Hungry for Fluency!

Growing Independence & Fluency Design

Carson Williams

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Rationale:

Before you are able to comprehend texts, you must learn to read fluently. Fluent readers read automatically and effortlessly. In order to read this way, children must practice expression, pace, and comprehension. Once these skills are mastered, along with decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading, students will smoothly transition into confident and effective reading. This lesson recognizes that reading fluency is the foundation for all of this.

 

Materials:

Lined paper and pencil (one of each per student); timers (one per pair); fluency chart (one per student); fluency checklist (one per student); cover-up critter; class set of The Very Hungry Caterpillar; poster with illustration of the caterpillar above the sentence, “The caterpillar is hungry.”

 

Procedures:

1. Say: “Before we become the best readers we can be, we must learn to read fluently. Does anyone know what it means to be a fluent reader?” [Allow two to three students to answer.] “Wonderful answers. To be a fluent reader means to recognize each word on the page automatically and effortlessly. This way, we do not need to spend time decoding and instead can use our brain power to understand and comprehend the meaning of the story.”

2. Say: “First, we will practice all together. I am going to read this sentence out loud and I want you to listen. While you listen, try to decide whether or not I am reading fluently. [Point to poster] The c-ah-tuh-errr-puh-ill-errr…the cat-er-pill-errr is hungry. I don’t know about you all, but that does not sound quite right to me. [Now use cover-up critter] Cat-er-pill-ar. There we go, caterpillar. The caterpillar is hungry.”

3. Say: “Without shouting out your answers, hold up one or two fingers based on which time reading the sentence you think I read fluently—the first time or the second time. [Give students a few seconds to decide how many fingers to hold up] For those of you who holding up two fingers, why do you think I was a more fluent reader the second time? [Call on one to two students to answer] You are correct; I read fluently the second time rather than the first time. On the first time, I took a long time and effort attempting to decode the word caterpillar. Then, when I used my cover-up critter to decode the word, I was able to reread the sentence and read it fluently the second time. Remember, reading fluently means to read sentences automatically and effortlessly so we can understand the meaning.”

4. Say: “Now, it is your turn to practice reading fluently. Today we will read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This book follows a little caterpillar as it finds and eats several yummy foods. What will the caterpillar eat? Will anything happen once the caterpillar gets full? Let’s read and find out.”

5. [Supply each student with their own copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.] Say: “You will start by reading the book silently to yourself. Once everyone has finished, you will partner up and one partner will read as the other uses a timer to keep track of his or her fluency. [Pass out/explain how to use the timers] The reader will read the story two times, and the student keeping time will write down how much time their partner took to finish each time. As they read, make note of whether they are using expression, keeping a good pace, and reading fluently. When finished, take a minute or two to discuss with your partner the things that came to mind during their reading. Then, repeat the entire process, only this time the two of you will switch responsibilities.”

6. [Briefly go over the instructions once more to ensure understanding of the activity] Say: “Are there any questions before we begin? [Answer accordingly] Remember to listen carefully and provide only helpful feedback when you are the timer. When you are the reader, simply do the best you can; if you come across a word you do not know, decode, crosscheck and reread the sentence. You may begin.” [Walk around the room and observe. Provide help or instruction when necessary.]

 

Assessment:

Verbal discussion prompts (as a class):

-What are a few of the foods that the caterpillar ate throughout the story?

-What was different about the main character in the beginning versus the end of the story? How did the ending make you feel?

-Has anyone seen any part of the process of a caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly in real life?

 

Individual written assignment:

Say: “On the piece of paper I supplied each of you, I want you to complete a journal entry about the story we have just read. Keep the following questions in mind…What foods would you eat if you were the caterpillar? Did you predict that the caterpillar was going to become a butterfly? If you were a butterfly, where would you fly? What would you look like? Be as descriptive as possible as you write.” [Collect fluency checklists as students are working on written assignments.]

 

Fluency checklist:

 

Book title: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Reader’s name: ____________

Listener’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

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Resources:

McCarley, Autumn. Reading Genie Website. “The Rainbow Fish Reads Fluently”

http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/advancements/

--> https://afs0024.wixsite.com/mrsmccarley/growing-independence-fluency

Book:

Carle, E. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York, NY: World of Eric Carle.