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Growing Independence and Fluency

By: Mallory Kelley

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Rock-On Fluency

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Rationale:

When working towards becoming a stronger reader, one of our goals is to be more fluent. Fluency refers to a student’s ability to read words accurately and automatically. When you begin to read fluently, you will be able to better understand the meaning of the text rather than spending time decoding words. In this lesson, students will learn how to read quickly, smoothly, and expressively in order to gain fluency. Students will gain fluency through repeated readings, time readings, and one-minute reads. The more practice students have with reading, the better their reading skills will improve.

 

Materials: 

  • Dry-Erase Board and Marker

  • Rocking Out Fluency Chart

  • Hourglass Timer

  • My Neighbor’s Dog is Purple by Jack Prelutsky

  • Pencils

  • Highlighters

  • Words Per Minute (WPM) Graph

  • Rocking With Comprehension Handout

·     Rocking-On Growing Independence and Fluency Rubric

 

Procedures:

1. Say, “Today we are going to work on improving our fluency skills. In order to be a successful reader you must be able to read fluently. Fluent readers read fast without stopping to sound out each word. They automatically recognize words with little or no effort. Once you are fluent readers, the text will begin to make more sense because it will not take as much thinking to figure out what each word means. You will gradually notice how much easier reading comprehension will come. One way we can work on fluency is by reading a text more than once. Each new time you read the text, you get faster and better because you are becoming more familiar with the text. Today, we are going to practice fluency by reading a text a couple of times and seeing how we improve as we reread it each time.”

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2. Model for students how to read fluently. [Write on the dry erase board the following sentence: The ambulance raced through the traffic.] Tell the students, “I am going to read the sentence on the board and I want you to tell me if I read it like a fluent reader or not. The abuuullll nccc rrraced through the trrraffic. Wait, abulnc does not make any sense, its suppose to say: The ambulance raced through the traffic. Yes, that is it! Did I just read the way a fluent reader reads? [Allow time for the class to respond and confirm with the students that this was not an example of fluent reading]. Because I had to go back and reread it to use the crosschecking method, this was not an example of fluent reading. It was non-fluent reading. Listen as I read the sentence fluently this time: The ambulance raced through the traffic. Did you notice how I read the sentence faster because I was familiar with all the words? [Let students reflect upon the question and answer.] The first two times I read the sentence helped me to read faster and more fluently the third time I read it. This is because I had practiced two times earlier with the same sentence so I was prepared to be familiar with all the words in the sentence before I read it again.”

 

3. Say, “Now that we have learned what fluent and non-fluent is and what each of them sounds like when reading, we are going to practice our fluency. We are going to practice by reading the passage, My Neighbor’s Dog is Purple by Jack Prelutsky. In this passage, the neighbor has a purple dog that has big green eyes and a very long tail. The dog never seems to bark; it is very quiet. That is a little unusual isn’t it? Most dogs love to bark. When the dog gets near, the neighbor gets scared and says the dog looks nasty. Nasty? Do dogs normally look nasty? Hmmm, I wonder if this purple animal really is a dog. What do you think? We are going to have to read the passage to find out what this purple creature is exactly.

 

4. Say, “I am going to pair everyone up with a partner, and give you an assigned spot to go to in the classroom to work together through our fluency practice. [Allow time for students to pair up and get situated. Give both students in each pair a copy of My Neighbor’s Dog is Purple, a Rocking-Out Fluency Chart, and a timer.] I want for each of you to take turns reading the passage. The first person to read will read the passage smoothly and fast. Remember: Do not skip any words. Whoever is not reading first, I want you to keep track of the timer and highlight where your partner left off in the passage when the hour-glass timer is empty. [Demonstrate how to use the hourglass timer.] When the hourglass timer is empty, count the number of words they read up until the highlighted point and write that number on your Rocking Out Fluency Chart. After one person has read, switch, and let your partner read while you time them and write down their number of words they read on their Rocking Out Fluency Chart. Repeat this process three times until you and your partner have both read the passage three times total. As your partner is reading, I want you to look for two things: Is my partner remembering more words each time they read the passage, and are they getting more and more fluent with each new time they read the passage? Remember to do your very best as you are reading, so we can all improve our fluency skills. You may begin now.”

 

5. [Walk around during the task to make sure students are following directions and do not have any questions.] Once everyone has completed the task, call each student up to the reading table to assess their improvements by reviewing their progress charts, pointing out areas of improvement, and calculating their fluency by using the fluency formula: Words x 60 / Seconds. Next, monitor the student’s fluency yourself by having them read My Neighbor’s Dog is Purpleone more time keeping track of fluency progress, miscues, and time on their Rocking Out Fluency Chart. After they have read and I have looked over their progress, I will give each student a Words Per Minute Graph and put the Rock-On symbol where they are at right now with their fluency. This will keep them motivated to continue to increase their fluency and move the Rock-On symbol even higher up the Words Per Minute Graph. At the end, I will give each student a Rocking With Comprehension Handout to quickly check to make sure they understand what they have read. Our goal is to read with fluency and comprehend what we are reading at the same time. 

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Rocking With Comprehension Handout:

1) Did this purple animal have a long tail or a short tail?

2) Was barking a common thing for this purple animal?

3) What was this purple animal that the neighbors in the passage had?

 

Rocking-Out Fluency Chart: 

Title of the Passage: _______________________          Total Words in the Passage: ______________

Reader’s Name: _________________________             Recorder’s Name: _______________________

1stTime Reading:  _________ Words in _________ Seconds                       

2ndTime Reading: _________ Words in _________ Seconds                                   

3rdTime Reading: _________ Words in __________ Seconds

4thTime with Teacher: ________ Correct Words in _________ Seconds-------   Miscues: ________

Student Remembered More Words in the ________ Time Reading

Student Read Most Fluently in the ________ Time Reading

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Words Per Minute Graph:

(Words x 60) / seconds = WPM                       

 

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

Correct Words Per Minute

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Rocking-On Growing Independence and Fluency Rubric:

Student’s Name: ______________________________               Date: ______________

Student read the passage three times with their Partner:

________ / 3

Student responded to all three Rocking with Reading Comprehension questions accurately:

________ / 3

Student filled out Rocking-Out Fluency Chart for partner:

________ / 3

Student improved their fluency throughout the Rock-On Fluency Lesson:

________ / 3

Total Points: _________ / 12

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References:

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