Reading fluency is crucial for young readers because it bridges the gap between word recognition and text comprehension. Fluent readers do not have to spend as much time decoding the words so they are able to focus their efforts more on comprehending what the text means. Reading fluency is a huge struggle for many young readers. Since reading fluency is the building block to comprehension, less fluent readers often fall behind their peers. Significant improvement in reading fluency can be achieved with just a few minutes of practice each day.
I have seen great gains in fluency using Super Speed 1000 from the Whole Brain Teaching Website. This activity and many others are available as a FREE download when you register on their website. I love that this activity integrates both the Dolch and Fry word lists so the kids get exposure to as many words as possible.
In my classroom, we use a slight variation from the official rules that come with the download. I have my students paired up by ability and personality. The students work together as a team to beat their previous record. The partners take turns reading the words back and forth for 60 seconds. Each time the pair beats their record, they get to start one line further down at the beginning. The official directions are a bit different, but I have found this procedure to work well with my class.
This is a short video showing two of my students doing the Super Speed Reading Fluency activity. My students are using the paper version of the game which is designed for partner practice. The partner game promotes social interaction and goal setting in a fun, fast-paced game. There is also an electronic version of the game that is great for whole class practice.
There is also a Super Speed Game for math facts. Each of my students have a folder with the papers needed to play both games inside.
Here is a short video of my students playing the Super Speed math game. We play each game twice a day. Since each game is only one minute long, we are able to practice both math facts and the top 1,000 words in five minutes.
If you are looking for an easy to implement way to improve reading and math fluency in your classroom, I encourage to visit the Whole Brain Teaching Website, register with your email address, and download the FREE Ebook(s). You won't be disappointed!
It’s
that time of the year when everyone is getting a little buggy! So of course you've got to go
with the flow! We're off to
study insects! Insects are incredible creatures. There are
over one million different kinds of insects on our planet! Who would ever have
enough time to study them all? Here are a few engaging activities that we use to incorporate some Reading and Writing Common Core Standards with the study of insects.
This Literacy Center game is a great ACTIVE way to practice Sight words!
Swat the Fly!
Materials needed:
*Skill Cards – White 3" by 5" cards- about 10-12
*Game board – Large Colored Poster Board
*2 Flyswatters
Prep the Cards: Write words (or letters or numbers or math facts) on the cards. You can make several sets of cards with a variety of skills and/or varying levels. Play the game again and again using sets of cards to differentiate between groups of students.
Make the Game board: Glue some large fly clipart pictures onto a poster board. Laminate the board for durability. Lay the cards on top of the flies. The cards just lay on top of the flies and can be easily switched to different sets.
How to play the game: 2 players stand across from each other each holding a REAL fly swatter.
An adult calls out a word and both students try to be the first one to swat the fly. Whoever has their flyswatter on top of the word card first takes that card and puts it in their pile. Keep going until all cards are gone. Count the cards and the player with the most cards is the winner.
If you want to involve more students, create 2 teams. After the first two students have had their turn, they hand the swatter to their next teammate. Usually 3 or 4 on a team is enough. This is not a quiet activity BUT it sure is a fun way to practice a skill!
Insects can be helpful or harmful. Most people would agree flies fall into the category of pests! The picture shown here is of a funny, engaging ABC book called Old Black Fly. It tells about the adventures of a pesky fly going from food items to stacks of laundry etc. ....until he meets his demise! SPLAT! Oops, sorry to spoil the ending! This book has the repetitive phrase "Shoo fly, Shoo Fly, Shooo!" Have the children say it with you each time you reach that part of the story. The children will be asking you to read this story over and over again! (It is not necessary to have this book to do the following activity.)
Extension Idea: Writing and Art project Students use a straw and watercolors to make a picture that is similar to the book's illustrations. They blow through the straw onto a few big drippy spots of watercolors. Using just 2-3 colors makes their picture turn out great!
After they have created their picture, they look at it and decide what food it reminds them of. (Wow, lots of imagination may be needed here!) Next they write their sentence adding the repetitive phrase from the book. Ex. "He landed on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Shoo fly! Shoo fly! Shooo!"or"He landed on my ice cream. Shoo fly! Shoo fly! Shooo!"
