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ELA G2:S3:C13:L64

Fluency

In this Lesson

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify the correct homophone ("principal" and "principle") based on meaning and context. (RF.2.3e)
    • I can use context to help me decode words that have common sounds with different spelling patterns.
    • I can decode words with C-le syllable types.
  • Work Time A: I can read a text fluently (smoothly, with expression and meaning, rereading and self-correcting when necessary). (RF.2.4)
    • I can use knowledge of vowel sounds to help me decode words with different spelling patterns.
    • I can read with appropriate phrasing while paying attention to punctuation.
    • I can read with expression and meaning.
    • I can read accurately (with few or no decoding mistakes).
    • I can reread when something doesn't make sense or sound right.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during Opening A. Determine whether they can identify the homophones "principle" and "principal" based on meaning.
  • Observe students during Work Time A. Determine whether they can attend to punctuation and phrasing to read fluently in a conversational manner.
  • Exit ticket (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (3-5 minutes)

A. Words Rule: Homophones: "principal" and "principle"

2. Work Time (10 minutes)

A. Fluency

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning

4. Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations (40-45 minutes)

In Advance

  • Pre-determine partnerships for Work Time A.
  • Enlarge the Homophone Demonstration Sentence: "'One of the most important principles of reducing waste is to reuse things instead of throwing them in the trash,' said Principal Shoe." (In supporting materials.)
  • Write one or more of the following suggested Homophone Practice Sentences on chart paper, omitting the words "principle" and "principal" and putting a blank line in their place:
    • "The guiding principle of our school is 'treat others how you want to be treated.'"
    • "Mom met with Principal White last week."
    • "It followed the principles of recycling."
  • Write the following Homophone Word Cards on index cards: "principal," "principle."
  • Enlarge the selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found" (in supporting materials).
  • Write the following rules of fluency on index cards: "smoothly," "with expression," "with meaning," "just the right speed."
  • Gather materials for Differentiated Small Group Instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

  • excerpt, expression, fluency, homophone, phrase (L)

Materials

  • Homophone Demonstration Sentence: "'One of the most important principles of reducing waste is to reuse things instead of throwing them in the trash,' said Principal Shoe." (see supporting materials)
  • Homophone Word Cards (one each; teacher created)
  • Homophone Practice Sentences on chart paper (see Teaching Notes, "In Advance" above)
  • Enlarged selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found" (one to display)
  • Rules of Fluency index cards (see Teaching Notes, "In Advance" above)
  • Individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found" (one per student)
  • Pencils (one per student)
  • Clipboards if not sitting at a desk (one per student; optional)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Words Rule: Homophones: "principal" and "principle"

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The Muffin Man"):

Teacher: "Can you tell you tell the difference, the difference, the difference? Can you tell the difference when two words sound the same?"

Students: "Yes, we'll tell the difference, the difference, the difference. Yes, we'll tell the difference by telling what they mean."

  • Begin the Words Rule instructional practice:

1. Teacher displays the Homophone Demonstration Sentence ("'One of the most important principles of waste reduction is to reuse things instead of throwing them in the trash,' said Principal Shoe.").

2. Teacher says: "Listen carefully and follow along while I read this sentence aloud. There are two words in this sentence that sound exactly the same but are spelled differently. I want you to listen and watch carefully for those words."

3. Teacher reads the sentence aloud.

4. Teacher invites students to turn to an elbow partner and share which words they heard that sound exactly the same but are spelled differently.

5. Teacher invites one or two students to share.

6. Teacher points to each word in turn and says: "That's right. 'Principle' and 'principal' sound exactly the same but are spelled differently. Language experts give words like these a special name. They're called 'homophones.' Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently."

7. Teacher says: "Let's see if we can use the sentence to help us understand what each of these homophones mean. Let's start with this one."

8. Teacher points to the word "principle" and reads the sentence.

9. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'principle' mean?" (truth, idea, or concept)

10. Teacher says: "That's right. When we see 'principle' spelled with the ending C-le syllable type, we know it means an idea or concept. Let's look at the next word, 'principal.'"

