Junie B. Finds Fluency
​
Rationale: The goal of this lesson is to get students to read more fluently so that they spend more time on comprehension and less time of decoding. Reading fluency is defined as the ability to read accurately, smoothly, and with expression. This lesson will teach students what fluency is through modeling and practice. Students will be asked to repeatedly read something so that they can grasp the concept of what happens when they can read without trouble. They will gain independence in reading with their use of strategies like cover up critters and crosschecking.
Materials:
-
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus book by Barbara Park
-
White board/ markers (one for each student)
-
Fluency chart
-
Stopwatch/ phone for timer (one per pair of students)
-
Reader Response Form
Procedures:
1. Say: “Good morning class! In order to be the very best readers we can be, we must be able to read fluently. Reading fluently is when you can read smoothly and quickly , and you don’t have to sound out each word you come to. By becoming fluent readers, we are able to enjoy the book we’re reading much more because we can focus on the story and not get hung up on each word.”
​
2. Say (model): "I am going to let you listen to me read a short passage two times. When I'm done, I'll take a vote on which time I sounded better. (Read choppily) “I aaaa-mmmm ttt-aaaa-kkkk-iii-nnnn-gggg mmm-yyyy dddd-oooo-gggg ttt-ooo ssss-ccc-hhh- oooo-lll hh-ee. Ccc-aaa-ammm aaa-nn-dd-ii-ttt-www-aaa-sss ggg-rr-eee-aa-tttt”. (come back after to change to came, known by cross-checking) in.” (Read smoothly) Let me try this passage again. “I am taking my dog to school he came and it was great.” (Ask for a show of hands) “Who liked listening to my first reading? How about the second? Why did the second time sound better to you? Right! The second time sounded a lot better to listen to because I didn't have to stop to figure out any of the words.”
​
3. Say: Did you notice that I crosschecked when I couldn't get a word? I finished the sentence with the word I couldn't figure out to see if I could figure out the tough, new word that had silent letters, like the e at the end of came. The first time I read them, I pronounced how they looked like they should sound, but they didn't sound like real words I've ever heard of. When I finished the sentence, I could tell what the words were, like came instead of cam.
​
4. Say: “Let's try reading the two sentences that I have written on the board together. I see a couple of tough new words in the sentence. (Choral read): “Then we walked around the room and she showed me where to find stuff was. Like the easels are where we get to paint.” “I heard some of you having trouble reading the words easels and paint, but I did hear you all read on to the end of the sentence to figure out those words! The word easel has /ea/ at the beginning of it and we know ea together sometimes says a long /E/ sound. In the word paint, we have /ai/ in the middle of it and we know ai together says a long /A/ sound. Let's all read these two sentences together again now, thinking about these special spellings as we read the words thought and tried.
​
5. Say: “Today we are going to read about a silly kindergartner named Junie B. Jones! She is going to her first day of school and has to ride the bus. When she gets on the bus, she could not sit with her best friend because other children took her seat. She did not like them. Let’s read the first two pages together and see how Junie B. handles riding the bus for the very first time!”
​
6. (Write the directions on the white board for students to look at. As you are writing it down, explain what you will have the children do.)Say: “Now, we are going to partner up with our reading buddies. While one buddy, comes up to the front to get 2 copies of the book, a reading response questions form, a fluency chart, and a stopwatch. The partner that is finding a place to read will be counting up the amount of words on the 5 pages after we left off and will write that number at the top of your fluency charts.”“You and your partner will each read those 5 pages 3 times while the other times your reading with a stopwatch. If you are the partner that is not reading, you need to be playing close attention to the mistakes your reading partner makes. For every mistake make a little tally. (Show tally method on the board)“After you have read each time, you will do a subtraction problem to calculate fluency. Take the total number of words from those pages and subtract the number of tallies for each reading. Your answer will read ‘___ words in ___ minutes.’ “When you finish timing each other, discuss your answers to the reading response questions. Each of you will write your answers in complete sentences back at your desk and turn those and your fluency charts in to me.”
Reading Comprehension Worksheet:
1. Why did Junie B.’s mom take her to visit the school?
2. What made the bus experience in chapter two worse?
3. Why didn’t Junie B. listen to her teacher?
4. What made Junie B. want to ride the bus?
​
Fluency Checklist:
Title of Book: __________________________________
Student’s Name: ____________ Date___________
Partner's Name: ______________________________
After 2nd Reading After 3rd Reading
_________ _________ Remembered more words
_________ _________ Read faster
_________ _________ Read smoother
_________ _________ Read with expression
(Words x 60)/seconds= WPM
​
Adapted from Stringfellow, Erin. Reading Genie Website, 2019.
· ​https://erinstringfellow18.wixsite.com/erindesign/growing-independence-and-fluency
Boyd, Logan. Reading Genie Wwebsite, 2020.
· https://lolomakayla99.wixsite.com/mysite/fluency-with-junie-b
Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, Peeky Spying. 1992. Random House.
​
