet

• Sheet with comprehension questions

• coverup critter (popsicle stick and google eyes- optional) per student

• pencil per student

 

Procedures:

1.  Say: “Alright class! Our goal is to be the very best readers we can be, and in order to do that we must be able to read fluently. Reading fluently is when you can read smoothly and quickly so that you don’t have to sound out each word. We also want to create sight words. Sight words are words that we don't have to sound out or figure out because we recognize them right away. By becoming fluent readers, we are able to enjoy the book we’re reading much more because we can focus on the story and not get hung up on each word.”

2. Say (model): "I am going to let you listen to me read a short passage from our book two times. When I'm done, I'll take a vote on which time I sounded better. (Read choppily) “ttt-hh-thh-aaa-tttt-sss wwwhh-aaa-tttt what I www-oooo-uu-wou-lll-dddd would lll-iiii-kkk-eee like to kkk-nnn-oooo-www (come back after to change to know,  known by cross-checking) know.” (Read smoothly) Let me try this passage again. “That’s what I would like to kunow know.” (Ask for a show of hands) “Who liked listening to my first reading? How about the second? Why did the second time sound better to you? Right! The second time sounded a lot better to listen to because I didn't have to stop to figure out any of the words, I just went back and fixed the one I didn’t know.”

3. Say: Did you notice that I crosschecked when I couldn't get a word? I finished the sentence with the word I couldn't figure out to see if I could figure out the tough, new word that had silent letters, like the e at the end of like and the k at the beginning of know. The first time I read them, I pronounced how they looked like they should sound, but they didn't sound like real words I've ever heard of. When I finished the sentence, I could tell what the words were, like know instead of kunow.

4. Say: “Let's try reading the two sentences that I have written on the board together. I see a couple of tough new words in the sentence. (Choral read): “I am almost six years old. Almost six is when you ride the bus to afternoon kindergarten.” “I heard some of you having trouble reading the words almost and ride, but I did hear you all read on to the end of the sentence to figure out those words! The word almost makes an /o/ sound at the beginning of it and even though we spell it with an a it is going to sound like an O with the l next to it. In the word ride, we have /I/ in the middle of it and we know that the silent e at the end tells the I to say its name. Let's all read these two sentences together again now, thinking about these special spellings as we read the words almost and ride.

5. Say: “Today we are going to read about a silly kindergartner named Junie B. Jones! One day she meets her friend’s grandmother. She is really cool and Junie B jones likes her a lot. Then her friend’s grandmother tells her she should come over for a sleepover with her friend. Let’s read the first two pages together and see what happens to Junie B Jones at this sleepover!”

6. (Write the directions on the white board for students to look at. As you are writing it down, explain what you will have the children do.)Say: “Now, we are going to partner up with our reading buddies. While one buddy, comes up to the front to get 2 copies of the book, a reading response questions form, a fluency chart, and a stopwatch. The partner that is finding a place to read will be counting up the number of words on the 5 pages after we left off and will write that number at the top of your fluency charts. You and your partner will each read those 5 pages 3 times while the other times you’re reading with a stopwatch. If you are the partner that is not reading, you need to be playing close attention to the mistakes your reading partner makes. On the last reading I want you to make a little tally each time your partner makes a mistake. (Show tally method on the board)“ After you have read the second and third time you will fill out the fluency checklist to show what your partner improved on. Lastly you will take the total number of words from those pages and subtract the number of tallies for the last reading and plug that number into the formula on the sheet. Your answer will read ‘___ words in ___ minutes.’ You will then use this number to fill out the bottom of the fluency checklist. “When you finish the fluency checklist, discuss your answers to the reading response questions. Each of you will write your answers in complete sentences back at your desk and turn in those and your fluency charts to me.”

 

Fluency Checklist:

Title of Book: __________________________________

Student’s Name: ____________   Date___________

Partner's Name: ______________________________

After 2nd Reading       After 3rd Reading
_________                    _________                   Remembered more words
_________                    _________                   Read faster
_________                    _________                   Read smoother
_________                    _________                   Read with expression

 

 

(Words x 60)/seconds= WPM 

 

0 - - - 10 - - - 20 - - - 30 - - - 40 - - - 50 - - - 60 - - - 70 - - - 80 - - - 90 - - - 100

Correct Words Per Minute

 

Assessment:

• Collect Partner Fluency Checklist to see student progress

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

• Comprehension Questions:

1. What was Junie B.’s idea to help Lucille get the poodle?

2. Who was in the car with Lucille's nanna?

3. What bed did the girls jump on?

 

Resources:

 

Book: Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones Is A Party Animal. 1997. Random House

http://www.risetoreading.com/

For a similar lesson visit: Maggio, Jordyn. Let’s Get Fluent with Junie B. Jones https://jzm0160.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-ind-fluency-design

Murray, Bruce. Reading Genie. http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/

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