Growing Independence and Fluency
Reading Like Rabbits
Rationale: students need to be able to read fluently and proficiently
in order to be able to read an adequate amount of material in a certain
amount of time. Fluent readers learn to read smoothly, with expression,
and fast. If a student is a slow reader, it is likely that he or she will
have trouble with reading on instructional level. Reading lots of books
various times is what helps children develop reading fluency.
Materials: A clock timer for teacher, the text John Henry
(Picture Puffins), class set of pencils, note cards, bookmarks, and writing
1. Today we are going to work on our reading fluency skills. Before
we begin, I want you all to listen closely everything I
have to say about instructions. First, I am going to ask you all to begin
reading when I start the clock timer, and when I say "stop", I need
you all to write down how many pages you read during that amount of time.
Second, I want you to use the bookmarks I have given you to
help you decode words you cannot sound out. Just use the bookmark to cover
up the letter or chunks of letters and try to sound out
the word. (Teacher needs to model this procedure for students using an
2. Ok everyone, as I have told you, today we are going to learn
how to increase our reading speed. In order to increase our reading
fluency and speed, we are going to read John Henry several times.
Book Talk: I am going to read you all a story about a young boy that
busted through the roof of his porch on the day of his birth. He was very
big and strong, and as a result of his strength, he could complete many
tasks that even grown adults could not finish. This powerful young man
built his parents many things. Have any of you ever known a baby that had
such strength? What do you think this child will do with his ability to
do so many great things? Today we will read this book four times in hopes
of improving the amount of pages and comprehension of those pages each
3. Now, I am going to have you all time my reading for one minute.
I will read as many pages as I possibly can, and understand this is what
you will be doing after I am finished, so watch and listen closely to all
that goes on. I will set the clock for one minute; I must stop reading
when the buzzer goes off. (Allow students to time you reading silently
by watching the clock and telling you to "stop" when the buzzer goes off
). Ok everyone, I read about two pages during the minute. Now I am going
to write my time given and the amount of pages read. I want you all to
see how I do this. I am writing a "1" with a circle around it indicating
the amount of time given to read, and next to that, I am writing "2 pg"
to indicate the number of pages read." Write this on the board large enough
so the class will understand how to record their results. Say to the students,
"Now I want you to do the same thing, except you will have five minutes
to read the story silently".
4. Pass out the books to the students. Say to the students "Now
I am going to pass John Henry out to you all. I do not want you to open
the book or begin reading until I tell you to begin. When I say "start",
I want you to begin reading the book. At the end of five minutes, you will
hear the buzzer, and I will ask you to stop. At that time I want you to
stop and close the book".
5. Set the timer and have the students begin reading by saying,
"start". Give them five minutes to read and tell them to stop when the
timer goes off.
6. Now tell the students, "Ok, everyone, time is up. Please close
you books. Now I need you all to take out your writing paper. Draw a 5
with a circle around it. This tells us the amount of time you all had to
read. Next to that, I want you to write the number of pages you read during
the past five minutes. Please write 'pg' next to that number so we will
know it is the number of pages read".
7. Ask the students, "How did you all do?" "Would any of you like
to share the number of pages read?" Allow student to share how many pages
they read as well as any other comments regarding the activity. Do not
pressure children to share their results. Have only student that feel comfortable
with sharing results tell the class how well they did. Have as many students
as possible tell about what they read to ensure they are comprehending
the story and not just flipping pages or reading sentences without grasping
8. Repeat these steps three more times. After students have finished
the fourth trial, have another discussion about the activity and the story.
At the end of the activity, take up all paper with recorded results (make
sure each has the child's name) and use these to help determine the specific
needs of the students regarding reading fluency.
Assessment: Have children write about what they learned during the
activity. Have students include any word they had trouble with while reading
silently and ask them to indicate whether or not they were able to decode
the word(s) independently.
The Reading Genie Website http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie
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