Junie B. Jones is a Boss of Fluency
Growing Independence and Fluency Design
Jocelyn Cumbie
Rational: This lesson is designed to help improve students’ reading fluency. Fluency is the ability to read words accurately and automatically. Effortless word recognition allows students to focus on what they are reading. In this lesson, students will learn strategies and skills needed to become a fluent reader through modeling and practice. Students will use the strategy of crosschecking after readings of an instructional level book and repeated readings to increase fluency and gain independence in reading.
Materials:
• Class copies of Junie B Jones Boss of Lunch each student.
• Stopwatch for every pair of students.
• Pencils for each student.
• One cover up critter for each student.
• Fluency checklist sheet
• Comprehension form.
Procedure:
1. Say: Hello class! Our goal today is to be the absolute best readers we can be, and to do that we must be able to read fluently! Reading fluently means that we can read smoothly and quickly without sounding out each word. This also helps us make sight words! Sight words are words that we don’t have to sound out because we already recognize them. Reading fluently helps us read with expression and fully understand what is happening in our books. Now let’s become fluent readers!
2. Say: Before we begin, I am going to show you all how to crosscheck when we see a word that we may not remember. (Model) Here we see a sentence (show the sentence ‘I picked it up to show him’). I may read this as ‘I /p/I/c/k/e/d/’ and think hmm… that doesn’t make sense! Let me finish the sentence and see if I can figure it out. ‘it up to show him.’ Oh! ‘I picked it up to show him” I said a long I, but it is a short i so we must say /i/. Let’s reread the sentence now- ‘I picked it up to show him.’
3. Say: Now let’s practice our fluency with a repeated reading of the sentence I wrote on the board. The board says, “This hoagie is delicious!” I’m going to read this sentence and I want you all to listen and think about if my reading is fluent or not. “Th-is hoa-g-ie is d-ee-l-i-c-ou-ss” (read very choppy). Was that fluent? Did I read with expression? No, did you hear how choppy and slow it sounded? Let’s try to read this sentence again, but this time a little smoother and faster. “This hoagie is delicious!” That sounded a lot better because I didn’t stop to figure out any of the words!
4. Say: We need to practice a lot to become a fluent reader. When I read our sentence the first time it was very difficult for me to read it quickly and smoothly because I had never read it before. I had to take some time to decode the words that I was not familiar with. The second time I read it, it was quick and smooth because I knew each word and added expression when I read. Now that we know what a fluent reader is and is not, we are going to practice our own fluency!
5. Say: Today we are going to be reading about a first grader named Junie B. Jones. One day, Junie B. Jones is called to help Mrs. Gutzman in the school cafeteria. She is so excited to be behind the counter and maybe wear a hair net. Will do a good job as a cafeteria helper? Let’s read the first chapter together.
6. 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 count up the number of words in chapter two and will write that number at the top of your fluency charts. You and your partner will each read chapter two 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. On the last reading I want you to make a little tally each time your partner makes a mistake. (Show tally method on the board) After you have read the second and third time you will fill out the fluency checklist to show what your partner improved on. Finally, you will take the total number of words from those pages and subtract the number of tallies for the last reading and plug that number into the formula on the sheet. Your answer will read ‘___ words in ___ minutes.’ You will then use this number to fill out the bottom of the fluency checklist. “When you finish the fluency checklist, discuss your answers to the reading response questions. Each of you will write your answers in complete sentences back at your desk and turn in those and your fluency charts to me.
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Comprehension Worksheet Questions:
Name: _____ Date: _____
1. Why did most of Junie B.’s class want to buy school lunch?
2. Why didn’t Junie B. want to sit by Sheldon?
3. What was on the hoagie sandwich?
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Fluency Checklist Sheet
Name: _____ Date: _____ Partner: _____
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
0 - - - 10 - - - 20 - - - 30 - - - 40 - - - 50 - - - 60 - - - 70 - - - 80 - - - 90 - - - 100
Correct Words Per Minute
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Resources:
• Murray, Bruce. Reading Genie. http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/
• Ivy Hughs, Knocking Fluency Out of the Park https://ivyhughes0004.wixsite.com/iah0004/growing-indepenence-and-fluency
• Shelby Ptak, Junie B. Jones Is A Fluency Animal https://shelbyyyptak2000.wixsite.com/my-site/growing-independence-and-fluency
• Grace Fletcher, Fishing for Fluency with Junie B. Jones https://gracefletcher0312.wixsite.com/my-site/growing-independence-fluency
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Junie-B-First-Grader-Lunch/dp/0375802940?
• Comprehension questions http://www.risetoreading.com/2019/10/23/comprehension-questions-19-junie-b-first-grader-boss-of-lunch/