Fluency | EL Education Curriculum

You are here:

Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify homophones and determine what they mean and when to use them. (RF.2.3, L.2.2)
    • I can use context to help me decode words that have common sounds with different spelling patterns.
  • 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 read with appropriate phrasing while paying attention to punctuation.
    • I can reread when something doesn't make sense or sound right.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during Opening A. Determine whether they can identify which words in a text are homonyms, use context to determine the meaning of each word, and select the correct word to complete a new sentence.
  • Observe students during Work Time A. Determine whether they can group words in logical phrases and attend to punctuation to read the text fluently.
  • Exit ticket (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (3-5 minutes)

A. Words Rule: Homophones: "threw" and "through"

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

  • Enlarge the Homophone Demonstration Sentence #1: "She threw the huge ball right through the hoop." (See supporting materials.)
  • Enlarge the Homophone Demonstration Sentence #2: "The dog raced through the tunnel right after his owner threw the bone." (See supporting materials.)
  • Write one or more of the following suggested Homophone Practice Sentences on chart paper, leaving out the words "through" and "threw" and putting a blank line in their place:
    • "I threw out my homework. Now I have to go through the garbage to find it."
    • "The river flowed slowly through the town as the fishermen threw their lines in the water."
    • "All through the day I was thinking about how I threw the winning shot in the game last night."
  • Write the following Homophone Word Cards on index cards: "through," "threw."
  • Enlarge the selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Too Many Options!" (in supporting materials).
  • Write the following rules of fluency on index cards: "smoothly," "with expression," "with meaning," "just the right speed."
  • Predetermine partnerships for Work Time A.
  • Prepare 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 #1: "She threw the huge ball right through the hoop."
  • Homophone Demonstration Sentence #2: "The dog raced through the tunnel right after his owner threw the bone."
  • Homophone Word Cards
  • Homophone Practice Sentences on chart paper (see Teaching Notes "In Advance," above)
  • Individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "The Huge Package" (one per student)
  • Rules of Fluency index cards (see Teaching Notes, "In Advance" above)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Words Rule: Homophones "threw" and "through"

  • (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 Homophone Demonstration Sentence #1: "She threw the huge ball right through the hoop."

2. Teacher says: "Listen carefully 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. 'Threw' and 'through' sound exactly the same but are spelled differently."

7. Teacher asks:

"Does anyone remember what language experts call words like this?" (homophones)

8. Teacher says: "That's right. Homophones are words that have the same sound but are spelled differently."

9. 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."

10. Teacher points to the word "threw" and reads the sentence.

11. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'threw' mean?" (action, demonstrate launching something with the hand)

12. Teacher demonstrates the action of throwing (miming throwing a ball) and asks:

"What's the difference between 'threw' and 'throw'?" ("Threw" is past tense; it happened in the past.)

13. Teacher says: "So when I see 'threw' spelled 't-h-r-e-w' I'll know that the action happened in the past."

14. Teacher says: "Let's try the other one."

15. Teacher points to the word "through" and reads the sentence.

16. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'through' mean?" (moving from one place to another)

17. Teacher says: "So when I see 'through' spelled 't-h-r-o-u-g-h' I'll know that going from one place to another is happening."

18. Teacher displays Homophonic Demonstration Sentence #2 and says: "Listen while I read this sentence."

19. Teacher reads: "The dog raced through the tunnel right after his owner threw the bone."

20. Teacher points to the word "through" and asks:

"Does this 'through' mean going from one place to another?" (yes)

"How do you know?" (The dog moved from one end of the tunnel to the other.)

21. Teacher points to the word "threw," mimes the action, and asks:

"Does this mean an action like this that happened in the past?" (yes)

22. Teacher says: "'His owner threw the bone' certainly doesn't mean he moved from one part of the bone to the other! Let's practice figuring out which of these homophones we should use."

23. Teacher displays the Homophone Word Cards ("through" and "threw") and reads each word aloud.

24. Teacher displays one or more of the Homophone Practice Sentences (example:  "I _____ out my homework. Now I have to go ____ the garbage to find it") and invites students to read it to themselves and think about which word should go in each blank.

