Reading Strategies Notebook

February 17, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section One: Reading Strategies #

comprehension #2-4

vocabulary #5-6

fluency #7-8

phonics #9-10

phonemic awareness #11-13

Section two: tips for parents #

comprehension #14

vocabulary #14-15

fluency #15

phonics #15-16

phonemic awareness #16

section three: management strategies #

strategy one #17

strategy two #17

Strategy Three #17

Section One: Reading Strategies

Comprehension:

Strategy One: Making Predictions- This strategy will help students be able to think beyond what they already know. They are able to make guesses on what will happen in the story they are reading. They can compare what they predict to what happens. This will provide a working memory for future predictions. They have created a new schema to work from.

Activity for Making Predictions:

· KWL Chart- This is a chart that is divided into 3 columns. K-what I know, W-what I want to know & L- What I learned. This aids in comprehension by allowing the student to reflect on what they already know and then make a prediction based off prior knowledge on what may happen in the story. The last column reinforces what they learned.

More Activities for Predictions (Differentiated Instruction):

· Have students draw a picture of what they think will happen next. This is great for the more artistic students and those students who are just beginning to master writing.

· Book jacket predictions- give the students a paper with a picture of the cover of the book on it. Below the picture have them write what they think the book will be about.

Strategy Two: Making Connections- This is helpful in aiding comprehension because it gives the reader an opportunity to connect the text to their own personal experiences and experiences they have had with other texts.

Activity for Making Connections:

· Think-Pair-Share- This activity allows students to think individually about the given topic or texts, then pair up with a partner to compare and contrast thoughts, and then share combined thoughts and ideas with the class. This an excellent activity to learn to work cooperatively and to open students’ minds to other viewpoints.

More Activities for Making Connections (Differentiated Instruction):

· Personal connections sheet- Have students choose lines from the text that they found interesting or connected with. They will write these lines on one side of the sheet. On the other side of the sheet they will write why they connected with that particular line in the text.

· Illustration-Have students think about a similar situation they have experienced that relates to the text. Then have the students illustrate the experience. This will be a fun activity that you can also post in the classroom.

Strategy Three: Narrative Elements- This concept is very beneficial for readers. It helps students to understand the different parts of a story, different character types, setting, plot, and help with genre characteristics. These concepts are building blocks for understanding storylines.

Activity for Narrative Elements:

· Story Map- These are great way to have kids break down parts of the story. One activity is a graphic organizer that lists main parts of the story. The student fills in the bubbles with the appropriate information. They fill in the setting, characters, problem, and solution. This will help them physically see all the information together on one sheet. They can easily reference this to help understand the text better.

More Activities for Narrative Elements (Differentiated Instruction):

· Have the students write down traits they noticed about the character in the text in one column. In another column have them write down why they gave those traits to the character. Have them use lines in the story to solidify why they assigned that trait.

· Word wall: during whole class instruction use the word wall to identify words that describe the setting. Before reading the book aloud to the class have them listen for words that describe the setting. After reading the book the students will volunteer words they think describes the setting to go on the word wall.

Vocabulary:

Strategy One: High Frequency Words- This is beneficial to teach because it allows the reader to recognize these words without having to think about them. This allows them to focus more on comprehension. It also helps them to decode other words that have similar rimes and onsets.

· Creating sentences with high frequency words. In this activity students will be assigned three high frequency words. Their job is to create a sentence using the three high frequency words. This gives them practice reading and writing the word.

More activities for high frequency words (Differentiated Learning):

· Bingo: give all the children cards that contain common or high frequency words. They can use M&M’s to mark the card when you call a high frequency word on their card. This is a fun way to engage the students in recognizing these words.

· Word Boxes: Each student will collect their word box that they have been adding words to throughout the year. The words in these boxes are high frequency words they have come to know and recognize easily. Pair students off and have them review what is in their boxes. Ask them to find words they have in common. Ask them to break those words in common into categories like food, animals, and places. This is a good way to refresh their memory on words they have learned and they may learn a new word that their classmate had that they didn’t.

Strategy Two: Easy Readers and Rhyming Texts- Rhyme allows the reader the ability to notice patterns in words. Once they start learning rhymes they can decipher words that do not fit with that rhyme. This is the beginning of phonemic awareness. Rhymes help train the reader on sounds cues and differences.

