Lost and Found

Have you ever misplaced something, thought you might have lost it? You look everywhere for it, tell people so they can look for it, too? Recently, two things come to mind: my pen, and a Fluency Reading lessons book with transparencies.

First, the pen disappeared about three weeks ago. It was a champagne colored Cross pen, slender, with a satin finish. I bought the pen three years ago at Office Depot one day as a way to treat myself.

I love pens, I love to write, but this was more than an ordinary pen. It was distinctive and sleek, and the way the metal barrel smoothly twisted to expose the pen tip was a pleasant change from the ususal plastic clicker pens. It felt comfortable in my hands, rested nicely against my fingertips when I held it in writing position, and it fit perfectly in my wallet without adding any additional bulk.

It might have fallen out of my purse while I was shopping at WalMart or who knows where. I looked in my car for it, in the trunk, under the seats, in the door pockets. I searched the pockets of my jackets and sweaters, skirts, and coats. I've checked all the bags I carry to school or church, canvas, corduroy, leather, or weave. I asked people at church to keep an eye out for a lost white pen, or off-white. The pen has not shown up.

The fluency book is one I purchased at an educators workshop. I had not begun using it for my reading class until recently, about two weeks ago. It took me awhile to figure out how I could fit the lessons into my already full Wilson reading class, but as I pondered the importance of fluency, I decided I could set aside one day a week to work on fluency after spending three to four days on decoding skills.

I had given the kids each a copy of the reading passage from the first lesson. I modeled reading it fluently, and I explained the three components of fluency (rate, intonation, and emphasis). Then, we did an echo reading of the entire passage. That's where I read one line, they read the same line and try to copy my rate, intonation and emphasis on words. After an echo reading, we read it together as a group, and then I listened them read it individually. Then I sent them home with their copy to practice reading out loud each night. I told them that on Friday they would read their passage to the class, and I would give them a score for each of rate, intonation, and emphasis. I didn't know how well they would take to this extra homework, but they actually seemed to like having it.

By the following Friday, they returned to class. I had made extra copies of the passage for those who forgot to bring theirs back. After their spelling test, we began the readings. They were so serious! I asked them to stand at the front of the class to read their passage, and to read with confidence. I asked for volunteers... several wanted to go first! That surprised me. The smiles as they were called to take their turn at the front of the room to demonstrate their good reading skills was amazing... they haven't smiled that much about their reading in a long time.

Well, needless to say, these kids stood up and read their passages with near perfect fluency. Their intonations made them sound like they were speaking expressively, not reading one word at a time. Emphasis gave some words more importance than others, and the increased rate guaranteed fluidity as one sentence gave way to the next. They were reading fluently!! Spontaneous clapping erupted as each child finished reading his/her passage (2 paragraphs). One boy, who is struggling at a 2nd grade level, read as well as the best reader in the class, and when he finished, another boy whistled his approval.

They wanted to do it again, so the following Monday, I gave them another passage, about tornadoes, and they did the same thing. I modeled, they practiced echo, group, then individual, took it home to practice every night, then came in and read it out loud to the class on Friday.

Then, I lost the book. I looked everywhere for it. I didn't know what I was going to tell the kids after their long break over the MLK weekend. I sent an email to all the teachers asking them to see if they may have accidentally picked it up from the work room where we make all of our copies. I might have left it in there one day after making copies of one of the passages.  Throughout the week, teachers have stopped me in the hallways and at lunch to ask me if I found my book. Those I talked to promised to keep their eyes open for me.

I searched my own classroom several times over, examining closely folders, notebooks, and shelves. I looked in all the obvious places, then in the not so obvious places, like the bathroom, the library, my car.

Today, I told  my students that I could not find the fluency lesson book. Several kids let out a mild cry of dismay! No! Mrs. G do you mean we can't do that any more? I told them I could find other passages, I had other resources, and we would start next week. Kids, you'd think that only one book, THAT book was the only book I could use. I told them to get over it, and then we began a decoding lesson.

After school, while looking for something else in and amongst the notebooks on my bookshelf in the classroom, where I had already searched at least a dozen times earlier, guess what I found? The fluency book with all my transparencies, and the copies of passages I had made for the next three weeks! I was thrilled, to say the least. Now I don't have to make up my own materials (which takes more time than using already prepared materials), and I'll be able to continue the focus on fluency with ease.

Now, if only the pen would reappear like the book did!