Fluency Intervention Lesson Plan Template

Name: Mia Derse Grade Level: 6

Planning
State Learning Standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.3
Identify relevant grade level standards Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
and Learning Outcomes from the State
Content Learning Standards, Common
Core Standards, and school learning
outcomes.
Learning Targets/Objectives Lesson one—students will be able to use short pauses at punctuation marks (commas, dashes, colons, and
What should the students know or be semicolons) while reading aloud.
able to do after the instruction? Use a
common format with a measurable verb Lesson two—a) students will be able to use short pauses at punctuation marks (commas, dashes, colons, and
that matches the cognitive domain
standard. This should be a small piece of semicolons) while reading aloud. B) students will be able to coach their partner by giving feedback about their
the standard stated in measurable phrasing. This feedback will include complimenting areas of strength and pointing out areas that need
terms. improvement.

Grouping Lesson one—student will be working individually with the teacher. I chose to do this mini lesson individually
Describe how and why students will be because it will allow me to better meet the student’s needs. While I was doing the fluency assessment, I noticed
divided into groups, if applicable
that the child was rarely pausing at any of the punctuation marks throughout any of the sentences. This suggested
(homogeneous, heterogenous, random /
based on ability, interest, social to me that the student needed a more targeted practice with punctuation, rather than if the student was
purposes, etc.) sometimes pausing or sometimes not.

Lesson two—Students will start out the lesson in a small group so that the teacher can give the expectations and
model the activity. There will also be a small group guided practice to ensure that all students understand the
activity. This small group will be made up of students that all need some practice with their phrasing. This is
because such students will benefit from both practicing their phrasing and listening closely to another person’s
phrasing to look for strengths and areas of improvement. For the independent practice, students will be working
with a partner. They will take turns being the reader and the coach. The reader will read a section of the passage,
and then the coach will give feedback about their partner’s reading fluency. Students will alternate roles
throughout the activity.

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Differentiation Lesson one—the one-on-one nature of this lesson is one way that it is differentiated. By working with just one
If either or both lessons are whole class, student, I will be able to design my instruction to meet their needs better than if I were working with multiple
how is the lesson(s) differentiated for
students. Specifically, this lesson is designed to help improve the student’s phrasing, which is one of their
the focal student?
individualized needs based on the recent fluency assessment. Further, we will be using a text that the student is
already familiar with from past lessons. This will help the student to focus more closely on their phrasing because
they will not have to focus as much on any unfamiliar words, or get distracted by wondering what will happen next
in the story.

Lesson two—the partner practice and turn and talks during the lesson are a low-stress way for students to practice
the material. This is especially helpful for students who are learning English, as well for students who may be shy or
otherwise nervous to share ideas with the entire group. Also, the prompt sheet will help to stimulate the
conversation as students are working with their partners. It will also help to remind students of the aspects of
fluency they are working on (i.e. pausing at punctuation marks). Finally, as with lesson one, this lesson is based
specifically on the students’ needs, as identified from the fluency assessment. Although this lesson is with a small
group of students instead of just the individual student, I planned it to incorporate other students who also showed
that they needed more practice with phrasing.

Assessment
Assessment Lesson one—because I am working one-on-one with the student for this lesson, I will be listening as they read The
How will students demonstrate that the Elevator. Specifically, I will be looking for whether or not the student is pausing at punctuation marks within
focal student is making progress in
toward their fluency goals? sentences (commas, dashes, colons, and semicolons), as relates to the lesson objective. I will also make note on the
improvements that the student makes during the lesson (i.e. incorporating more appropriate pauses as the lesson
continues, whether or not the student is self-correcting when they forget a pause, etc.).

Lesson two—as students are reading with their partners, the teacher will walk around to listen to students, both as
they are reading and giving feedback. The teacher will make notes on a notepad to refer back to. The teacher will
be looking for whether or not students are making appropriate pauses at punctuation marks (objective one), and
also whether or not students are providing appropriate and accurate feedback to their partners. For instance, are
they accurately identifying a good pause that their partner had, or identifying a punctuation mark that their partner
should have paused at, but didn’t? (objective 2). This will give the teacher information on whether or not the focal
student is developing in their phrasing, as well as the other students in the small group.

Instruction

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Minilesson One 1. Introduction Our goal this week is to focus on our phrasing while we read. Now that you are reading books with
1. Introduction (including setting longer, more complicated sentences, chances are you will find some punctuation in the middle of the sentence—
expectations and establishing
procedures and instructions) not just at the end. These commas, dashes, colons, and semicolons (teacher will show an example of each as he/she
2. Activate/Connect To Prior names them) are there to help you read the sentences. Today you will be reading part of The Elevator. While you
Knowledge read, I want you to focus on making pauses at these punctuation marks. I will model these pauses first; then, we
3. Fluency Activity (including
modeled, guided, and independent will work together to find spots for pauses before you try it by yourself.
practice, as needed)
2. Activate/Connect to prior knowledge: Ask student what it means to use phrasing when they read. If necessary,
prompt by asking, “What does it mean to make our reading sound like a conversation?” (this is something that has
been discussed previously in small/whole group). Responses might include not rushing, making pauses to make it
sound more natural, and so on. Relate to activity by saying that today we will be using pauses at different
punctuation marks to make our sentences sound like normal conversation.

3. Fluency Activity:

Modeled—I will read aloud the first paragraph of the text. Before I start, I will explain that as I read, I will look
ahead for any punctuation marks in the sentence. I am looking for commas, dashes, colons, or semicolons (again
point to the pictures of the punctuation marks as you name them). For instance, I will point out that I am noticing a
colon in the first sentence. This is a punctuation mark in the middle of the sentence, so I will pause there. I will read
the sentence to demonstrate this pause. Again before the second sentence, I will point out the two dashes, and
repeat the same process.

