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ELA G2:S3:C19:L94

Fluency

In this Lesson

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify the correct homophone ("one" or "won") based on meaning and context. (RF.2.3a, RF.2.3f)
    • 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 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 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: "one" and "won"

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: "Her team won the game in less than one hour." (See supporting materials.)
  • Write one or more of the following suggested Homophone Practice Sentences on chart paper, leaving out the words "won" and "one" and putting a blank line in their place:
    • He won the race by one minute.
    • The one time I went bowling I won first place.
    • Which one of the boys won the spelling contest?
  • Write the following Homophone Word Cards on index cards: "one," "won."
  • Enlarge the selected excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Sam's Indoor Garden" (in supporting materials).
  • Write the following Rules of Fluency index cards: "smoothly," "with expression," "with meaning," and "just the right speed."
  • Predetermine partnerships for Work Time A.
  • 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: "Her team won the game in less than one hour." (see supporting materials)
  • Homophone Practice Sentences on chart paper (see Teaching Notes "In Advance," above)
  • Homophone Word Cards
  • Whiteboards (one per student; optional)
  • Whiteboard markers (one per student; optional)
  • Whiteboard erasers (one per student; optional)
  • Enlarged excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Sam's Indoor Garden" (one to display)
  • Rules of Fluency index cards (see Teaching Notes, "In Advance" above)
  • Individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Sam's Indoor Garden" (one per student)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Words Rule: Homophones "one" and "won"

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "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: "Her team won the game in less than one hour."

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. 'Won' and 'one' 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 "won" and reads the sentence.

11. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'won' mean?" (beat the other team)

12. Teacher asks:

"What's the difference between 'win' and 'won'?" ("Won" is past tense; it happened in the past.)

13. Teacher says: "So when I see 'won' spelled 'w-o-n,' I'll know that it happened in the past."

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

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

16. Teacher asks:

"What does this 'one' mean?" (the number one)

17. Teacher says: "So when I see 'one' spelled 'o-n-e,' I'll know that we're talking about the number one."

18. Teacher says: "Let's practice figuring out which of these homophones we should use."

19. Teacher displays the Homophone Word Cards ("one" and "won") and reads each word aloud.

20. Teacher displays one or more of the Homophone Practice Sentences (example: "He _____ the race by ____ minute") and invites students to read it to themselves and think about which word should go in each blank.

21. Teacher reads the sentence aloud: "He won the race by one minute."

22. Consider distributing the whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers (optional) and inviting students to show the spelling for the homophone in each blank space.

23. 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.

24. Teacher repeats with one or more of the remaining practice sentences as time allows.
  • 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: "Sam's Indoor Garden."

2. Teacher reminds students that this is an "excerpt" 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 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 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. Teacher asks:

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

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

9. Teacher asks:

"What is happening in this part of the story?" (Sam and Dad just got home from the garden center and Sam is taking care of his new plants.)

10. Teacher reads the first part of the second paragraph: "'Maybe we can grow some vegetables next! And a sunflower! And...' Dad stopped Sam."

11. Teacher points out the exclamation points and the fact that Dad "stopped Sam" and asks:

"What does that tell us about how Sam is feeling about his indoor garden?" (He's excited and has all kinds of ideas for what to do next.)

12. Teacher asks:

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

13. Teacher says: "It's time to give this a try yourselves. 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."

14. Teacher distributes individual copies of excerpt from the Decodable Reader: "Sam's Indoor Garden," pencils, and clipboards (if not working at tables).

15. 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).

16. 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.

17. 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 7. They can read the text aloud together in a whisper.
  • Consider providing the entire Decodable Reader (from Lesson 92) 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 read the excerpt I thought about _____, and I _____."
    • "After I got feedback about _____ from _____, I read the excerpt again and made it sound _____."

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 reader: "Sam's Indoor Garden" (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 93. 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: "Sam's Indoor Garden" (from Lesson 94).
    • 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 93 (optional)
    • Highlighters (one per student)
    • Copies of Decodable Reader: "Sam's Indoor Garden" (from Lesson 92)

Consolidated Alphabetic

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students reread the Engagement Text: "My Garden Spot," 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 with a partner.
    • 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:
    • Individual copies of the Engagement Text: "My Garden Spot" (from Lesson 92)
    • Paper and writing utensils

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