Thinking Aloud in a Fluency Lesson

Julie Turner: So boys and girls, we've been reading this book, "Fish in a Tree," and now we're on Chapter 22.

Narrator: Reading fluency is the gateway to comprehension, and today, Julie Turner is using Think-Alouds to show her third graders exactly how that works. Watch as she narrates her thinking process out loud while they work through the text.

Julie Turner: First, we're going to work on our fluency. When we work on our fluency, we want to make sure that we're saying all of the words correctly because if we're not saying the words correctly, we won't understand what the story means. We also want to have a good rate or a good speed that we're reading. We don't ... want ... to ... read ... too ... slowly, because if we read too slowly, by the time you get to the end of the sentence, you won't remember what happened at the beginning of the sentence. [speaking quickly] But we also don't want to read really, really fast, because when you're reading really fast, then you're not really paying attention to how the words are going. You're just saying the words really fast and you're not really thinking about it. [speaking normally] So we have to go at just the right speed. And most importantly, when we're reading, we want to understand what we're reading. We have to check in with our brains every once in a while and if it doesn't make sense while we're reading, then we'll have to go back and reread part of it.

Narrator: Ms. Turner begins by modeling fluent reading.

Julie Turner: Can I have everybody open up to page 119 and get ready to read, "No Way to Treat a Queen?"

"Later, I try to call Albert, but a recording says that the number is no longer in service, and I worry that he had to move away or something. When I see him at school on Monday, I am so relieved. I run up to him. 'Albert, is it true that if you touch a butterfly's wings, you keep it from flying ever again? Basically, kill it?'"

Narrator: Next, it's the students' turn.

Julie Turner: Suhanya.

Suhanya: "'A rather curious question for such a cold day. In temperatures such as these — 'Albert! Just tell me. Yes or no.'"

Julie Turner: Thank you, Suhanya. Boys and girls, Suhanya read that with such great expression.

Narrator: Ms. Turner pauses here to name what's happening: a reader who uses expression — the correct tone, pace, and emphasis to match the text — is showing comprehension out loud.

Julie Turner: It's really important that when we're reading, especially quotes, that we read it the way that the person would've said it. So I'm going to say, in my best Academy Award-winning voice, how I think Allie would've said it. And I want you to repeat it in your Academy Award-winning voice. Are you ready?

Students: Yes.

Julie Turner: All right. So repeat after me: "Albert, just tell me! Yes or no."

Students: "Albert, just tell me! Yes or no."

Julie Turner: All right. Jane, go ahead.

Jane: "The powdery residue on their wings is actually scales. They shed these scales on a regular basis, so merely touching them is okay. You only injure the butterfly if its wings are torn."

Julie Turner: Thank you, Jane. That's a lot of technical jargon there, so I want to make sure that we were following it. Albert says, "They shed these scales on a regular basis." Can everyone point to that sentence? "They shed their scales on a regular basis,"?

Narrator: Ms. Turner stops here to think aloud, unpacking the sentence piece by piece using function questions — "Who or what?" "Did what?" "When?" "Where?" and "Why?" — to model how readers can make meaning from even a single sentence.

Julie Turner: Who or what are they talking about in that sentence?

Students: The butterflies.

Julie Turner: And the butterflies did what?

Students: Shed their scales.

Julie Turner: And when did they shed their scales?

Students: On a regular basis.

Julie Turner: Thank you. Kailei.

Kailei: "'Purple is the color of royalty,' Albert tells Shay. 'Yes. Yes it is.' Her voice is singsongy and makes ... and makes me wish she'd go eat paste. 'You two are just so un-cowth [sic].' She turns to me. 'I bet Ally doesn't even know what the word un-cowth [sic] even means.'"

Narrator: It would be impossible to prep students for every unfamiliar word that may appear in a chapter book. So Ms. Turner uses the word uncouth as a teaching moment. She'll show how to decode the word and how to investigate what it means using context.

Julie Turner: I want you to pause there. Let's take a look at that new word — U-N-C-O-U-T-H. 'ou' says what sound in the middle of a word?

Student: /ow/ or /o͞o/

Julie Turner: Okay, so let's use the /o͞o/ sound and you say that word one more time: Uncouth.

Student: Uncouth.

Julie Turner: I see that they've used the word uncouth twice so far, and I don't really know what it means, but as I skim and scan, they keep using it. I want to keep reading a little bit more to see if I can build some context and figure out what it means without having to look it up. Bobbi, can you continue reading for us?

Bobbi: "'I know what uncouth means,' Albert says. 'I know something else, too. Only an uncouth person would wear snail snot.' She looks at us like we're wearing it. 'You say purple is the color of royals,' he says. 'They only wear [sic] purple because it's ... it was the most difficult and expensive color to make.'"

Julie Turner: Thank you, Bobbi. All right. When we look at that word uncouth, — "Only an uncouth person would wear snail snot." What kind of person would wear snail snot? Let's figure it out without using that new vocabulary word "uncouth." How would you describe a person that would wear snail snot without using that word uncouth? Avi?

Avi: Maybe gross or disgusting.

Julie Turner: Gross or disgusting? Okay. So uncouth means like someone with bad manners. Someone who's a little bit gross. Maybe they use their shirt to wipe their face after lunch instead of using a napkin, or they sneeze out into the open instead of sneezing in the corner.

Narrator: Ms. Turner reads the next section out loud herself, allowing students to follow along and focus on what is happening in the story.

Julie Turner: "Monday is vocabulary day when Mr. Daniels goes over the new words for the week. As far as reading lessons go, this isn't so bad. All I have to do is listen as he tells us the word's meaning, and I can usually remember it because I make mind movies about each one and that helps me remember. I've always had one important rule in the classroom, which is to try to lie low. If I'm called upon, I'll say, 'I don't know,' even if I do. I discovered that giving a teacher an answer makes them expect more from me, and then everyone gets disappointed. If they never get an answer from me, they stop talking." So now what I want you to do is turn and talk to your neighbor and talk about what happened in that part of the story. What was that about?

Student: [students talking]

Julie Turner: Do you think she really does know the answers?

Student: Yes.

Julie Turner: How do you know?

Student: She didn't. She didn't tear its wings. Lie low and not answer as much so she doesn't have to do, like, the words and stuff?

Julie Turner: Okay, boys and girls. So I heard the same word over and over. I heard it from Jacob and Jane. I heard it from Chase and Lennox. I heard it from Ellison, Bobbi, and Amy. You guys said that she would lay low. What does that mean if she's laying low and why would she do that?

Student: She doesn't want to get called on.

Julie Turner: Okay. Hadley, tell me more.

Hadley: Because sometimes she knows the answer depending on the question, but sometimes she doesn't. So even if she knows the answer, she just doesn't want to get called on because she knows that the teacher's just going to keep calling on her if she answers one question.

Julie Turner: You're exactly right.

Narrator: The final step of the lesson is rereading the passage Ms. Turner just read out loud as a group.

Julie Turner: Ready? Go.

Together: "Monday is vocabulary day, when Mr. Daniels goes over the new words for the week."

Narrator: This is a powerful strategy. It allows students to practice fluency together, supported by their classmates' voices.

Julie Turner: Before we finish up today, I want to remind you the good things that you guys as readers just did. And when you're reading not only this book, but when you're reading other books in class, or when you're reading on your own, you have to still do those things. So we need to practice all of these things. We need to practice reading at the right speed. We need to practice new vocabulary words and figure out what those words mean. We need to say the words correctly, and we need to pause and make sure that we've understood what we just read before we keep going. So give yourselves a pat on the back. Kiss your brain.

Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillen Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the AFT; the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; and anonymous donors. Special thanks to the Burgess-Peterson Academy, Reading is Essential for All People, and Atlantic Public Schools. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, @RUTeaching. Reading Universe is a service of WETA Washington, D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.