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Growing Independence and Fluency

 

Driving the Fluency Bus to School with Junie B. Jones:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale: This lesson is designed to increase students’ rate of fluency in which they read text with automatic word recognition in order to become expert readers. The central goal is for students to read passages of the whole text, Junie B. Jones, First Grader (at last!) faster and with more expression by adapting the decoding strategy of crosschecking.  In order to achieve this goal, students must reread the decodable words in the text multiple times over in a series of repeated readings with a partner.  

 

Materials:

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  • Copy of book for each student: Junie B. Jones, First Grader (at last!)

  • Cover-up critters (one for each student)

  • Stopwatch

  • Partner Reading Checklist (one for each student)

  • Fluency Assessment graph

  • Reader Response questions

 

 

Procedures:

 

1. Say: “Today, we are going to work on developing fluency. In order to become expert readers, we have to learn to read fluently. This means that we have to practice reading a passage over and over again in order to read it more fluently. It will make reading more enjoyable because with practice you will be reading faster, more smoothly, and with more expression!”

 

2. Say: “I am going to read a sentence (from the book we’ll be reading from today) and I want you to tell me if you think I am reading fluently or not. ‘Fiiiirrrrsstt grrraaaad iiiiissss nootttt whhhhaaattt itttt’s crraaccckkkeddd uppp toooo bbeee. Oh, I meant first grade.’ Did I read that fluently? That’s right. I read the sentence very slowly and without good fluency. I used context clues by reading to the end of the sentence to figure out that it was grade not grad. This is a strategy called crosschecking. I am going to read it again more fluently. ‘First grade is not what it’s cracked up to be.’ Did you see the difference between my two readings of the same sentence? This time I did not have to sound out or stumble on any of the words. Now, I am going to read it one last time, but add expression. ‘First grade is not what it’s cracked up to be!!’”

 

3. Say: “Today, we will be practice fluency by reading a portion of the book, Junie B. Jones First Grader (at last!). Booktalk: It’s the beginning of a brand new school year for Junie B. Jones. She is starting first grade and there’s a lot of new things to get adjusted to, like a brand new teacher. While reading the chalkboard, Junie B. Jones cannot seem to make out what it says. Will Junie B. Jones end up getting glasses so that she can see? We’ll have to read to find out!”

 

4. Say: “Now, I want you to get with a partner (the person sitting next to you) so that we can play a fluency game.” [Pass out to each person a reading checklist sheet] “I want you to look at this sheet with me while I explain. You’ll be reading aloud chapter 2 to your partner. You will take turns reading it aloud 3 times each. After the 2nd and 3rd readings, make a checkmark by the elephant if they ‘remembered more words’, by the cheetah if they ‘read faster’, by the swan if they ‘read smoother’ and by the monkey if they ‘read with expression’. Now let’s get started!” [Walk around to monitor and observe partner reading]

 

5. [After partner reading is done, collect the reading checklist sheets.] Say: “I’ll be calling people up individually to my desk to read to me.” Assess individual student reading by having them read to you. Time the reading with a stopwatch. While they read, mark reading miscues. Calculate the individual’s words per minute with the formula (# of words x 60/# of seconds). Record this number on clipboard list next to that student’s name. Using the Fluency Assessment Graph, show student where they are at by moving the school bus along the road until it reaches the school at a goal of 100 wpm.

 

6. [Pass out a reader response question sheet to each student] The purpose of this is to ask them reading comprehension questions to see if they understood what they read. Say: “After reading with me at my desk, I want you to answer these questions at your desk to see if you remember all about the chapter you just read with me.” [Collect sheets when everyone gets done].

 

Example questions (from Chap. 2):

  • Who are Junie B. Jones’ two “bestest friends” from last year? (Lucille and Grace)

  • Who is the boy on the school bus that Junie doesn’t want to sit by her? (Herbert)

  • What is Junie’s dilemma on the bus?

  • How would you feel if you were Junie B. Jones on the school bus?

 

7. I will evaluate the students’ answers to the reading questions to assess his or her fluency of the reading.

 

 

Partner Reading Checklist:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fluency Assessment graph (wpm):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources:

  • Text:

    • Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones, First Grader (at Last!). New York: Random House, 2001. Print.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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