Where are the Wild Things?... Reading Fluently!

Amanda Gluckman

Growing Independence and Fluency



- sentence strip with "The cat runs up and down the long path"

- class set of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

- stopwatch

- class set of Speedy Reading sheets

 - laminated copy of a monster with numbers and Velcro at each of the numbers for each pair of students

- laminated copy of the boy with Velcro on the back for each pair of students


1.) I will first explain what fluency is and what we are going to do today: "Today we are going to discuss something called fluency.  Does anyone know what being a fluent reader means?

"Very good! It means learning to read easily, with expression and with a good speed! To become fluent readers though you have to practice."

"First, I am going to show you the difference between a fluent and non-fluent reader.  I am going to read this sentence that is on the board first without fluency:

"Th-e  c-a-t  r-u-n-s  u-p  a-n-d  d-ow-n  th-e  l-o-n-g  p-a-th." Was that kind of hard to understand?  That is because I was not reading it fast and smooth! Now I am going to read it fluently (point to each word as I read), "The cat runs up and down the long path." Now how was it when I read that sentence? It was a lot easer to understand, right? Reading is easier to understand when it is fast and smooth. Now you see how important being a fluent reader is! Reading fluently can be hard, that is why we have to practice.  When you get to a word you do not know, remember you can cross check to figure out the tricky word, use your cover up critter or figure out the vowel sound first and then put together the rest of the word.

2.) Next I will work on one- minute readings. I will split the class up into pairs, and pass out, Where the Wild Things Are, the "Speedy Reading Sheet", and a laminated copy of the monster and the boy.

3.) Once the class is in pairs I will explain to them that one of them will be the "reader", while the other is the "recorder."  Once the first person has read, they will switch jobs. I will explain that I am going to be the timer and I will watch the clock and stop the reader after one minute goes by.  Then, the reader will put their finger on the last word they read and the recorder will count how many words the reader read and record it on the "Speedy Reading Sheet." The recorder will also move the boy up the monster's back as the reader increases the number of words read in a minute. Now they will switch roles and the recorder will now become the new reader.

4.) Allow the students to repeat this 3 more times so you can average the results.

5.) After the class has finished their one-minute reads, I will read the entire book to the children so they will know how it ends and what fluent reading of a book sounds like. We will discuss it and then talk about how listening to it read fluently makes it more enjoyable to listen to and easier to understand.

6.) For the assessment I will take up all of the children's sheets to see how they did. The goal is for students to improve their reading fluency over time. We will do this activity more than once so I will be able to compare their results over more of an extended period of time.


Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Prater, Cambre


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