Growing Independence & Fluency:

Becoming Groovy with Fluency

Rationale:

Fluency is reading where nearly all of the words can be identified as sight words. The result of fluent reading is speed, accuracy, and expression. Before students can achieve being fluent readers they have to become independent readers, thus they must be efficient in making sight words. In order to make sight words students need to be able to decode, cross-check, mentally mark, and reread. When they improve their skills in decoding then they free up resources to read and comprehend the text. In this lesson, students will work on fluency and improve on reading words smoothly, quickly, and accurately by repeated, timed reading.

Materials:

The book, "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons"
Class set of, "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons"
Write on the board “The cat’s shirt has four buttons” and the formula: Words x (60)/seconds= WPM
Prepare groups ahead of time and label them partner 1 and 2
Stopwatch for all groups
Calculators for all groups
Fluency checklists
Fluency graphs
Pencils

Procedures:

Say: “I know we all want to be groovy like Pete the Cat, right? Well, we can’t be groovy until we become fluent readers. Does anyone know what a fluent reader sounds like? [call on students who raise their hands] Fluency means that you can read effortlessly and correctly. The more you practice the faster you will become and the bigger books you will be able to read.”
Say: “I am going to read the sentence on the board (The cat’s shirt has four buttons) to show you how to work on your fluency while reading. Listen closely to see if you can pick up on the changes I make. [read slowly and choppy] ‘The cat’s [shhh-I-rrr-t] shIrt has four [b-b-b-uuu-t-t-on-s] buttons’ Oh, ‘The cat’s shirt has four buttons’. I was able to finish the sentence to correct the word ‘shirt’ because I gained more context for the sentence. I also mentally marked the words ‘shirt and button’ so when I reread it I made sure I could correctly read those words. I will read it one more time to see if my fluency has increased. [read faster, smoother, with expression] ‘The cat’s shirt has four buttons’. Which one do you think sounds better? Hold up 1 finger if you think the first time sounded better or 2 fingers if you think the second time sounded better. [give students time to think and hold their fingers up] Okay, the second time I read it faster, smoother, and used more expression. This is what you will do as you become fluent readers.”
Say: As you are practicing, you may come across some unfamiliar words. When this happens finish the sentence to see if you can figure out the word by the context of the sentence. This should give you a clue to the word. Once you have cross-checked and figured out the unknown word go back and read the full sentence. This will help store the new sight word in your brain so you can become a fluent reader! If you find that you are still struggling with the word remember you can use your coverup critter to sound the word out.”
Say: “Today, Pete the Cat is going to help us become fluent readers. We are going to read, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin. [pass out books] In this book, Pete the Cat has on his favorite shirt. You know, the one that is colorful, with groovy buttons! But Oh No, Pete loses one of his buttons! What do you think Pete will do? Will he cry? You have read to see what Pete does about his button!”
Say: “To practice, we are going to work with a friend and time our reading. [put students in partners] Partner 1 needs to get out a pencil for you and your partner and get ready to read while, partner 2 will come to get a stopwatch, a calculator, 2 fluency graphs, and 2 fluency charts. [give time for everyone to get materials and get seated]. You and your partner will both read the story 2 times. While your partner is reading I want you to time them with the stopwatch and make a tally mark for any mistake and when they are finished fill out the checklist, graph, and then switch roles. I will walk around and help you use the formula on the board for the graph. [have words x (60)/seconds= WPM on the board] We can only learn from our mistakes and it will make us better readers. So, remember to be nice to your partner while we are all learning. Once you are your partner have both finished reading I want you to say 2 positive things about their reading. If there is any time left, you can continue to read silently to improve your fluency.
I know that everyone did great! Now that everyone is finished, I am going to test your comprehension of the story by calling on someone to answer a question.

Assessment Questions:

Can you tell me what is the first song Pete sings about his buttons? (My buttons, My buttons, My four groovy buttons)
Did Pete cry? (goodness, no)
Finish this statement “Buttons come and Buttons _____” (go)
What did Pete see after he lost all four buttons? (his belly button)
What do we do instead of crying? (keep on singing)