Rationale: Fluent reading is essential in comprehending the reading. In order for students to read effortlessly and automatically, they must practice expression, pace, and comprehension. Effortless word recognition allows students to reflect on what they are reading. Through reading, decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading, students will be able to become fluent readers. Students will use the strategy of crosschecking after readings and rereadings of a decodable text to gain fluency and independence in reading.

 

Materials:           

Book: The Red Gem Mine, Coverup critter, Timer/stopwatch, Word Count Template, and Partner Check Off List.

 

Procedures:

1. Say, “Class, we have done a lot of work on our reading skills, today we are going to complete one of our goals of becoming fluent readers. A fluent reader is someone who is able to read very quickly and smoothly because they are able to recognize the words in a sentence.”

2. Teacher will say: “Let’s review before we begin. What should we do if we do not know a word? (Write the word trash on the board) Let’s say I was unsure of this word when I saw it in the text. I would use my coverup critter to cover up the other letters except for the a. I would then say /a/, like the scared child says, and I would then uncover the first letter and say /t/. Next, I would uncover the second letter and put it with the first letter /c//t/ and then add the ending /sh/ like “shhh the baby is sleeping”. Blending it all together I would get /t//r//a//s//h/. Oh! That word is trash!”

3. I will write an example sentence on the board. An example sentence could be “I dig holes in my yard to plant flowers.” Say, “What should you do if you don’t know a word?” You should use your cover-up critter to help you decode. Let’s all look at the word dig on the board.” First, we begin by finding the vowel. The rest of the word is covered up. There is a short vowel in dig, i. So, this letter must make the /i/ sound that we learned about. I can look at the beginning of the word now, and there I see the letter d, /d/. I add it to my /i/ sound, then blend the /d/ and /i/ with the last sound /g/ and we get dddiiiigggg, dig. “Now let’s check and see that I blended correctly. Let’s reread the sentence on the board to make sure red makes sense. I bake all day when I get sad.” By learning the words by sight, I was able to read and understand them better. That is why we are going to practice rereading sentences so that every time we can make it sound better than before. It is also great to add expression to your readings!”

4. Say: “Now let’s pair up with a partner. You will be reading The Red Gem Mine (hands a book to every pair). The groups will need two reading record sheets and a stopwatch. Explain to the class that each time you read a passage you become familiar with it and become better at reading it. The first time reading the passage, the teacher reads the text slowly and makes it difficult for the students to understand. Then the second time read it better and on the third time read it fluently with expression. Now it is your turn, read the whole story one time, then reread it two more times just like I did.” The reading partners will take turns reading the article and practicing their decoding and fluency. The teacher should walk around the room observing and taking notes. If one group finishes, they should reread the story one more time.

5. Assessment: By calling up each individual student, I will ask them to read aloud to me. I will then ask comprehension questions to assess their reading.

 

Resources: 

• Partner Record Sheet/Word Count Template: 

  • Name: __________ Date: ___________ 

  • The first time I read ___________ words. The second time I read__________ words. The third time I read__________ words. 

  • Partner check-off list 

• The Red Gem Mine by Matt Sims 

• ​Palina Luangkhot’s Racing Fast With Fluency

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