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To Fluency, Ben Franklin!
Growing Independence & Fluency
By Tyler Felmet

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Rationale: This lesson is designed to improve students’ reading fluency. Reading fluently means that nearly all he words that a student is reading are a part of his or her sight vocabulary. As a result of this, the student is capable of reading at a fast and even pace without disturbing their reading comprehension. Fluency can make reading more gratifying for students because they learn to read with more expression and at a smoother rate. Before students can reach a level of reading fluency, they must first demonstrate proficiency in decoding words. In this lesson, students will learn the strategies and skills that it takes to become a fluent reader through the reading and rereading of the story


Materials: Class set of To The Future, Ben Franklin! (Magic Tree House Series), stopwatch to time readings, notebook paper, pencils/pens, cover-up critters, feedback sheet copies to give students, chart to record words/minute, whiteboard, dry erase markers

 

Procedures:

  1. First, the teacher will explain the concept of fluency to the class. “Today we are going to learn about what it means to become fluent readers. Fluency is when students have so many words in their sight vocabulary that they know lots of words immediately when they read. You can improve your reading speed, vocabulary, expression, and smoothness. Since it's easier to read the words, you can focus on understanding the meaning of the text.” Then, the teacher can ask students, “What do you think fluency looks like? [Call on a few students] Those are great ideas. Fluent readers understand what the story is about and use lots of emotion when reading aloud. They can also finish a story quickly without making errors or pauses. WE are going to become fluent readers today!”

  2. [Write sentence on the white board with dry erase markers] Say: “Here’s a sentence from the book we’re going to read. ‘A paper must be ssss-iii-ggg-nnn-e-dd (/s/ /i/ /g/ /n/ /d/)’ That doesn’t make much sense.. Let me try reading that sentence again. ‘A paper must be /s/ /i/ /g/ /n/ /d/.” OH, that word is signed. That makes much more sense. ‘A paper must be signed.’ I had to decode, crosscheck, and mentally mark the silent g in order to get that word right and read the sentence fluently.”

  3. Say: “We are going to read the story To The Future, Ben Franklin! In this book, Jack and Annie use their magical treehouse to travel to Philadelphia in 1787 and find Benjamin Franklin. They know they must help him, but it will be extremely dangerous. Can Jack and Annie do the impossible? Let’s find out! Everyone will read the first 3 pages quietly at their seats first.”

  4. Pass out a stopwatch, a WPM graph sheet, and a feedback sheet. Tell students the total number of words on the first three pages. The feedback sheet will include four criteria- remembering more words, reading faster, reading smoother, and reading with expression.

  5. Say: “Next, you will turn and read those first 3 pages with the person sitting next to you. You will take turns being the reader and the recorder. The reader will read the first 3 pages 3 times, focusing on decoding, cross checking, and mentally marking difficult words. Hopefully, their reading speed, smoothness, and expression will improve each time. The recorder will use a stopwatch to record the time it takes their partner to read and determine the number of words they read correctly. Calculate their words per minute with the formula [Number of correct words x 60] / [Number of seconds]. Then, graph their WPM. Also, fill out the feedback sheet based on which criteria your partner met. Tell your partner what they did well at the end of each reading. Remember to use kind words.”

 

Assessment:

After the students finish reading with their partners, I will have each student come up to my desk and read the three pages to me. I will take miscue notes, record their time, and calculate their WPM. I will also ask them comprehension questions to determine whether they were able to understand the meaning of the story.

1. What did Annie see that caused her to run outside?

-lightning

2. In the note that Jack and Annie found, who did it say they needed to help?

-Dr. Ben

3. How did Jack know that Philadelphia was not that far from Frog Creek?

-His class went on a field trip there.

 

References:

Osborne, Mary Pope, and A. G. Ford. To the Future, Ben Franklin! Random House, 2019.

“Growing Independence with the Giving Tree” by Anna Katherine Dreaden https://akdreaden.wixsite.com/my-site/growing-independence-and-fluency-design

 

“A Fluency Vacation with Jack and Annie” by Logan Smith

https://lms0084.wixsite.com/readinglessonplans/growing-independence-and-fluency

 

Feedback sheet:

https://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/lessons/fluency/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WPM Chart (made myself)

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