Growing Independence and Fluency Design

GF Design

Wagging Through Fluency With Charlie

Rationale: This lesson aims to help students develop fluency in longer, developed texts. These fluent readers can read and recognize words quickly, accurately, and automatically. Fluency is important to comprehend the reading to make it more enjoyable. We also want readers to re-read words in decodable text which will help improve both fluency and speed. Throughout this lesson students will practice their reading fluency with their repeated reading of “Charlie the Ranch Dog” and they will gain experience with silent and partner reading. They will read for fluency with the teacher and go over unfamiliar words between readings. This lesson’s goal is to improve the student’s fluency through timed and repeated reading.

Materials:

Class set of Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011)
Cover up critters for each student
Dry erase markers (to write on the dry erase board)
Dry erase board
Sample sentences for the teacher to model (on the board)
Fluency chart to record each student’s words per minute
Fluency checklist
Stopwatch or any timing device to time each reader
Reading comprehension worksheets

Procedure:

Say,” Ok everyone today we are going to work on our fluency in reading! Can anyone tell me what that is? Yes, it means that we are going to work on your ability to read words quickly and correctly, our goal is to make you all professional readers. When you are a fluent reader, we can better understand the text and it gives us a chance to react to the story and it makes the book more interesting. Today we are going to practice our fluency by reading Charlie the Ranch Dog more than once. The more we read the book, the more familiar we will become with the words, this method is called repeated reading. Ok now let’s give it a try! Ready? Ok let’s go!”
Now the teacher will model how to crosscheck and decode by using a sentence written on the dry erase board. Say to your students, “Ok everyone let’s look at this sentence together.” (sample sentence: Charlie wags his tail when he is happy.) “Now let’s read the sentence together. “Cccchhhaaarrrllliiieee waaaagggsss hhhhiiiiissss…” When I get stuck on a word I will go on to finish the rest of the sentence…”tail wwwhhhheeennnn hhee iiiss hhhaaapppyyy.”If I still do not know the word then I can use my cover up critter. To use my cover up critter I first uncover the first letter of the word. “Oh wags! What does he wag? The sentence says he loves to wag his tail! I used crosschecking to reread the sentence and figure the word out. Now that I was able to use those tactics I can remember the spelling of the word so I will know it for in the future!”
“Ok now lets see if we can spot the difference between a fluent reader and a non-fluent reader. I am going to read a sentence on the board: Charlie loves to run around the ranch”. This is how I would read the sentence the first time I would see it “Ccchhaarrlliiee lloovvess ttoo rruuunnn aarrrooouuunnnddd ttthhee rrraannccchhh.” When I read it stretched and slow it is hard to understand what I am saying. But, when I read it again I can try to read it faster and smoother: “C-h-a-r-l-i-e l-o-v-e-s to run a-r-ound the r-a-n-c-h.” That was more fluent than the first time but I think we can improve a little bit more. (Read it smoother, with more expression, and faster) “Charlie loves to run around the ranch!” That time it was easier to understand what I said and the words flowed easily as compared to the first time. Now everyone try reading the sentence fluently aloud.” (Have the students read the sentence aloud and practice adding expression)
“That was great remember the more you practice the better you will become. Do you remember when I first read the sentence and it was difficult for me? That is because I had never read it before. The second time was a little bit better because I had seen it before but there were still some words that I stumbled on. By the third time I read the sentence I was able to read it smoothly and with expression! I became fluent in reading by rereading the sentence several times until I understood it. That is how you will become fluent readers too!”
“To practice reading fluently we are going to read the book ‘Charlie the Ranch Dog’. This book is about a dog who live on a ranch and loves to help with chores but also has the obsession with napping. Will he be able to complete his chores without taking a nap? I guess you are going to have to read the book to find out!”
Students will be given a copy of the book, a cover up critter, fluency chart and checklist, reading comprehension worksheets, and a stopwatch. “Now we are going to practice reading fluently by working with a partner. Pair up with your neighbor and each of you are going to take turns reading the story. Before we end you will each read the book three times. Remember to crosscheck and use your cover up critters when you come across a word and get stuck. While you are reading, your partner is going to be timing you using a stopwatch. You are going to record your time on the worksheet for comparison. Your partner is going to listen to the second and third time and listen for expression and smooth reading. Remember to be nice and to treat your neighbor like you would want to be treated. After you finish reading and filling out the fluency chart, discuss the book with your partner. After you have each finished work independently at your desk to complete the reading comprehension worksheet and then turn it in to me.

The fluency checklists and charts: I will pass these around to the students and it will have a place to put the students name and the partners name. Also for them to record the speed the first, second, and third time they read the story. The worksheet will also have a spot that says “My partner… remembered words, read faster, read smoother, and read with expression” and there will be a spot for them to fill this in the second and third time of reading the passage.

Assessment: Walk around the room and observe the student’s progress as they read. Have the students turn in their worksheets when they are finished. Call each student to your desk to read the passage to you and be sure to have the passage all on one page so that the pictures do not distract the reader. Time the student while he or she reads the goal is to get the student reading 85 words per minute. At the end of the lesson review the answers to the reading comprehension worksheet with the class.

Reading Comprehension Worksheet:

What is Charlie’s friends name?
How does Suzie look in appearance compared to Charlie? (ears, eyes, etc.)
What does Charlie do after breakfast?
What is Charlie known for?

Resources:

Hicks, Elyssa. Flying into Fluency.

http://erh0014.wixsite.com/elyssahicks/growing-fluency-and-independence

Fluency Chart: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/speed-reading-precision-teaching-6131775

Book:

Drummond, R. Charlie the Ranch Dog. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/horizons.html