Encourage reading and fluency!

SEPTEMBER: In the fall, I will take a baseline recording (USING THE OLMPUS PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER) of the students reading a story. I will not prompt them or correct them as they read. The purpose will be to give them a starting point so that they can compare it to the reading they record in May.

OCTOBER: During our language arts lessons, teach them step by step how reading sounds when it is fluent.
1. Readers read with a smooth style....not like a robot. To show this I will read a short story or sentence two different ways: smoothly, choppy. I will then ask my students to determine which way is easier to listen to?

2. Readers think about the meaning of the sentence or story. To model this, I will read a short story but leave key words out. I will have my students determine the missing words by looking at the information within. This will help them when they try to figure out words they do not know.

3. Readers "chunk" text to make it sound smooth. I will show them short phrases such as: all day long, a new house, a little bit, peanut butter & jelly, etc. I will model reading them smoothly and with expression.

4. Readers use clues in the text to help with expression. I will show my students sentences such as: "I'll be outside," shouted Suzy. or "Don't make a sound," he whispered. I will model reading them the way the character would (paying attention to the
words shouted and whispered).

5. Readers use a storyteller's voice while reading. I will play recorded stories USING STUDENT MP3 PLAYERS (hooked up to speakers) I will play recorded stories from Robert Munsch's website (popular children's author and story teller) and other sources.

NOVEMBER-MAY: Continue reinforcing the importance of reading fluently by: modeling fluency and expression during my read alouds, having students listen to fluent reading several times per week using the STUDENT MP3 players. I plan to download many different types of examples of fluent reading....books, stories, songs. I will then download their recordings onto the MP3 players so we all can enjoy their stories.

JUNE: As a cumulative project to share at the end of the year with other classes and possibly parents - we will record the students reading their story and display an illustration to go with their story.


(Lesson plan adapted from Lisa Plackner)