11. Teacher points to the word "principal" and reads the sentence.

12. Teacher asks: "What does this 'principal' mean?" (the head of a school)

13. Teacher says: "Right. So both words sound the same but have different meanings. This is what makes them 'homophones.' So it is important that we remember when 'principle' is spelled with the C-le ending syllable type, it means an idea or concept. And when 'principal' is spelled with an ending 'pal,' it means the head of a school. To help you remember, think of the head of a school being your 'pal.' Let's practice these homophones. I will read a sentence with the homophone missing. You will decide if it is 'p-r-i-n-c-i-p-l-e' or 'p-r-i-n-c-i-p-a-l' as you think about the meaning in the sentence."

14 .Teacher reads sentence aloud: "The student went to the principal's office."

15. Teacher displays the Homophone Word Cards ("principal" and "principle") and reads each word aloud.

16. Teacher displays one or more of the Homophone Practice Sentences (example: "The guiding _____ of our school is 'treat others how you want to be treated.'") and invites students to read it to themselves and think about which word should go in each blank.

17. Teacher reads the sentence aloud: "The guiding principle of our school is 'treat others how you want to be treated.'"

18. Teacher invites student volunteers to place the appropriate Homophone Word Card in the blank line, reinforcing the appropriate word based on the context as needed.

19. Repeat steps 16-18 with remaining practice sentences as time allows:

      • "The guiding principle of our school is 'treat others how you want to be treated.'"
      • "Mom met with Principal White last week."
      • "It followed the principles of recycling."
  • Consider providing support as students make connections between the spelling and the meaning of each homophone. Example:
    • "I noticed 'principle' is spelled with the ending C-le syllable when it means truth or idea."
  • To deepen the level of word analysis, consider inviting students to examine the spelling of the two words. Ask:

"What part of the two words is spelled the same?" (the first part, "princi")

"What part of the words is spelled differently?" (the last syllable)

  • Consider explaining to students that the word "homophone" has two parts that help explain its meaning: "homo" meaning "same" and "phone" meaning "sound."

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Fluency

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The Muffin Man"):

Teacher: "Can you read this fluently? Smoothly, with expression, please. Can you read it smoothly with expression and with meaning?"

Students: "Yes, we'll read it fluently. Not too fast and not too slow. Yes, we'll read it fluently at just the right speed."

All together: "So now we'll read this fluently. Think about how smooth it will be. Now we'll read this fluently at just the right speed."

  • Begin the Fluency instructional practice:

1. Teacher displays enlarged selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found."

2. Teacher explains that this is an "excerpt," or selected part, from the Decodable Reader.

3. Teacher displays Rules of Fluency index cards ("smoothly," "with expression," "with meaning," and "just the right speed") on the board and reads them aloud.

4. Teacher reminds students that these are four important rules of fluency that were mentioned in the song.

5. Teacher says: "It's time to give this a try. Each of you will get your own copy and make some decisions about how you can read this 'with meaning.' You should also think about what words should be grouped and read together and what the punctuation tells you. You'll annotate the text the way we've been doing. Then you can try it out with your partner so you can hear how it sounds. That will help you know if you need to revise. Remember to pause when you see a period."

6. Teacher distributes individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found" and a pencil and clipboards (if not working at tables).

7. Students annotate their own excerpts for words to be grouped together and then practice reading it aloud to their partner "smoothly" (phrased) and "with meaning" (reflecting the mood or feeling).

8. Teacher circulates, supporting students with the annotation as needed:

      • Underline groups of words to be read together.
      • Mark the punctuation with a "P" above to note where to pause.

