Read Like a Mouse
Rationale
Fluent reading means that students recognize words rapidly and automatically because they are sight words, and students comprehend what they are reading. Also, once students are fluent in reading they can read with more expression. In order for students to become more fluent in reading, they need to practice reading appropriate texts. The best way to gain fluency is through repeated reading. Through repeated reading, students can decode words and begin to recognize them automatically, forming them into sight words as they repeatedly read. In this lesson, students will become fluent readers by testing their reading speed. The fluency formula used to measure their reading speed is “words x 60/ seconds”. As the students are able to read faster, the teacher will chart the student’s reading time. Being able to read fluently allows readers to comprehend texts better, which leads them to better understandings of the text and successful reading.
Materials
1. Sentence strip “I got a red bicycle and helmet for Christmas.” (One for class)
2. Repeated Reading Checklist (One for each student; to be used with a partner)
3. Stopwatch (one per group)
4. Pencils
5. A copy of If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff (One for each student)
6. Reading chart (one for each student)/ Child Friendly Graph: This includes a chart of words read and a character that can be moved along the chart.
7. Teacher Fluency Checklist:
Can the student identify a sentence read with fluency?
Can the student read the story smoothly and quickly?
Can the student comprehend the text and answer the comprehension questions?
8. Fluency sheet to be used with partner:
Reader’s name:
Partner’s name:
Words read 1st time:
Words read 2nd time:
Words read 3rd time:
I noticed that my partner:
Second time Third time
¢ ¢ Remembered more words
¢ ¢ Read faster
¢ ¢ Read smoother
¢ ¢ Read with expression
Procedures
1. Say: For anyone to be a great reader, you have to be able to read fluently. Reading fluently means you can read words quickly, correctly, and with expression. We want to read fluently so that we can have better comprehension when we read a text. I am a fluent reader, because instead of worrying how to read the words, the words come to me effortlessly, so I am able to focus more on the story itself. I am able to read correctly and quickly. Do you think you all can be fluent readers? [allow students to answer] I think so, too! Let’s begin
2. Say: What do you do when you get to a word in a story that you don’t know? Do you have to stop to decode the word? Yes, this sometimes causes us to forget what we were reading about before we stopped to figure out the difficult word. This is why we want to be fluent, so we can stay focused on the meaning of the book we are reading.
3. Say: Now, I am going to show you how I figure out a hard word in the story and how I can build my sight vocabulary and fluency. Let’s look at the sentence strip on the board. [“I got a red bicycle for Christmas]. I want you to listen to me as I read the sentence. "I got a red bbbiiii -- bikle and helmet for Christmas." A red bikle? What? Oh, a red bicycle! I got a red BICYCLE and helmet for Christmas. Did you see what I did? I read the sentence and when I came across the hard word, I finished the sentence and crosschecked to find the right word. Then, I read the sentence again. When you read today, make sure you are practicing crosschecking and rereading. We reread so we can remember what we were reading before, and store the word in our memory for later.
4. Say: Sometimes when we are reading a new book, there are words we don’t know yet. But that’s okay because we will! I am going to show you how to read a sentence from the book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie! [If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk]. If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s ggoo—gong to ask for a glass of milk. Gong? Oh, going! Let me read that again. If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. I had to stop to read the word I didn’t know in the sentence. Let me try one more time. If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. Look at that! Now I am going to read this sentence with expression. [Read sentence with expression]. Which time did you prefer my reading? The first time I read or the last time? The last time! Did you understand what I was reading more clearly the last time? [yes] It sounds just like I am having a conversation with someone. When I read the sentence over and over again, I got a little bit faster, read it correctly, and with expression. Now I want you all to try repeated readings to see if you can become a fluent reader just like me.
5. Say: Now everyone, I would like you to open your book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie. The boy in this story has a friend who is a mouse. The mouse really wants a cookie because he is hungry. But when the boy gives him a cookie, it leads to him wanting some milk. Then the milk leads him to wanting a straw. He needs one thing after another as if he is never satisfied. Will the mouse ever be satisfied? You’ll just have to keep reading to find out!
6. Say: I would like you all to read silently at your desk until my timer goes off. If you get to page 12, start over and read it again. Keep going until you hear the timer. [Depending on students reading abilities, set the timer to 10-15 minutes].
7. Say: Next, I would like you all to get a partner and read the book to your partner. [Pass out timers/stop watches to each student group]. While one of you reads to page 12, the other partner will time the reader using the stopwatch. Read the 12 pages 3 times to your partner. Make sure that after each time you read, you write down the time that they scored on their reading on their reading chart. Next, use the reading checklist to see how well your partner did while they read to you each time. I’m hoping you get better each time you read! Mark the words you remembered, read faster, read smoother, and read with expression!
8. Assessment: Say: During your reading with your partner, I will bring each of you up to my desk one at a time. Here, you will read 12 pages to me. Make sure to try hard and to do your very best. I am going to time you to also see how fast you are reading. [Use fluency formula]. To see if you are becoming a fluent reader, I will also be giving you a list of comprehension questions: This will show me how many words you can read per minute. (Chart the student’s score each time to see improvement).
9. Comprehension questions:
1. What did the mouse need to drink his milk?
2. Why did the mouse need clippers?
3. What did the mouse need before taking a nap?
References
Meredith Worley, Finish Line Race to Fluency
Numeroff, L. J., & Bond, F. (2015). If you give a mouse a cookie. New York, NY: Laura
Geringer Book, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Find other lessons here: http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/applications/