Morgan Sears

First Minilesson: Fluency

John Wayland Elementary
Mrs. Strawdermans Class
Date to teach: October 1, 2014
Lesson duration: Approximately 15 minutes
Number of students: 2-3
Materials needed: tongue twisters, cell phone timer, recording sheet
Objective: The objective of this lesson is for the selected students to work on faster
reading.
Introduction:
I will explain to the students that they are going to practice reading tongue twisters (they
will each have a few different ones). I am going to tell them that I am going to time them
each time they read it and that we are going to be working on their reading speed. I will
make sure they understand that it is not for a grade, but is simply for practice.
Procedure:
I will have each student read their tongue twisters 3-4 times, timing them each time with
my cell phone and recording their times. The expectation is that they will show
improvement with each time they reread the material. I will model if necessary by reading
a tongue twister myself to them.

Morgan Sears
READ 436
Fluency Mini Lesson Reflection
October 13, 2014
For my first mini lesson, I chose to work on fluency. When I chose this, I thought that
it would be simpler to work with a small group during my classs release time, or Weekly
Religious Education that Rockingham County Schools participate in. Three out of my classs
eighteen students do not attend release time. This provided me with an excellent
opportunity to work with these three students one-on-one, and, it was very convenient that
the two of the three students that stayed back from release time were lower level readers
struggling with reading speed. The third child has a mild speech issue. I chose to work with
these three on speed rather than expression because I felt like something that they really
needed improvement in.
The way that I chose to approach speed with these students was to have them
participate in timed repeated readings of tongue twisters with me one at a time. The first
student that I did this activity with, Jason (pseudonyms are being used), read the tongue
twister, A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose three times. The first
time, he read it in 9.61 seconds, the second time he read it in 9.7 seconds, and the third
time he read it in 5.76 seconds. He did not seem to express any frustrations and seemingly
found the activity fun. I found it interesting that he read the tongue twister more slowly the
second time than the first time, but he made a few pronunciation mistakes and corrected
them, which accounted for the time difference. Otherwise, he showed improvement from
reading to reading.
The second student that I worked with, Greg, read the tongue twister, Kitty caught
the kitten in the kitchen three times. The first time, it was read in 5.37 seconds, the second

time it was read in 5.14 seconds, and the third time it was read in 3.12 seconds. Greg
seemed to be more frustrated while reading the tongue twisters, and said things like That
doesnt make sense! in between readings. However, he showed considerable improvement
each time he read and made very few mistakes.
The third student that I worked with, John, has a mild speech problem. He tends to
have particular issues pronouncing rs, but tends to have a little more stamina while
reading than the other two boys that participated in this exercise. Because of this, I chose a
longer tongue twister, Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, a peck of pickled
peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, wheres the
peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? He read it the first time in 21.55 seconds, the
second time in 23.55 seconds, and the third time in 17.41 seconds. He did not seem to have
many obstacles with pronunciation and read fairly quickly, improving by the end of the
readings. Jack seemed to enjoy the activity and did not express frustrations.
I think that this lesson went relatively well. At this time, I do not think I would make
any modifications to the lesson format specifically. However, in the future, when working
with students that have speech challenges, I may plan special tongue twisters specifically
for the letters that the child struggles with. For example, with Jack, I would find a tongue
twister that has repeated r sounds. Other than that, I think that aspects of the lesson, such
as one-on-one reading with a small amount of students at certain times, worked well. I
think it would be stressful and ineffective to use this as a whole group lesson.
When teaching fluency in my own classroom, I would begin by identifying which
books and passages were in each students independent, instructional, and frustration
levels to plan specific materials to use with each child (on their independent level). I would

group students into three or four groups based on these reading levels. From there, I would
find appropriate level materials to use with each group and instruct them in expression and
speed in order to differentiate. I would allow them to work together as a group during
language arts time to practice using the strategies I will describe next, while making sure
that I go around the room to help and observe each group personally for equal amounts of
time.
To teach the expression part of fluency specifically, I love the idea of implementing
Readers Theater in large groups. Through Readers Theater, children are given books or
scripts, practice them, and begin to embody their characters. They then perform them (or
read them) in front of peers, emphasizing expression of lines. I would also allow children to
create props or costumes for this to make it a fun, interactive activity. For smaller group or
independent expression instruction, I would let children read poetry, which allows them to
quickly recognize words that sound similar to one another. I would also consider recording
children as they read aloud individually, then play it back to them and allow them to
analyze it, seeing how they should improve for themselves.
To teach the speed portion of fluency specifically, I would use timed repeated
reading as one strategy. I would give children a short passage (or tongue twister like I did
in this lesson) and allow them to read it aloud a few times, timing them each time and
seeing how they improve. I would also create mad libs with them and then have them read
it several times while being timed, which is fun and educational for students.

Tongue Twisters for Fluency Minilesson:

Mix a box of mixed biscuits with a boxed biscuit mixer.

She sells seashells on the seashore.
Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, A peck of pickled
peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
One-One was a racehorse. Two-Two was one, too. When One-One
won one race, Two-Two won one, too.
Kitty caught the kitten in the kitchen.
If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would
watch which watch?
Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy wuzzy
wasn't very fuzzy, was he?
A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose.