Fun, phrasing and fluency time with Easter Rhythm and Rhyme!

It's almost Easter, and I find myself having one of those teacher déjà vu moments from last fall.

Thanksgiving had passed and Halloween was on the horizon. The seasons were changing. Students were settled into their classrooms and routines, and these troops were getting restless. I could hear it their robotic reading. Things needed a little shaking up.  Sound famililar?

 

Do your kiddies have ants in their pants? Mine definitely do - unless they're moving at a snail's pace...

The snow has melted into mud and the kiddies are confined to the asphalt at recess. Transitions are taking double time, and some have started reading at a painfully slow, flat and monotone rate. We need some perking up!

Reflecting on last fall, we're going back to what worked and heading into a Fun, Fluency Blitz! This idea hails from the Reading Recovery world, where I was fortunate to spend eight wonderful years!

There were times that a student would plateau at a a level for more than a week, when normally our students moved up one reading level per week. One solution for this was to take two or three lessons for a phrasing and fluency blitz - rereading some familiar, easier books to rebuild confidence. Many of our students' favorites were readers that rhymed and had a rhythm to them.

I have used the The Bunny Hop Easter Song and Movement Activity (freebie) in Kindergarten poetry books as a music and movement activity. Add in some bunny ears from the dollar store, a cotton ball and a bit of tape, and you've got dramatic play!  It works particularly well if used first as a music and movement activity, before showing early readers the text. With the song being already familiar to them, they will find success when guided through reading the text. The familiar language and rhyme will project them forward.

 Last fall's fix-it was Five Hallowe'en Friends on the Wall - but that is another post for another day. (I will tell you that one of little friends with autism still sings it as he readies himself for recess.) That book was the first of my Fun, Fluency Readers.

The success of these Fun, Fluency Readers lies in the fun and humor of them, their ability to get into our heads (and of course, our students') so that the phrasing is easy and fluency comes naturally.

My latest Fun Fluency Reader was modeled after that famous song performed by Meghan Trainor, co-written by Meghan Trainor and Kevin Kadish, I'm All About the Bass, and it is for Easter!  Written to encourage fluent reading, motivate reading through humor and to introduce subtext, It's All About the Eggs stars an adorable bunny singing about chocolate easter eggs. Every great story has its villain, however. Not everyone is as chocolate-crazed as this bunny.

It's All About the Eggs is currently discounted because I have not yet had the chance to create a black and white version. It will be added over the summer, so anyone who purchases this book now will be simply be able to obtain the black and white copy with an update from their TpT My Purchases page at no extra cost for use in future years.

The Bunny Hop Easter Song, Movement Activity and Coloring sheet is a forever freebie - a color poster with a black and white version for the kids to color and take home, to read and sing with, and hang on the fridge for decor!

What is your favorite thing to put into Easter baskets? Are you a chocoholic like our little bunny friend? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!  Here's mine. 

Be sure to check out the links below, and visit me on TpT,  my website and Pinterest! Happy Easter everyone!
That Fun Reading Teacher

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