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Fluency with Pete the Cat

Resume
Rationale

In order to comprehend reading, you have to be a fluent reader. Students must take the time to practice their expression, pace, and comprehension if they want to read effortlessly and automatically. Effortless word recognition allows students to reflect on what they are reading. Through reading, decoding, crosschecking, mental marking, and rereading, students will be able to confidently improve their reading rate and grow into fluent readers. Students will gain fluency and independence in reading by crosschecking after reading decodable texts and repeat readings.

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Procedures

1. Say “We are going to achieve one of our goals in becoming a fluent reader in class today. Does anyone know what a fluent reader is? (Calls on students to answer.) Yes! A fluent reader is someone who is able to read very quickly and smoothly because they are able to recognize the words. If we can recognize the words we see, then we can better understand what we are reading because we instantly know each word’s meaning. It makes reading much more enjoyable! So let’s get ready to practice so we can all be fast and fluent readers!”​

2.     Say: “Now let’s look at a sentence written on the board: I have new sunglasses. Everyone put your listening ears on. I want you to tell me if I sound like a fluent reader when I read this sentence aloud to you. I, hhhh-aaaaa-vvvvv, nnnnn-eee-wwww, oh that is new. I have new……..Hmmm.. sunglAsses? Oh, that doesn’t make sense. Let me try again. I have new…. What could that word be? It must be sunglasses with our soft a. I have new sunglasses!  Did you notice that I got stuck on the last word when I read the sentence? To figure out what that word was, I reread the sentence from the beginning and tried what I thought the word sunglasses said, sunglAses. That did not make sense, did it? To fix my mistake, I went back and reread the sentence to figure out which word made the most sense. This strategy of rereading is called crosschecking, and it is super important! We use it a lot when we are learning to become fluent readers! Here's how a fluent reader would have read that sentence: I have new sunglasses. I read the sentence effortlessly which meant it was much easier to understand. I want you to turn to your partner and practice reading the second sentence on the board. Pete wants to eat treats. Read it aloud to one another until you read the sentence fluently.”​

3.     Say: “Now class let’s think back to when I read the first sentence when I got stuck on the word sunglasses. In order to figure out what the word was, I had to reread the sentence from the beginning and tried to figure out what the word sunglasses said; I pronounced it with the wrong vowel sound and said, sunglAses. The sentence was very confusing, so I reread the sentence to figure out what the word should say to make the sentence sound correct. With the second sentence you guys should have used the same method that I used if you couldn’t fluently read the word. Does anyone remember what the method is called? Yes! Crosschecking! Good Job!”​

4. Now pass out the book to each pair that you have assigned. Say: “We are going to practice being fluent readers by reading Pete the Cat His Magic Sunglasses! One day, Pete the Cat wakes up feeling super grumpy and he does not think that anything will go his way. He ran into Grumpy Toad and for once he was not grumpy! Grumpy Toad tells Pete the Cat that he has magic sunglasses that will make it all better. Do you guys think the sunglasses will really help or will Pete the Cat always be in a bad mood? You guys read the book to find out!​

5. Students will read the whole book silently to themselves. Then they will read the book to their partner without helping them or getting frustrated. Say “If you finish the book you may reread it to keep practicing your fluency.”​

6. “Okay, guys! Let’s split back up with our partners, First, partner 1 will read the book aloud while partner 2 times them (show the stopwatches and explain how to use them).  Then, we will figure out our time and mark it on the timeline with our mini Pete the Cat (show students the Image and timeline).  Label your Pete’s 1-3 as we are going to do this three times each.  Switch off between who is reading and who is timing.” If there is still confusion, model it for the class with a student. ​

7. When they are finished with their partner work, have one student at a time come to your desk to read to you. They will bring their record sheet, so you can attach it to the back of their assessment sheet. Graph their progress on the fluency chart after each reading using the fluency formula (WPM=words x 60 / seconds).  In between each of the rounds of repeated reading, praise each student for their effort and scaffold when needed.  After three rounds ask the student a few comprehension questions: Who did Pete run into first? What was wrong with Turtle? What was the lesson that Wise Old Owl taught Pete?

Materials

1.  Timer/stopwatch for each pair

2. Peer fluency sheet (one for each student)

3. Reading rate forms for teacher

4. Sample sentences on the whiteboard for the teacher to model

5.  Teacher Fluency Checklist (one for each student) 

6. Pencil for each student

7. Class set of Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean

9. Dry erase markers

10. Extra pencils

Resources

Dean, James, and Kim Dean. Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses. Harper, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019.

Endacott, Gabrielle. “Flying Fluently Into Charlotte’s Web.” WIX, 2017, gabrielleendacott.wixsite.com/readinglessons/growing-independence-and-fluency.

McCarley, Autumn. “The Rainbow Fish Reads Fluently.” WIX, afs0024.wixsite.com/mrsmccarley/growing-independence-fluency.

Fluency Checklist

Title of book: ________________________

Your name: ____________________ Date: __________

Partners name: _________________

Words x 60/seconds

 

Reading #1


 

WPM:

 

Miscues:

 

Did the student read with more expression? Yes or No

 

Did the student read smoother? Yes or No

 

Did the student read faster? Yes or No

 

Reading #2


 

WPM:

 

Miscues:

 

Did the student read with more expression? Yes or No

 

Did the student read smoother? Yes or No

 

Did the student read faster? Yes or No

 

Reading #3


 

WPM:

 

Miscues:

 

Did the student read with more expression? Yes or No

 

Did the student read smoother? Yes or No

 

Did the student read faster? Yes or No

 

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

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