Reading Lesson Plan 2 (Fluency)

• Rationale: The students in this group are quiet readers, and the repeated readings that are associated with Reader's Theater will help them become faster, more accurate, and more expressive readers.
• Objective: These students will engage with the script and read their lines with expression and excitement. I will have them evaluate themselves on their own improvement as the lesson develops.
• Materials and Supplies Needed:
• A script for each student
• A pencil for each student
• A rating sheet for each student
• Procedures and Approximate Time:
• Introduction (3 min):
• Good morning! Today we are going to keep working on reading "Brer Rabbit Shares His Crops". Who can tell me what we were working on when we read this script on Monday?
• I thought that you showed a lot of improvement when we were working together on Monday. I can't wait to see how your reading is today.
• Who can say a sentence with no emotion or expression? Now how about a sentence with lots of emotion and expression?
• Now I'm going to ask you another question and I want you to think about your answer for about 30 seconds, and then we'll share. Why is it important to read with expression every time we read aloud?
• Key Events During the Lesson (30-35 min):
• [Pass out the scripts, along with pencils]
• I know that when we read the script on Monday I assigned each of you a different part each time we read. Today, I want us to each take a part and stick with it for the rest of the time that we work on this script together. If you have a preference on the part you want to play, please raise your hand and share that with the group. If more than one of you wants to have the same part, I will assign parts to you randomly. I know that however these parts are split up, the play is going to be great! [Allow the students to share which parts they would prefer. If there is any disagreement, assign the parts randomly].
• Now that we have our parts, I want us to go through the script page by page and talk about the kinds of emotions that the characters in the play are feeling. Then we'll use the emotions that we talk about to help us read our lines with as much expression as we can. Remember, we want to keep our audience interested in what we are saying!
• Also, while we are going through these lines, I want you to think about different times in your lives where maybe you felt the same way as Brer Rabbit or Brer Bear. Please share those experiences with us, because it could help us read with more emotion and make the lines seem more interesting!
• Next to some lines, I want you to write which emotion the character is most likely feeling. This will remind you to read with that emotion when you are going through the script to practice.
• [Go through the script, page by page, discussing how the characters are feeling. For example, in Brer Rabbit's first line, he is thinking through a dilemma and doesn't know what to do. We can talk about how people sound when they are contemplating a choice that they are going to have to make.]
• Now I am going to let you read through the script twice as a group. After the second time through, I am going to ask you to evaluate how you think that you are doing at reading with expression. You will write down a rating for me on a piece of paper so that no one else has to see what you wrote. I just want to see how you think that you are doing so that I know if my teaching is effective. Also, I want to time you again. Don't read so fast that the audience won't understand, but be sure to read smoothly and pay attention to when your lines come up.
• [Let the students read through the scripts twice, timing each reading, then have them fill out the self-evaluation form, which reads:]
• I give myself a ____ on how well I am reading with expression.
• 1: I still need to work on my expression.
• 2: I think I am making improvement.
• 3: I am reading with as much expression as I can!
• Closing Summary (5 min):
• You all continue to amaze me with how well you read with expression. I think that all three of you made a lot of progress today, and I am very excited that I have had the chance to work with you.
• I want to remind you to be sure to try and read with expression no matter what text you are reading. It is easy to be reminded to read with expression when you have a Reader's Theater text in front of you, but you can use what you have learned the past few days to help you read with expression whenever you read.
• I know that you want to perform this play in front of the class, and I am very excited to let you do that. So, keep practicing your lines, and we'll try to perform sometime next week.
• Thank you for letting me work with you today! I hope that the rest of your day goes really well.
• On-Going Assessment:
• I plan on working with these students at least once more to get them prepared for performing in front of the entire class. I will pay attention to how much expression they use during these practice times, and also time them occasionally to see how those times compare to the ones that I have taken in this lesson and the previous one.
• Again, I work with Adam frequently, so I will be able to informally assess the way that he reads. Hopefully I will notice a difference in the way that he phrases the text of the stories that he reads.
• Adaptations:
• Having students write in the margins of their scripts to identify what kinds of emotions they are supposed to be enunciating will give them extra support as they read through the script together.
• Since the students will be evaluating themselves privately, there will be no social stigma from the others based on what rating is given. This will help them pay attention to the way that they are expressing themselves while also helping me evaluate their progress through their own self-evaluation.