9. If time allows, consider inviting one or two students to come up and read the excerpt to the group. When they are done, the teacher can invite students to name one star and one step.
  • The word "excerpt" may be unfamiliar to many students. Consider modeling this vocabulary by extending one hand, palm up, and explaining that this represents the whole text in the Decodable Reader. With the other hand, model pulling out a "piece" of the text. This "piece" is the "excerpt."
  • If students are successfully reading the excerpt smoothly, consider revising or extending this Work Time to focus on meaning or expression according to students' needs.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

  • Emphasize that in any organization made up of a group of people working toward a common goal, everyone has their own responsibilities, but they also collaborate (work together) so that everyone can "grow and flourish" or "be the best they can be." Consider using a metaphor, such as a sports team, city government, or other group, that may be familiar to students. Invite students to share how the classroom community is such an organization. It is made up of a group of people (students and teachers) working toward a common goal (everyone becoming proficient readers and writers).
  • To support students' reflection of their own role in collaboration, consider inviting them to reflect on one or more of the following questions:

"What can I do today that will help create a classroom community where all of us can 'grow and flourish' as readers and writers/become proficient readers and writers?" Encourage specificity.

"How can I ask for help so I can 'grow and flourish' as a reader/writer or 'become proficient' as a reader/writer?" (Example: "I can ask someone to look over my work and give me feedback.")

  • Depending on students' comfort level, consider inviting them to share their own personal goals (based on feedback from mid- or end-of-module assessments or self-identified goals based on daily work).
  • For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Examples:
    • "When I see someone _____, I'll make sure to _____."
    • "If someone asks me to _____, I'll _____."
    • "If I have a question about or need help with _____, I'll _____."

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Suggested Plan: Teacher works with students in the Partial Alphabetic and Full Alphabetic groups. If possible, teacher should also meet with the Consolidated Alphabetic group at least once per week.

Note: Groups not working with the teacher at a given time should be engaged in purposeful independent rotation work. Refer to the Independent and Small Group Work Guidance document for more details (see K-2 Skills Resource Manual).

Partial Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students work with an excerpt from a decodable text using patterns they are working on. Consider using the Assessment Conversion chart to identify an appropriate Grade 1 cycle and use the Decodable Reader from that cycle.
    • Students use a highlighter to find and highlight punctuation in the text (examples: periods, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks).
    • Teacher guides students to understand what the identified punctuation communicates to us as readers. (Example: A period tells us to stop for a moment; quotation marks tell us to make it sound like someone is talking.)
    • Teacher follows the process outlined in the whole group lesson work time to practice fluency with this text.
  • Use the Assessment Conversion chart to determine appropriate Grade 1 lessons and Activity Bank ideas to use in daily small group instruction.
  • Check in with Accountable Independent Reading.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Highlighters (one per student)
    • Copies of a previous student Decodable Reader or the current one: "No Food to Be Found."

Full Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Consider beginning with the silly sentences produced by students in the Consolidated Alphabetic group during Lesson 63. Guide students to review the spelling pattern and then guide them to practice reading them fluently.
    • Students work with another selected page(s) in the Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found."
    • Students use a highlighter to find and highlight punctuation in the text (examples: periods, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks, commas).
    • Teacher guides students to understand what the identified punctuation communicates to us as readers. (Example: A period tells us to stop for a moment; quotation marks tell us to make it sound like someone is talking.)
    • Teacher follows the process outlined in the whole group lesson work time to practice fluency with this text.
  • Check in with Accountable Independent Reading.
  • See Activity Bank Fluency activities (F) for Readers Theater options.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Silly sentences produced during Differentiated Small Group: Work with Teacher (Lesson 63; optional)
    • Highlighters (one per student)
    • Decodable Reader: "No Food to Be Found" (from Lesson 62; one per student)

Consolidated Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students reread the Engagement Text: "Pest Control in Sunnyside," focusing on fluency.
    • Students pretend to be television reporters and write a script for what they would say.
    • Students then practice reading the script and conduct a Readers Theater.
    • This can be done individually or in pairs.
  • Look over the scripts with student(s). Analyze parts that are fluent and provide feedback for fluency as needed. Listen to Readers Theater performances and provide feedback.
  • Use leveled readers for fluency practice. (Refer to Independent and Small Group Work Guidance document for guidance; see K-2 Skills Resource Manual.)
  • Check in with Accountable Independent Reading.
  • See Activity Bank Fluency activities (F) for Readers Theater options.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Engagement Text: "No Food to Be Found" (from Lesson 62; one per student)
    • Paper and writing utensils

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