Rationale: In order to comprehend reading, students need to be a fluent reader. Being a fluent reader means that a student can read automatically and effortlessly, while also being able to retain the message of the text. Fluency makes reading more enjoyable for students because they can use expression and read smoothly through the story. Through reading, decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading, students can grow into fluent readers. In this lesson, students will gain fluency and independence in reading by crosschecking after reading texts and repeated readings.

Materials:

• class set of The Couch Potato by Jory John and Pete Oswald

• pencils

• stopwatch for each pair of students

• coverup critter for each student

• peer checklist (one per student)

• white or smart board

• potato displayed on board

• "The cat purred and meowed loudly" displayed on board

 

Procedures:

1. Say: “Today we are going to be working on improving our fluency while reading. Does anyone know what fluency means? (allow students to answer and respond accordingly). A fluent reader can read smoothly and effortlessly while also understanding what they are reading. The more fluent we are, the easier reading becomes! First, we need to add more sight words to our vocabulary. To do this, we are going to go over some strategies.”

2. “Let’s look at the word I have written on the board: potato. I will be using my coverup critter to help me figure out what this word is. Watch me as I model how to read this unfamiliar word. (Use the coverup critter to slowly unveil the letters as you are sounding them out) Pppp-oooo-tttt-aaa-ttt-ooo. /p/ /o/ /t/ /a/ /t/ /o/. This doesn’t make sense, let’s try to blend it together: ppoottaattoo. Oh potato! In this word, our o and our a are making their long sounds! Our coverup critters and decoding skills are really helpful when identifying hard words that we have never seen before.”

3. “Our next skill that helps us when reading tough words is cross-checking. To cross-check we need to read the rest of the sentence and see what makes sense in the sentence. Let’s look at this sentence that I have written on the board: The cat purred and meowed loudly. I am going to pretend that I am at this sentence in a book. I want you to tell me if I sound like a fluent reader. The cat (pause and wait a few seconds) ppp-uu-rrrrrrr-ee-dd huh? Let’s finish the sentence: and meowed loudly. Oh, purred because cat’s purr! By reading the rest of the sentence, I used the context to understand the hard word. Did I sound fluent when I read that sentence (let students answer)? I did not sound fluent because I read the sentence slower and had to sound out a word. Could someone read the sentence to the class fluently? Perfect! (student’s name) read this sentence with fluency because they read it automatically and effortlessly. They took the tough word and mental marked it, so that when they reread the sentence, they knew exactly what the word was!”

4. “Now we are going to read the book The Couch Potato by Jory John and Pete Oswald. This story is about a couch potato that sits on the couch all day long. He has many gadgets and machines that allow him to do everyday tasks without getting off the couch. Suddenly there is a power outage! Will the couch potato get off the couch, or will he live in the darkness? I want you to read the book silently to yourself and find out what happens in the book! Please use your coverup critters if you come across a tough word.” (pass out class set and allow students time to read).

5. Once everyone is finished say, “We are now going to pair up and read the book a few more times with a partner. The first time through, do not help your partner if they cannot figure out a word. I want you to just listen to them read.”

6. Next pass out recording sheets and stopwatches to each group. “We are now going to be playing a fluency game. One person will be reader 1 and the other partner will be reader 2. Reader 1 is going to read the book while Reader 2 times them on the stopwatch. Reader 2 will record this time on the sheet I just gave you. Then the readers will switch positions. I want you to repeat this 3 times, so that each spot on the sheet is filled. Be thinking about if the reader you timing are remembers more words, is reading smoother, faster, and are using expression each time through. Write the answers to these questions on your sheet.” (allow time for students to read through the book 3 times).

7. After students have read the book 3 times, call each student up individually to your desk. Have them bring their fluency checklist and their book to you. Ask them to read the book to you and time them as well as record how many words per minute they read.

8. After all students have read the book to you, have them quietly and independently answer the three comprehension questions to assess.

 

Fluency Checklist for each student:

            Title of Book:

            Student’s Name:

            Partner’s Name:

 

Make a checkmark if the following things improve after 2nd and 3rd tries:

1. Reads more words by sight: __  __

2. Read faster: __  __

3. Read smoother: __  __

4. Read with expression: __  __

 

Reading Tracker:

0-----10-----20-----30-----40-----50-----60-----70-----80-----90-----100

                          

                    

(Words x 60) / seconds= WPM

 

Comprehension Questions:

At the beginning of the book, what is the most important thing to the couch potato?

What was the first thing the couch potato did after he got off the couch?

What does the couch potato think about when he sees his reflection in the TV?

 

References:

Abby Kaye Jones, “Becoming a Fluent Fish”. https://abbykj00.wixsite.com/mysite/growing-independence-fluency

Meredith Bodie, “Falling for Fluency”. https://mlb0133.wixsite.com/ctrd3000/growing-independence-fluency

John, Jory & Oswald, Pete. The Couch Potato, 2020. Print.

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