More Round-Robin Reading Alternatives

1. Three-Ring Circus: Form three reading groups—Coaching Group, Independent Group,

Partner Group. Work with the Coaching Group by guiding them through the story. The other
two groups work on their own. Rotate groups each day so every student is in the Coaching
Group at least twice a week. Or, stop part way through the Coaching Group’s reading to circu-
late and “listen in” on the Partner Group and Independent Group.
2. Partner Reading: Develop a rotation of partner-reading options.
Take-Turn Days. Students alternate reading a paragraph or page at a time.
Ask-Question Days. Students read independently to a specified page, then stop to answer
questions posed by their partner.
Sticky-Note Days. Students read and post questions on self-sticking notes as they read.
You-Decide Days. Students choose how they want to read the selection.
3. Choral Reading: Students read the story aloud, in unison.This is best for poetry, plays, and
repetitive text.
4. Reader’s Theater: Students choose a passage from a selection and practice it until they are
ready to give a dramatic reading for the class.
Note: For additional ideas, see Goodbye Round Robin: 25 Effective Oral Reading Strategies (Michael
F. Opitz and Timothy V. Rasinski, Heinemann, 1998).

Lesson 11
...........h
Speed Drills
Speed drills build fluency because they help students rapidly recognize common syllables and
spelling patterns in multisyllabic words. And they’re fun!

You can use the speed-drill reproducibles (pages 57–67), which include examples of all the
spelling patterns as well as high-frequency words. And you can create your own drills using
the blank 50- and 100-word charts (pages 55 and 56). To gather words for your drills, draw
on the word lists that begin on page 75.
1. Distribute copies of the speed drill to students. Allow students two minutes to underline the
Building Fluency Scholastic Professional Books

target syllable or spelling pattern. For example, if the skill is words ending in consonant
+le, have students underline ble, cle, and ple in any words containing these common pat-
terns. If the skill is to recognize vowel teams, have them underline those letters.
2. When finished, have students use their speed-drill sheet to read the marked words. Help
students pronounce the common syllables or spelling patterns.
3. As an incentive, students may record their speed-drill scores on a chart (page 54). Have

52
 them record the score for each testing of the
speed drill. Work with each student to set indi-
vidual speed-drill goals—a set number of words
to read in a minute, for example.
Speed drills should cover the following six
common syllable spelling patterns:
1. closed: These syllables end in a consonant.
The vowel sound is generally short (examples:
rabbit, napkin).
2. open: These syllables end in a vowel. The vowel
sound is generally long (examples: tiger, pilot).
3. vowel-silent e: These syllables generally
represent long-vowel sounds (examples:
compete, decide).
4. vowel team: Many vowel sounds are spelled
with vowel digraphs such as ai, ay, ea, ee, oa, ow,
oo, oi, oy, ou, ie, and ei. The vowel digraphs, or
teams, appear in the same syllable (examples: boat, explain).
5. r-controlled: When a vowel is followed by r, the letter r affects the sound of the vowel.
The vowel and the r appear in the same syllable (examples: bird, turtle).
6. consonant + le: Usually when le appears at the end of a word and is preceded by a
consonant, the consonant + le form the final syllable (examples: table, little).

h Pu
h t I t I n to P r a i c e !
ct Tips for Creating Speed Drills
✓ Select skills with which your students need to develop automaticity (i.e., words containing a
specific phonics skill or irregular high-frequency words).
✓ Select either a 50-word or 100-word Speed-Drill form based on the age of your students. I
suggest using the 50-word drills for younger students or for newly-learned skills.
✓ Select 20–25 words to include on the speed drill. Write the words in random order, multiple
Building Fluency Scholastic Professional Books

times, on the speed-drill form. Make copies of the speed drill for students to use. (Note: For
some skills, you may not want to repeat any of the words or syllables, especially if the speed
drill covers review skills or multiple skills.)
✓ Allow students time to practice reading the words on the speed drills independently. Suggest
that they underline or highlight the target skill. For example, have students underline ee and ea
in all the long e words.

53
Name _______________________________________________ Date____________________
Consonant + le Syllable Speed Drill
Underline the consonant + le in each word. (The consonant + le appears in the same syllable.)
Then practice reading the words until you are ready to be timed.

bubble battle angle bridle apple

ankle double bottle bugle bundle

circle crinkle fable cattle eagle

fiddle maple dazzle marble gentle

giggle handle purple fizzle noble

kettle jungle kindle sample muzzle

pebble little shingle middle simple

puzzle rumble mantle single needle

steeple sparkle stubble rattle struggle

puddle temple sprinkle tumble settle

wiggle puddle uncle wrinkle title

saddle vehicle bubble double battle

fable bottle angle title cattle

eagle circle fiddle bundle handle

middle steeple marble apple gentle Building Fluency Scholastic Professional Books, page 64

rumble giggle tumble maple kettle

sample rattle needle uncle pebble

vehicle purple jungle little bridle

simple settle saddle single struggle

ankle stubble puzzle wrinkle wiggle

 Name _______________________________________________ Date____________________
High-Frequency Syllable Speed Drill
Practice reading the syllables until you are ready to be timed.

ing er ter tion re

ver ex bout com ple

un der num ble ment

ture est dis im fi

ture ing ment er bout

un ter com est der

ex dis ver ple re

ble im tion num fi

dis un ing ple ble

er num est ter ture

com ver bout re der

em ex tion ment fi

un er der dis ing

bout ter ture ment est

Building Fluency Scholastic Professional Books, page 65

im ble ex num com

tion re ver fi ple

ter ble er re un

ing fi dis der num

ment tion ple est ver

ture com ex bout im