· Read Aloud: During this activity the students will be read a book full of rhymes. After every line the students will be asked to identify the rhyming words. This is done in a whole class setting.

More activities for easy readers and Rhyming texts (Differentiated Learning):

· I say, You say: In this activity the children will have a pencil and their notebook in front of them. The activity goes as follows: Teacher: I say red, you say _____. The students will fill in a word of their choice that rhymes with red. This will help them to think of words without a visual cue. Allow appropriate time as it may take a minute for them to think of a word and get it written in their notebook.

· Easy Reader: Have students pick and easy reader book of their choice and read it. After they are done reading they are to draw a picture representing a scene in the book. It can be their favorite part of the book or whatever they found interesting.

Strategy Three: Teach About Context- Context is a helpful technique, but it must not be relied on too heavily. This skill is more beneficial for beginner readers that lack the skills to be able to decode words. They can use the surrounding text and pictures on the page to help guess what the word may be.

· Guess the Word: This activity is done in worksheet form. The students will read a sentence that has a word underlined. They must guess what that word means by examining the whole sentence. They should be able to determine what the word means by looking at the words around it. They will be given multiple choice answers to help guide them as well.

More Activities for Context (Differentiated Learning):

· Ask Questions/Logic: In this activity the teacher will write a sentence on the board. It will contain a word that most readers will not be familiar with. For example, take the following sentence: Bobby is hoping the fireman can extricate his cat who is stuck high in the tree. Here is where your prompt the students to ask questions to help decide what the word means. Why is the fireman there? Should the cat be in the tree? What does Bobby hope the fireman can do? They should respond with get the cat out of the tree. Now you can relate extricate and freeing or removing the cat from the tree. They used logic and questions to define the word.

· Antonyms and Synonyms: These are helpful concepts for children to learn because it lets them know the definition of the word just by reading the sentence. Synonyms are words that mean the same as the word they are unsure. Antonyms are the opposite of the unknown word. This will be done by explicit instruction in small groups. The teacher and the group will read sentences demonstrating antonyms and synonyms. They can discuss together what makes them similar and different.

Fluency:

Strategy One: Choral Reading- Choral reading allows the students to read aloud with the help of their classmates and the teacher. This helps them with pronunciation and gives them support on unfamiliar words. It also gives practice on common sight words.

· The class will all join in with the teacher in reading the text. This will help new and struggling readers feel more comfortable reading aloud. They will not have the pressure of getting a word wrong in front of the class.

More activities for Choral Reading (Differentiated Instruction):

· Sing Along: A fun sing along like “The Bone Song” This is a fun, interactive way to increase fluency with the students. Have the class read the lyrics aloud. This will get them familiar with the lyrics before they sing it. You can also discuss where those bones in the body are located. The song is very easy to pick up and the students can also act out what the song is about. They are having fun, so there is no pressure to get every word right.

· Poem: In this activity the students will be sectioned off in groups. They will all be responsible for a certain section of the poem. They are given time to practice reading their part. The practice time also allows the students to learn to work together and help each other with words that might be unfamiliar. Once everyone is finished practicing the groups will read their section aloud.

Strategy Two: Paired Reading- Paired reading may be a more comfortable situation for a reader. They can practice reading with a classmate. This may be less intimidating than reading aloud with the whole class or with the teacher. Students may also be eager to help their classmate when they are struggling with a word. This gives both students exposure to reading skills learned. It also teaches them to work cooperatively. Give careful consideration to the pairings.

· Paired reading with an older student: Having a student read with an older student really is beneficial for all involved. The older student is learning how to be a leader and the younger student is getting reading instruction. The younger student will likely think it is cool to hang out with someone older and be more interested in learning to read.

More Activities for Paired Reading (Differentiated Instruction):

· Pair and Present: In this activity the paired students will read a text selection of their choice. They will discuss what they like and disliked about the text. Then the pair will create a project describing what they learned. They can do a picture collage, a painting, drawing, etc… They can then present the artwork to the class.

· Guess Who: In this activity everyone will be reading the same story. The pairs will read together practicing their fluency. They are also given specific instruction to pay close attention to the characters and what they are like. Each student in the pair will pick a character to write descriptive details about. They are not to tell their partner who they chose. They will choose words from the text and words they personally think describes the character. Once the lists are compiled one student will name descriptive words on the list and their partner must try to guess who they picked. Then they will swap and the other person must guess.

