Growing Independence & Fluency

Growing Independence and Fluency Design:

Figuring out Fluency with Charlie the Dog

Rationale:

This lesson is designed to help improve students’ reading fluency. Students are able to read fluently when they can recognize words automatically. With automatic word recognition, students can read faster, smoother, and more expressive. They can also begin to read silently. In this lesson, students will repeatedly read Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud in order to improve their fluency. They will use self-help strategies, perform repeated readings with a partner, and keep a chart of their progress.

Materials:

Class set of Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud
Stopwatch for each set of partners
Time Record Sheet
Fluency Checklist
Reading Comprehension Questions
Poster with the example sentence: I do not like to get stuck in the mud.
Fluency graph: Charlie the dog will walk across a chart of number to reach our goal of 85 words per minute.
White board and dry erase markers.

Time Record Sheet

Name: ______________________________

Date: _______________

1st Reading: ________________

2nd Reading: ________________

3rd Reading: ________________

Fluency Checklist

I noticed my partner…

After 2nd Reading After 3rd Reading

_______ _______ Read more words

_______ _______ Read faster

_______ _______ Read smoother

_______ _______ Read with expression

Procedures:

Say: In order for us to become good readers, we must be able to read quickly and fluently. This means we need to be able to recognize words clearly and without doubting ourselves. We will practice reading the book Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud three times with a partner. If you read the same book many times, the words will start to jump out at you and reading will become easier. When reading becomes easier it becomes more fun. Your partner will time each reading using a stop watch. Your goal is to get faster and faster, recognize more words, and read with more expression every time you re-read the book.
Say: Sometimes reading can be hard and we struggle pronouncing the words and making them flow. I am going to show you an example of how to practice becoming more fluent. (Show the poster with the example sentence: The dog does not like to get stuck in the mud.) Here is the sentence I am going to read. Let me try it. (Read sentence slowly.) “The dog /d//o//e//s/ not like to get stuck in the mud.” Hm. That didn’t sound right. Let me try again. (Read a little faster.) “The dog /d//o//e//s/ not like to get stuck in the mud.” /d//o//e//s/? Oh! /d//u//z/. (Read fluently.) “The dog does not like to get stuck in the mud.” I figured it out. I will make sure to remember when I see this spelling (point to does) I know that it’s pronounced /d//u//z/. Did you like the way the sentence sounded best the first, second or third time I read it? The third time did sound best. That’s because when I read the sentence more than once, I was able to recognize the words, correct my pronunciation, and read with more excitement in my voice.
Say: Now I want you to practice reading. We are going to practice reading Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud. Booktalk: Charlie is a dog who lives on a farm. His job is to help keep the cows in their herd. A calf got away from the herd, and Charlie runs after it. But all of a sudden, Charlie and the calf get stuck in the mud! The mud is so sticky that Charlie can’t move his legs. Will Charlie be able to get out of the mud and save the calf?
Say: Get with your reading partner. While you are finding your partner, I will pass out two slips of paper. The first one is the Time Record Sheet. This is where you will record your partners reading time for the first, second, and third reading. You will use your stop watch to keep up with the time. The second slip of paper is the Fluency Checklist. Here, you will check off whether or not your partner read more words correctly, and read faster, smoother, and with expression. Remember to only make nice comments to one another about their reading. We all need to practice in order to get better. This will help each and every one of us improve our reading fluency. (Allow students to find their assign reading partners.)
Say: Now that you are with your partner, I want each of you to take turns reading and timing one another. Pay attention to how much your partner improves each time he/she reads the book again. After each reading, I want you to remember to graph the number of words per minute your partner got correct. Use your calculators to plug in this formula on the board. (Words correct x 60 / Time [Include an explanation on the board: time is the seconds it took to read the entire book.]) Our goal is to read 85 words in one minute. If you need help with the graph or figuring out the formula, raise your hand and I will come help you.
After everyone has completed the reading, call students up one at a time while others are working on reading comprehension questions and later working in stations. Have students bring their Time Record Checklist, Fluency Sheet, and reading chart with them. Then, time the student’s reading and graph their progress.
Reading Comprehension Questions:
1. Where does Charlie live?
2. What is Charlie’s job?
3. How does Charlie get stuck in the mud?
4. Who gets Charlie out of the mud?
After everyone has finished their work, review the reading comprehension questions.

Resources:

Bruce Murray, Developing Reading Fluency: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/fluency.html

Mia Reynolds, The Reading Racer: https://princessmcat2.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-fluency

Amber Glass, Monkeying around with Fluency: http://ang0018.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-independence-fluency

Book: Drummond, R. (2015). Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud. Paw Prints.

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