Growing Independence and Fluency

Finding Food for Friendly Squirrels with Fluency

By Jessie Floyd

Rational

Fluent reading is the finishing step to becoming a victorious reader. Fluency is the ability to identify words accurately, rapidly, and automatically, and is read at the speed of speech. It takes a great deal of time and practice to become a fluent reader. When fluency is achieved, the reader has the talent to recognize words routinely and understand written text quicker than non-fluent readers. There are three very significant skills needed to become a fluent reader: the ability to read faster, the ability to read smoother, and the ability to read more emotionally. Repeated reading and dyad reading are two great ways for students to work on their reading fluency. Rereading texts allows students to learn to read more words per minute. Working with partners allows students to learn new decoding skills, as well as giving them more practice reading. The more students read, the more their reading skills will advance.

One copy of The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel (Educational Insights) for every pair of children in the class
Stop watch and Speed Record Sheet for each child
Fluency Literacy Rubric for each child
Finding Food for Friendly Squirrels speed chart for each student
Finding Food for Friendly Squirrels marker for each student
Chalk

1. Initiate the lesson to the students by saying, “Fluent reading comes with practice. Remember, a wise person once said, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.” Explain to the students that reading expressively, smoothly, and rapidly is the key to fluent reading. (Be sure to model and explain the meaning of expressively, smoothly, and rapidly so that your students understand). For example, say, “When a person reads with expression they put a great amount of feeling and emotion in their voices when they read to make the story more exhilarating.” Then explain to your students that today they are going to read the same text a number of times so that they can learn how to become fluent readers and as a result their reading will become much more pleasurable and exhilarating. Remind the students that fluent readers do not always know every word. They either read to the end of the sentence or use a silent “cover-up” method when they are stuck on a word. (Be sure to model to the students if needed).

2. Write these two sentences on the board: The sneaky squirrel needs a snack. What will he eat? Read the sentence slowly to the students (modeling a poor non-fluent reader). The sneaky s-s-q-qu-qu-i-i-rr-rr-e-l-l needs a s-s-n-n-a-a-ck. What will he e-ea-ea-t? Sound out a few words at a snail’s pace and model the silent “cover-up” method on various words. So Then read the sentence expressively, smoothly, and, and rapidly, “The sneaky squirrel needs a snack. What will he eat? Ask the children if they liked the first time I read the sentence or the second time. (The children should answer, “The first time!”) Praise them for the correct answer, and then explain to them that the second time I read with fluency! You improve your fluency by reading each word with expression and confidence. Sometimes it takes us a few tries to get a tough word, but once you read it a few times you know how to say it quickly and confidently, which means you can read it with fluency.

3. Share a book talk with the children about The sneaky snacky squirrel (Have you ever seen a squirrel running around your yard? Maybe he was looking for food. In this book we meet a squirrel who is trying to store up food for the winter. When he cant find any acorns around his tree, what will he do? Will he be able to find food? Will he survive? You’ll have to read this book to find out.). Read the story The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel to the entire class. Provide all the students copies of this book and tell them to follow along so that they can become familiar with any new words that they may see.

4. Split the students into partners. Make sure each partner pair has a copy of the book The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel and a stopwatch. Give every person a Speed Record Sheet and a Fluency Literacy Rubric.

5. Tell the partners that one person will be the “reader” and the other person will be the “recorder.” After the first person has read, tell them that they will switch roles. The “reader” should start at the beginning of the book and read for only one minute. Be sure the partner “recorder” knows to start the stopwatch when the “reader” begins and announce “stop” when the stopwatch gets to one minute. Then the “reader” will point to the word he or she stopped on and the “recorder” will count the amount of words that the “reader” read within that one minute. The “recorder” will write down the amount of words on the Speed Record Sheet in the first blank. The student can also move the Finding Food for Friendly Squirrels marker closer to the top of the tree to match the number of words they read in one minute. Then the partners will switch roles and repeat the same steps. The reader should try to be accurate and sound out the words he or she does not know. Speed and accuracy are very important factors on the first round.

6. After the partners have each finished the first round, have them start at the beginning and read for one minute repeating the same steps from the first round. Make sure to remind the students to record the number of words read each time. The number of words read in one minute should have increased. Speed, accuracy, and comprehension are important on the second round. Also remind the students to fill out the Fluency Literacy Rubric by coloring in the circles on how they thought their partner read on the second reading.

7. Finally, have the students start at the beginning of the book and read for one minute repeating the same steps from the second round. Make sure to remind the students to record the number of words read. The number of words read in one minute should have again, increased. Remind the “recorder” to notice if their partner is reading with expressiveness, speed, and accuracy. Also remind the students to finish the Fluency Literacy Rubric by coloring in the circles on how they thought their partner read on the third and final reading.

8. After the partners have finished filling out the Speed Record Sheet and coloring in the circles on the Fluency Literacy Rubric for how they thought their partner read, ask them to talk about the results with each other. Model these questions for the students: Did each partner improve on the words a minute they read? Did each partner remember more words, read faster, read more smoothly, and read with more expression each new round that they read? Point out what rereading can do. Explain to them that rereading makes you a faster reader, it helps you read more expressively, and it helps you read more accurately. Also explain to the students that comprehension is the goal to reading. The more you read the more fluent you will become.

9. Next you will complete a series of question to make sure that the students understand the text that they read. I will ask them to write the answers to the flowing. How did the squirrel get up the tree? Did the squirrel have any friends help him? What kind of food did he find?

10. If they answer the questions correctly then you will know that they were reading with comprehension so you can then use the speed of their reading to assess fluency.

10. Assess the students by having them individually come up to the teacher’s desk and read the book The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel for one minute. Record each student’s time and chart his or her time on a graph. As you test each student have the other students finish reading The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, and then start reading What Will the Seal Eat? The class will partner up tomorrow and reread What Will the Seal Eat? for fluency improvement.

http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/fluency.html (web page entitled “Developing Reading Fluency”)

Lacy Adams. Up, Up and Away with Phonics http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/guides/adamsgf.html

Gaggiotti, Lucia. The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel . Educational Insights, 2017

Click Here to Return to the Horizons index