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If You Give a Pig a Fluency Lesson

Growing Independence and Fluency Design

Kelsey Bryant 

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Rationale: When we want to become a more skilled reader, we want to become more fluent readers.  Fluency allows us to recognize words effortlessly and automatically.  If we want to fully comprehend what we are reading we need to become fluent readers.  Fluent readers can gain this comprehension without having to spend time trying to decode words.  Students will learn to read fluently by decoding, cross-checking, rereading, and mental marking.  In this lesson, students will gain independence and fluency by doing repeated readings where they can have time for comprehension of the story. 

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Materials: poster that states “I like to eat pancakes.”, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” by Laura Numeroff (class set), pencils, paper, timesheets (listed below), stopwatches, cover-up critters, fluency checklist (listed below)

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Procedures:

1. Start the lesson with, “Today we are going to learn how to become fluent readers.  What do you think a fluent reader is?”  Wait for student responses.  “A fluent reader can read all kinds of books.  Fluent readers can read automatically and effortlessly while still being able to understand the message of the text.  The more fluent you are the more you can comprehend the story and the more fun it will be. 

 

2. Display the poster with the sentence reading, “I like to eat pancakes.” Okay, everyone, I’m going to read the sentence that you see on the board and I want you to listen to how I read the sentence.  (When you read, separate each sound).  “I  l-l-i-i-k-k-e  t-o  e-e-a-a-t-t  p-p-a-a-n-n-c-c-a-a-k-k-e-e-s-s.”  Was that easy or difficult to understand?  Wait for student responses.  That’s right, it was not easy to understand.  Let me try reading the sentence again.  Read the sentence a little faster and more fluently.  That was a little better, wasn’t it?  But I still didn’t get the full message from the sentence so let me try it again!  Now read the sentence quickly, smoothly, fluently, and expressively.  “I like to eat pancakes.”  Now it makes more sense, right?  Does everyone see how I had to reread the sentence a few times before I could really understand what it meant?  Which sentence were you able to understand the easiest?  Wait for student responses.  That is why it is so important for us to become fluent readers.  Our goal for today is to learn how to do just that.

 

3. Say: “When we are moving forward to become fluent readers, something that is important to remember is if there is a word that you don’t know or you’re a little unsure of, you should read to the end of the sentence! Sometimes there are clues in the sentence that can help us uncover what another word means! So, it’s always important to read the whole sentence. This is an important strategy to help you become a fluent reader!”

 

4. Say:  “Another strategy that will help when you get a word that you do not know is using a cover-up critter to try to figure out what the word is.  I’m going to show you an example.”  Write the word fill up on the board.  “I’m going to use my cover-up critter to help me figure out this word.  The first step is to start with the vowel and cover up all of the other letters.  The vowel in our word is i, and we know that i = /i/.  Now that I have figured that out, I will uncover the letter before the vowel.  For our word it is the letter which says /f/. Then I will put the f and the i together to get the /f/ /i/.  Now we are going to uncover the letters that are left, l, and l. We know that the double l says /ll/ together. Now I will put it all together…/f/ - /i/ - /ll/…fill.  That wasn’t too hard, right?  It can be fun if you think of it like a puzzle!

 

5. Introduce the book, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”, by Laura Numeroff, with an engaging book talk.  Say: “This book is about a little pig who loves to eat pancakes with syrup.  But when she does, it makes her want more and more things.  She wants a bath, a photoshoot, a treehouse and so much more.  Everything she wants gets crazier and crazier.  Let’s read to find out all the crazy things she wants after eating some pancakes.”

 

6. Split the class into partners and explain to them that they are going to be doing a repeated reading with their partner.  “Now we are going to do repeated readings so that we can become more fluent readers. Each time you read a story, it will get easier and easier to understand.  I am going to read the beginning out loud and I want you to follow along with me.” Read the first three pages aloud. 

 

7. After reading the first three pages out loud, give each pair a copy of the book, a timer, a fluency checklist, a pencil, and a reading timesheet. 

 

8. After all the materials are passed out, give the students instructions.  Say: “With your partner, one of you will read the book first and the other one is going to record the fluency checklist.  Your group will decide who goes first.  Your partner is going to tell you when to start reading because they are going to be timing you as you read the whole book.  Remember, this is not a race so do not try to read as fast as you can.  This is to increase your fluency, not a book race.  After you’ve read the book and your partner has recorded your time, you will switch roles.  This time you will be the recorder and will tell your partner when to begin reading.  Don’t forget to start the timer when you say, ‘begin’.  After your partner has finished your book, stop the stopwatch and record the time.  Fill out the fluency checklist and then repeat this process three more times.  We are going to see if your fluency has improved each time you read.”

 

9. While students read, the teacher walks around the room to check progress and answer questions if needed. 

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Assessment: Students assess each other during the reading exercise by filling out a fluency checklist and timesheet.  The teacher will assess the students with the fluency formula to determine words per minute.  (Words x 60/seconds)

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Comprehension Assessment Questions:

  1. Why does the pig want to take a bath?

  2. What are some of the things the pig asks for?

  3. What reminds the pig of syrup and pancakes at the end of the story?

 

Fluency Checklist:

I noticed that my partner…

After 2nd read…                   After 3rd read…          

Remembered more words (yes or no)

Read faster (yes or no)

Read smoother (yes or no)

Read with expression (yes or no)

 

Reading Timesheet:

Name: __________________

1st read:  ______

2nd read: ______

3rd read: ______

 

Reference:  Emily Anne Beauchaine “If You Give a Mouse Some Fluency!”  https://emilyannebeau123.wixsite.com/teachingfluency/growing-fluency

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Book: Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Pig a Pancake, New York, New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.

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