Guided—move on to next section of the text. Before reading the first sentence, ask the student if there are any
punctuation marks in this sentence where we should take a break. Have the student use a highlighter to mark the
punctuation marks. Use prompts such as, “Where will you read up to before pausing?” and, “Do you see any
punctuation in the middle of the sentence?” Read the second paragraph together, both pausing at the punctuation
marks. If the student is quickly getting the hang of picking out the punctuation marks, you can speed up the process
and add an extra challenge by reading aloud (the teacher), while the student looks ahead for punctuation marks in
the sentence. Instruct student to make a signal when you get to a punctuation mark where you should pause (i.e.
put your hand out in “stop” motion). Including this second step will depend on the student’s comfort level,
however.

Independent—after reading the second paragraph, have the student read aloud on their own, stopping at
punctuation marks within the sentences. Depending on the student’s comfort level, you may start by having the
student pre-read by highlighting the punctuation marks, and then read aloud making the appropriate pauses. As the

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 student reads, give prompts as necessary such as, “I noticed you paused at the comma,” “The way you read that
matched the punctuation on the page,” or, “Look ahead to the next punctuation mark.” This independent section is
where most of the assessment will happen. After student has finished the passage, wrap up by summarizing that
today we practiced pausing at punctuation marks within sentences, such as commas, dashes, colons, and
semicolons. Note that these pauses are something that the student can incorporate whenever they are reading a
text. Note that in the coming days they will be practicing these pauses during some partner activities.

Minilesson Two 1. Introduction—Tell students that today we will be practicing our phrasing while reading with a partner. When
1. Introduction (including setting working with our partner, we will take turns being the reader and the coach. The reader will read, and the coach
expectations and establishing
procedures and instructions) will give feedback on the partner’s phrasing. Our goal is to pay attention to pauses at punctuation marks—we want
2. Activate/Connect To Prior to use these pauses as we read out loud, and we also want to pay attention to how our partner is using these
Knowledge pauses. We will practice first together so that everyone understands the expectations, and then we will break into
3. Fluency Activity (including
modeled, guided, and independent pairs to read for about 15 minutes.
practice, as needed)
2. Activate/Connect to prior knowledge—Have students think back to their individual practice time with me the
day before (for my first minilesson I talked about working one-on-one with the student that I assessed for this
assignment, but I am planning this second lesson as if I implemented the first lesson multiple times with different
students). We were practicing our fluency and pausing at punctuation marks. Ask students to name/draw some of
the punctuation marks that we practiced pausing at. Transition to fluency activity by noting that we will practice
pausing at these punctuation marks again today, but this time we will be working with a partner and giving our
partner feedback.

3. Fluency activity (including modeled, guided, and independent practice, as needed)

Modeled—Demonstrate being the reader and the coach. To demonstrate being the reader, model much like the
first mini-lesson. Note that I am going to look for punctuation marks where I can make a pause (commas, dashes,
colons, semi-colons, periods). Verbalize the thought process of looking ahead with my eyes to see if there is a
punctuation mark coming up. Read two sentences from the text to demonstrate making these pauses. To model
being the reader, read the first sentence again, but intentionally miss one of the pauses. Note that as a coach, if I
listened to my partner read this I would want to tell them something good first. I could say, “I like how you paused
at the first comma—it made it sound like a conversation!” Also point out areas of improvement. For instance, “I
noticed that you missed a pause at the second comma—why don’t you go back and try that again?” Give students
list of prompts to help them.

Guided—Read several sentences from the text, one sentence at a time. Have a mix of good pauses and rushing

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 through some punctuation marks. After each sentence, give students time to discuss some possible feedback for
the teacher. Students can turn and talk to the person next to them, and then share with the entire small group.

Independent—students will break off and read with their partner for about 10-15 minutes. One pair may stay at the
table, but the other should move away slightly so the two pairs do not get distracted by each other. Students will
take turns being the reader and the coach (students can switch off every paragraph or two, depending on the
length of the paragraphs). They may take the list of prompts with them to assist in being the coach. As students are
reading, the teacher will sit and listen with each of the pairs to assess how well students are incorporating pauses at
punctuations marks while they read, as well as how well they are noticing the phrasing of their partner. Wrap up by
briefly bringing the two pairs back together so that they can discuss some of the things they were noticing about
phrasing. Sum up by saying that today we practiced using pauses at punctuation marks. We also practiced listening
closely to our partner’s phrasing and giving them helpful feedback. As we continue to read aloud during the week,
we can practice using pauses at punctuation marks to make our reading sound more like a conversation.

Instructional Materials, Lesson one: a printed copy of The Elevator by William Sleater, highlighters
Equipment and Technology
List equipment or technology that needs Lesson two: fluency chart (based off of the example in our Reading Strategies textbook), printed copies of The
to be available. Attach a copy of ALL Night the Ghost Got In by James Thurber
materials the teacher and students will
use during the lesson; e.g., handouts,
questions to answer, overheads,
PowerPoint slides, worksheets.

Fluency Partners
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Partners can help each other by listening and coaching. Take turns being the “reader” or the
“coach.”

Reader Coach
 Read aloud to your partner  Give feedback to your partner
 Remember to pause at punctuation  Compliment areas of strength
marks.  Point out areas that need improvement
 Try to make your reading sound like a
conversation.  Prompts:
o Go back and reread that
o Did you notice a punctuation mark
in that sentence?
o Nice job pausing at the comma!
o That pause made your reading
sound like a conversation!

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