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Hopping into Fluency with Suki the Bunny

     By Elizabeth Escalera

 

Rationale: In order to become a better reader and to comprehend what you are reading, it is very important to develop fluency. To read fluently means to read words effortlessly and with automatic recognition. When students gain fluency, reading becomes more enjoyable because they are able to read faster, smoother, and with more expression. Fluency also allows students to better comprehend what they are reading. This lesson will assist students in becoming more fluent while they read longer and more advanced books. In this lesson students will decode, cross-check, and re-read to understand the text and grow more fluent in their reading.

 

Materials:

  • “Suki the Very Loud Bunny” by Carmela & Steven D’Amico (one for each pair of students)

  • Pencils

  • Sample sentences written on board

  • Fluency Chart

  • Stopwatch (enough for each pair of partners)

  • Reading Response Comprehension Questions

 

Procedure:

  1. Say: “Okay, class, today we are going to work on becoming fluent readers. Does anybody know what it means to be a fluent reader?” [listen to responses]. Reading fluently means to read accurately and smoothly. When we read fluently, we are able to read more quickly and with more expression. For example, when a character in a story yells [raise voice] , I can change my tone to be louder, but when a character in the book may be whispering [whisper] I can speak softly and quietly to read with more expression. Also, becoming fluent readers will help us understand more words in our readings because we recognize words faster.

  2. Say: To begin with our lesson, I am going to read a sentence. Afterwards, we will take a vote on which sentence sounded better. [read sentence on board] (The duck floated down the river) “Thhee dd--ccuk fflohh, flootted (come back after cross checking to say word as floated) do--wn thee riiverr.” “Okay, now I will read the sentence again.” (Read smoothly and faster) “The duck floated down the river” “Okay class, let’s take our vote. If you think the first sentence sounded better, stay seated. If you think that the second time I read the sentence sounded better, stand up. [allow students to stand] Great job everyone! You can all be seated. When I read the first sentence, I modeled how a reader who wasn’t fluent would read, so I sounded out words, read very slowly, and had to cross check to figure out the tough word floated. That was good practice that helped me to read the sentence more fluently the second time. Whenever I read the second sentence, I read with fluency, which meant that I didn’t have to sound out the words and I read more smoothly. However, becoming a fluent reader takes some practice. Today we are going to practice becoming fluent readers by reading a new book.

  3. Say: The book that we are going to read today is called “Suki the Very Loud Bunny”. This book is about an adventurous bunny who loves to shout. But, one day she finds herself in some trouble. We have to read to see what Suki the bunny does to get her out of her sticky situation!

  4. Say: Earlier, I passed out stopwatches and two papers, one titled “Fluency Chart” and the other one titled “Reading Comprehension Question”. I am going to partner everyone up and you are going to take turns reading. Each person will read the story 3 times. One partner will read while the other partner times how long they read on the stopwatch and takes notes on the fluency chart.

  5. Say: While your partner is reading, you also need to time them with the stopwatches that you have. If your partner makes a mistake while reading, I want you to write a tally mark for each mistake (model tally mark on board). When your partner is done reading, I want you to subtract the total number of mistakes from the total number of words. Record this number on the fluency chart as well as how long it took them to read. After you each read the story 3 times, I want you to discuss how you felt about the book. Tell your partner which part you liked the most. Then, answer each of the questions on the ‘Reading Comprehension’ sheet in complete sentences. After you are done, turn your fluency charts, reading comprehension question papers, and your stopwatches into me at my desk.

  6. Assessment: Calculate each student’s progress by using the information recorded on the fluency chart sheets and the words per minute formula (words x 60 / seconds). Discuss Reading Comprehension questions as a whole class.

 

Fluency Chart:

Total # of words in chapter: ______ Reader: __________________

Partner: __________

1: ___ Words in ___ seconds

2: ___ Words in ___ seconds

3: ___ Words in ___ seconds

Which turn (1, 2, or 3) sounded the smoothest? _______

Which turn (1, 2, or 3) had the least number of errors? ______

 

Reading Comprehension Questions:

Name _________

Directions: On your own piece of paper, answer these questions with at least one complete sentence.

  1. Why did Suki’s mom say that she shouldn’t shout?

  2. What did Mom tell Suki and Mickey to go look for?

  3. How did Suki feel when she was lost?

  4. How did Suki’s mom find her?

 

References:

Book: “Suki the Very Loud Bunny” by Carmela & Steven D’Amico

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9049769-suki-the-very-loud-bunny

Dancing with Fluency, A Growing Independence and Fluency Design By: Natalie Buckles

https://ngb0012.wixsite.com/w-ebsite/my-project-1

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