top of page

Growing Independence and Fluency Design

source.gif

Sounds of Sentences: using songs to help students understand fluency

By: Libby McKee

 

Rationale: This lesson’s goal is to increase the speed and efficiency with which children read in order to cultivate fluency in books that are growing longer and more advanced as they progress. Increasing fluency allows students to comprehend what they are reading while also reading with pace and expression effectively. Readers will be encouraged to make connections on their own in order to help develop their skills in decoding, crosschecking, rereading and comprehension. In conclusion of the lesson students should have a more complete and developed grasp on how to read fluently and independently. 

Materials:

  • Music Player

  • Music Playing Device 

  • White board

  • Where the Wild Things Are

  • Reading A-Z fluency passages 

  • Timers

  • Paper

  • Pencils

Procedures:

  1. Say: Today we are learning about reading fluency. It is important that when we read books that we not only know what they are saying but also what they are meaning. When we understand how to read fluently it means that we are making connections between seeing words and knowing what they mean. Fluency also impacts how we read. It determines if we read super super fast (say super fast) or super super slow (say super slow). It can also determine if a story is super serious (say in stern voice), super fun and happy (say in happy voice) or super sad (say in sad voice). I can’t wait to hear all of you learn to become better and more expressive readers after we practice today.

  2. Say: In order to be the best fluent reader that you can be its important to be able to figure out words that we may not remember or may not recognize. So I am going to show you what this looks like. Say you are reading and you come across a sentence that says (write on board the name of a student followed by the words “is sitting so nice and quietly in their seat”). Now maybe I am reading this sentence and I say *name of student* is /s/ /I/ /t/ /t/ /i/ /n/g so quietly in their seat. When I think about what that sentence is trying to say I don’t know what it means. So when this happens we go back and we read it again. Since the sentence talked about a seat and the word here *point to sitting* has two vowels so like detectives we use our handy reading clues to figure out that sItting is pronounced /s/i/t/t/i/n/g. So lets read the sentence together: *name of student* is sitting so quietly.

  3. Say: Now that we remember how to figure out what words are saying, we need to talk about how to say them. So who here likes music? (wait for response). Awesome I love music too! Reading is kind of like music, because the way we read is kind of like singing. When people sing songs they sing to reflect how they are feeling so if a song is super serious (sing in stern voice), super fun and happy (sing a in happy voice) or super sad (sing in sad voice) singers change their voices to reflect that. This is how we should be reading boys and girls. When people sing they also make all of the words sound good together, the words flow. Who would want to listen to a song like this (sing in super choppy voice), that’s right well its the same with reading! Let's listen to a song and pay attention to the way the singer is singing and the way the singer connects the words together (Play Here Comes the Sun). This song is super happy, and the singer is singing in a voice that indicates that, but he is also singing in a fluent way. Now let's try and read without singing, but still making the words flow together (write Here comes the sun and I say, Its all right on the board). Model reading the sentence and slowly get more fluid then have the class follow you in that same progression. 

  4. Say: In order to read fluently, the main thing we need is practice. It is hard to focus on what you're reading, what it means and how you are saying it all at the same time, but after lots of practice I believe that you all will become super fluent readers. Just like I showed you when I was reading that sentence, some times it takes a couple of try’s but we don’t stop after one because being a fluent reader just takes practice! 

  5. Say: Now we are going to practice I am going to read you one of my favorite books and then you are going to practice reading it! This book is about a wild thing named Max, Max is being sneaky and gets in trouble, and Max gets SO mad about it that he begins to join a whole crew of the wildest things around. But what will happen to max when he joins the wild rumpus of the wild things? I guess we will have to see, let's read boys and girls. (read book in a super expressive way). Now boys and girls did you notice how the way I said things made you feel a certain way about what was happening? Was there anything you noticed? *wait for response*. Yes great job!

  6. Say: Now you are all going to partner up with a friend and a book, so grab a friend at your table and grab a book as well. So first you are going to perform for you partner. I want you to take turns reading every other page of the book and I want you to be as dramatic as you can about what you think is happening in the book. It is your job to communicate a message so be super clear about what Max is feeling and what the words are saying. 

  7. Say: Okay great job boys and girls! Now I want you to track and see how fluent your partner is being, but I am going to pair you up for this one (pair students with similar reading levels). Instruct the students on how to use the reading A-Z timed reading worksheets and have students track their students progress. Reinforce this activity by mixing up partners throughout the week and tracking their improvement in time and accuracy. 

 

“Fluency Timed Reading.” Z, www.readinga-z.com/assessments/fluency-timed-reading/.

George Martin. The Beatles, London's EMI Studio, 26 Oct. 2020. 

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. Random House Childrens Publish, 2015.

bottom of page