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ELA G2:S4:C26:L129

Fluency

In this Lesson

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify the correct homophone ("knead" or "need") based on meaning and context. (RF.2.3, RF.2.3)
    • 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 use context to help me decode words that have common sounds 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.
    • I can read grade-level texts independently.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during Opening A. Determine whether they can identify the homophones "knead" and "need" 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: "knead" and "need"

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

  • Prepare:
    • Enlarged Homophone Demonstration Sentence: "Before the baker can knead the bread, he will need to add the yeast." (see supporting materials)
    • Interactive Word Wall (to display)
    • Enlarged selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Animals, Big and Small" (see supporting materials)
    • Enlarged Fluency rubric
  • Gather materials for differentiated small group instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Vocabulary

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

  • elements, excerpt, expression, fluency, homophone, phrase (L)
  • knead, yeast (T)

Materials

  • Enlarged Homophone Demonstration Sentence: "Before the baker can knead the bread, he will need to add the yeast." (see supporting materials)
  • Whiteboards (one per student)
  • Whiteboard markers (one per student)
  • Whiteboard erasers (or tissues, socks, etc.; one per student)
  • Enlarged selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Animals, Big and Small" (one for display)
  • Enlarged Fluency rubric
  • Individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Animals, Big and Small" (one per student)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Words Rule: Homophones: "knead" and "need"

  • (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 enlarged Homophone Demonstration Sentence: "Before the baker can knead the bread, he will need to add the yeast."

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. 'Knead' and 'need' sound exactly the same but are spelled differently. We know that these words have a special name."

7. Teacher asks:

"Who can remember what these words are called?" (homophones)

8. Teacher says: "Yes, words that sound the same but are spelled differently with different meanings are called homophones. Let's see if we can use the sentence to help us understand what each of these homophones means. Let's start with this one."

9. Teacher points to the word "knead" and reads the sentence.

10. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'knead' mean?" (to work dough with your hands before baking)

11. Teacher says: "That's right. When we see 'knead' spelled 'k-n-e-a-d,' we know it means to work dough with your hands. I notice this word has the /n/ sound at the beginning, but I see a 'k' as the first letter. I wonder why that is."

12. Teacher asks:

"Who can give us an idea?" (because the "k" is silent)

13. Teacher says: "Right! The 'k' is silent when it comes before the letter 'n' in words. Let's now look at 'need.'"

14. Teacher points to the word "need" and reads the sentence.

15. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'need' mean?" (to require something very important)

16. 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 'knead' is spelled 'k-n-e-a-d' with the silent 'k,' it means to work dough with your hands before baking. When 'need' is spelled 'n-e-e-d,' it means to require something very important. Let's practice these homophones. I will read a sentence with the word 'knead' or 'need' missing. You will write it as 'k-n-e-a-d' or 'n-e-e-d' on your whiteboard as you think about its meaning in the sentence."

17. Teacher distributes whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers.

18. Teacher reads sentence aloud: "I think I need to see a doctor."

19. Students display "need" on whiteboards. If students write the word as "knead," ask a volunteer to share the definition of "need" in this sentence.

20. Teacher says: "Yes! In this sentence, 'need' means that I require seeing the doctor because it is very important."

21. Repeat steps 18-20 with remaining sentences as time allows:

      • "Did you knead the dough for 10 minutes?"
      • "My sister says she needs a new bike."
      • "The recipe says to knead the pizza crust before stretching it."
  • Consider providing support as students make connections between the spelling and the meaning of each homophone. Example:
    • "I noticed 'knead' is spelled 'k-n-e-a-d' when it means what you do to bread before baking it."
  • Consider explaining to students that the word "homophone" has two parts that help explain its meaning: "homo," meaning "same," and "phone," meaning "sound."
  • Consider providing a visual for the verb "knead," such as a video clip of a baker kneading dough or model with "pretend" dough for students who may be unfamiliar with this word.
  • Consider reminding students of the "kn" spelling for the /n/ sound at the beginning of the words "knight" and "knew" that were examined in the Words Rule: Homophones Opening in Cycle 23, Lesson 114.

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: "Animals, Big and Small."

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

3. Teacher displays the Fluency rubric on the board and reads the categories aloud.

4. Teacher reminds students that these are four important rules of fluency that they've been working on.

5. Teacher says: "Now we are going to think about reading smoothly and at just the right speed. First, you will read the excerpt to yourself and think about how you can read it smoothly and at just the right speed. Then you will work with a partner to practice reading it smoothly at just the right speed. When your partner finishes reading it aloud, you will give him or her one star (one example of how they read it smoothly and/or at just the right speed), and one step (one example of how they could improve on reading smoothly and/or at just the right speed). Then we'll come back together and share."

6. Teacher distributes individual copies of the excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Animals, Big and Small."

7. Students read the excerpt individually, noticing how they will read smoothly and at just the right speed.

8. Teacher pairs students up and invites them to take turns reading the excerpt fluently and giving each other one star (positive comment naming a rule of fluency using the language of the rubric) and one step (a rule of fluency that wasn't evident or could be worked on using the language of the rubric).

9. Students practice reading fluently with their partners and giving feedback using the rubric.

10. 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 explaining the use of the colon in the first sentence of the excerpt. In this case, it is used to emphasize the word "maggot." The word after the colon explains the previous clause. In this case, the not-cute baby is the "maggot."
  • Consider providing the entire Decodable Reader (from Lesson 127) for students to use when partnering up and practicing fluent reading.
  • Consider focusing on one area of fluency on the rubric if the majority of students need help with a particular area.
  • Consider providing students with sentence frames for giving feedback to their partners. Examples:
    • "I noticed you read with (meaning, expression, at just the right speed) because you _____."
    • "I noticed you read smoothly because you _____."
    • "Next time you read, try reading (smoothly, with expression, with meaning, at just the right speed) by _____."

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

  • In the Closing, students reflect on what it means to be an independent reader and how they can become increasingly more independent during whole group instruction and differentiated small group instruction. Consider asking one or more of the following questions to support students' understanding of independence (encourage specificity in responses):

"What does it mean to be independent?" (examples: be able to do something on your own, be able to help myself with something)

"What does it mean to be an independent reader?" (examples: have knowledge and skills to problem solve words, have "stamina" or the ability to stick with reading for an extended period of time, know your strengths and weaknesses)

  • Consider reviewing reflections from Modules 1-3 to remind students that throughout the year they have learned many skills needed to be an independent reader. They took responsibility for their learning, set goals for themselves, and collaborated with their peers throughout the year. Consider asking one or more of the following questions (encourage specificity in responses):

"What knowledge and skills do you have now that you did not have earlier in the year?"

"How did you acquire that knowledge/skill?"
  • For students who need additional support organizing their ideas, consider providing sentence frames. Examples:
    • "One thing an independent reader has to be able to do is _____."
    • "As an independent reader, I can _____."
    • "I can show independence by _____."

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 Decodable Reader or the current one: "Animals, Big and Small"

Full Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Consider beginning with the silly sentences produced by students in the Consolidated Alphabetic group during Lesson 128. 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: "Animals Big and Small."
    • 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.
  • 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 time from Lesson 128 (optional)
    • Highlighters (one per student)
    • Copies of Decodable Reader: "Animals, Big and Small" from Lesson 127

Consolidated Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students reread the Engagement Text: "Dino Sized," 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; 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: "Dino Sized" (from Lesson 127)
    • Paper and writing utensils (one per student)

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