You might be lucky enough to find some plastic flies at the store to glue on their finished painting. If not, just use a small clip art picture of a fly or have the children draw a fly on their paper.
The Magical Life Cycle of a Butterfly
After we have studied butterflies and learned about their life cycle, use this magical demonstration as an example of metamorphosis!
Materials: *A leaf with an egg: Green construction paper or green felt & a small white pompom
(Ours was made using fun foam with black veins drawn on the leaf and a tiny pompom)
*Caterpillar: Cute clipart caterpillar or 4 large yellow pompoms glued on some paper*Chrysalis: Crumpled up old brown lunch bag
*Butterfly: Cute colorful clip art of a butterfly (Ours is a butterfly puppet!)
Students are sitting on the floor anxiously awaiting the magical butterfly trick. You may have a poem or song that tells about the life cycle of a butterfly. The students can sing along as you perform the magictrick! If not, just say the stages as seen in quotes.
Step 1) Show them the leaf with the egg ("Stage 1-the egg")
Step 2) Turn over the leaf with the egg and set the caterpillar on top ("Stage 2-the caterpillar")
Step 3) Place both items inside the bag and twist the bag around and around for the spinning chysalis "Stage 3-the chysalis")
NOW for the magic!!
Step 4) Reach into the bag and pull out the butterfly and fly it! ("Stage 4-the butterfly")
(As ours was a butterfly puppet, we put a hand inside the puppet after placing caterpillar & leaf inside the bag.) Bring out ONLY the butterfly! Don’t forget you must put
the butterfly inside the bag before you begin this magnificent magical trick!)
Step 5) Ooooo & Ahhhh! A magical metamorphosis has occurred right before their eyes!!
Writing Extension
Black spotted ladybug beetles are always a
favorite with kids! Below
is writing activity that plays off the black dots on ladybugs and helps reinforce the use of describing words. Some creativity is needed to complete the task!
We love the book 10 Black Dotsas
a lead-in to this activity. But you don't really have it to use this writing idea. The book uses dots in the illustrations and text. To begin them thinking about their writing, ask the children to
look around the classroom for things that have dots or black circles or holes. Make
a list. Next, ask them to visualize - eyes are closed and no talking! Ask them to imagine going inside their homes and looking around their house or bedroom. Have them share with the class what they saw. One child said, “I see my Mickey Mouse on my bed. He
has 2 black circles for ears!” That child then wrote about her Mickey Mouse stuffed
animal. The two pictures below are
examples of some student work. One child wrote about a ladybug and the
other wrote about cheddar cheese. (We really think he meant to write Swiss
cheese ...because of the holes!). It is always amazing to see how they “connect
the dots"!
Click {HERE}to link to the FREE writing templates for this activity.
Ladybug Singable
We always have songs and poems to reinforce vocabulary and reading. Below is a short movie we made of our singableLucille the Ladybug, sung to the tune "Take Me Out to the
Ballgame". Just
click and sing away!
Dragonfly & Bee Craft projects
After learning about the dragonfly and bee, follow up with these craftivities! Dragon
Fly Art
Directions:
Body: Clothes pin or popsicle stick
Wings: Colored cellophane or
cut up colored plastic vinyl
Head: PomPom (only on the popsicle stick)
Eyes: Small wiggly eyes
Antenna: Pipe cleaner
Students
may paint the bodies (clothespin or popsiclestick) before gluing on the other body parts.
Bee Art
Directions:
Body: Toilet paper tube- color black and yellow stripes or cover with strips of colored paper
Wings: Cut 4 paper wings (our picture shows only 2. Maybe the other 2 are hiding!)
Head: Glue a small circle at one end of the tube
Eyes: Small wiggly eyes or draw them on with black crayon
Antenna: Pipe cleaners behind the face P.S. The flower pictured above was made using a coffee filter, watercolors, and a colored tongue depressor...or just paint the tan ones!
There is also a Super Speed Game for math facts. Each of my students have a folder with the papers needed to play both games inside. 
If you are looking for an easy to implement way to improve reading and math fluency in your classroom, I encourage to visit the Whole Brain Teaching Website, register with your email address, and download the FREE Ebook(s). You won't be disappointed!
JK Curriculum Connection