25. Teacher reads the sentence aloud: "I threw out my homework. Now I have to go through the garbage to find it."

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

27. Teacher repeats with one or more of the remaining practice sentences as time allows.

  • Consider providing support as students make connections between the spelling and the meaning of each homophone. Example:
    • “I noticed when through is spelled with ‘ew’ it means _____.”
  • Consider explaining to students that the word homophone has two parts that help explain its meaning: “homo,” meaning “same,” and “phone,” meaning “sound.”
  • 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, “thr”)

“What part of the words is spelled differently?” (the vowel sound)

  • Then invite them to articulate which of the words have parts that “play fair” (example: “‘ew’ makes the /ōō/ sound, but ‘ough’ is tricky—it doesn’t sound the way we would expect it too”).
  • If choosing to use the practice sentence “All through the day I was thinking about how I threw the winning shot in the game last night,” consider explaining to students that the word “through” still represents a movement from one point to another. In this case, it’s from one point in time to another.

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: "The Huge Package" (excerpt #1).

2. Teacher reminds students that this is an "excerpt" from the Decodable Reader.

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

4. Teacher points to the "smoothly" card and invites students to turn to an elbow partner.

5. Teacher asks:

"What does it mean to read 'smoothly'?" (not choppy or one word at a time; words are grouped together)

6. Teacher invites one or two students to share their ideas.

7. Teacher points to the word "with meaning" and invites students to turn to an elbow partner.

8. Teacher asks:

"What does it mean to read 'with meaning'?" (to reflect what is happening in the story or what the words mean)

9. Teacher invites students to look at the enlarged text and read it silently to themselves to determine what is happening in that part of the story.

10. Teacher asks:

"What is happening in this part of the story?" (Sam just got home. He is looking forward to making dinner.)

11. Teacher points to the word "eager" and reads it aloud.

12. Teacher asks:

"What does this tell us about how we might read this part of the story?" (Read it with excitement.)

13. Teacher says: "Even though there isn't any talking happening in this part of the text, we know that Sam is eager. He is excited and we should read it that way. I'm going to make a dark line under the word 'eager' so that I remember to read it to reflect that feeling."

14. Teacher makes a dark line under the word "eager" on the enlarged copy of the excerpt.

15. Teacher says: "It's time to give this a try with the rest of the excerpt. 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. You should do this with excerpt #1 first. If you have time, you can try it with excerpts #2 and #3. Remember to pause when you see a period."

16. Teacher distributes individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader and pencils and clipboards (if not working at tables).

17. Students annotate their own excerpts for words to be grouped together and for where to pause for punctuation.

18. Students practice reading it aloud to their partner "smoothly" (phrased) and "with meaning" (reflecting the mood or feeling).

19. 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.
      • 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."
  • Consider pairing students in the Partial Alphabetic phase with a student in the Consolidated phase for step 9. They can read the text aloud together in a whisper.
  • Consider providing the entire Decodable Reader from Lesson 77 for students to use when partnering up and practicing fluent reading.

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. (Examples: 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 reader: "The Huge Package" (using patterns students are working with)

Full Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Consider beginning with the silly sentences produced by students in the Consolidated Alphabetic group during Lesson 78. Guide students to review the spelling pattern and then guide them to practice reading them fluently.
    • Students work with additional page(s) in the Decodable Reader: "The Huge Package" (from Lesson 77).
    • 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. (Examples: 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 instruction from Lesson 78 (optional)
    • Highlighters (one per student)
    • Copies of Decodable Reader: "The Huge Package" (from Lesson 77)

Consolidated Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students reread the Engagement Text: "Bike Over the Bridge," focusing on fluency.
    • Then they become television reporters and write a script to show what they would say.
    • Finally, they 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 reader's 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:
    • Individual copies of the Engagement Text: "Bike Over the Bridge" (from Lesson 77)
    • Paper and writing utensils

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Sign Up