Strategy Three: Reader’s Theater - This strategy actively involves the readers. They will enjoy being able to act out what they have learned from the script. The script should be read aloud and individually read by the students. Once every student is familiar with the script and the meaning being conveyed then parts can be chosen for them to act out. The purpose is not to memorize, but to learn to read and speak with expression and meaning.

· This activity will stretch over a few days to a week. The teacher reads aloud the script to familiarize the students with the story. Then the students will get a copy to follow along with the teacher. This time the teacher will focus on reading with emphasis and reading with personality to fit the script. The students are then instructed to read the script individually and practice the lines putting their spin on the characters.

· The teacher now assigns parts to the students. They will begin to rehearse their lines and how they want to act out their parts. Really encourage the students to get into character and use a lot of expression.

· Performance Day: On performance day the students will put the final touches on the performance and do a rehearsal. Invite other classrooms or parents to come view the performance. Also, you can record it to post on a classroom blog for parents and family members to see.

Additional Activity for Reader’s Theater (Extension): Have the students bring in a plain white t-shirt. Have them decorate it by drawing, writing, and attaching pictures to it. They can put things like their character name on it and things that represent that character. This will really have them focus in on the qualities and characteristics of the character.

Phonics:

Strategy One: Onset Instruction: This strategy helps students focus on the first letter(s) of a word preceding the rime. This allows them to focus on the initial sound. Readers can then look at a picture and guess what that word might be.

· Word Wall: This activity is whole group instruction. We will talk about the first letter in a word and focus on the sound it makes. We will start with the rime /at/. We will run through the alphabet seeing which words fit with that rime. Careful attention will be paid to how that initial sound (onset) is pronounced.

More activities for Onset Instruction (Differentiated Instruction):

· Letter Squares: Give each student 7 index cards. Have them cut each card into 4 squares. On each square they will write a letter of the alphabet until all letters are written. Each student will be given a rime. They are to use their letter squares to make as many words as possible. They will write only real words they create on their paper. Ask the students to really focus on the initial sound to hear if it creates a word that makes sense.

· Roll A Word: This activity is done in groups. Each group will have 3 dice that have letters on every side. Group members will take turns rolling the dice. As a group they will determine if the exposed letters can form a real word or words. They will have a dry erase board that has two columns-real words and nonsense words. They will write any real words on the board in the column and they can make up their own nonsense word if the dice do not make a real word.

Strategy Two: Elongating Sounds: Elongating the sounds allows the reader to really hear all the sounds in the word. After elongating the words they can combine them at a faster pace and pronounce the word.

· Sound Take Away: This will be a whole class instruction activity. You will practice really nailing down that letter sound and elongating it. Take the word fish, you would say f-f-f-f-fish. Then repeat just the rime /ish/. Have the students repeat the rime. Ask the children if they can recognize what letter was taken away (from the rime). This activity will help them isolate sounds.

Additional Activities for Elongating Sounds:

· Students will be placed in groups. They will be given several cards with different pictures on them. The students will be given a letter sound. They must find all the pictures on the cards that match that sound. For example, the H sounds as in hat. They must sound out all the pictures on the cards to see if they match.

Strategy Three: Pattern Knowledge: Pattern knowledge helps students decode words of similar structure. For example, the common rime pattern /at/ allows students to interchange the onset or consonant to form a new word. This will help them be able to recognize similar words much more quickly.

· Yes or No: This activity is done in whole class instruction. Students will have a green circle on a popsicle stick and a red circle on a popsicle stick. Green represents yes and red no. The teacher will introduce the rime /it/. There will list of words on the projector. One by one the teacher will uncover the words on the list. After each word she will ask if this word fits the pattern of the /it/ rime. They are to hold up their red or green circle to indicate their answer.

· Long and Short Vowel Sort: In this activity students will be given a worksheet with some words with long e sounds and some with short e sounds. The words will also have a picture to the side of them. In the blank to the side the student must denote whether it is a long or short sound by writing long or short in the blank.

Phonemic Awareness:

Strategy One: Phoneme Isolation- This skill teaches children to identify where the sound comes from in a word. Whether the letter be at the beginning middle or end. The more advanced readers become in this skill the easier reading will become.

· Salty and Sweet: This activity is done in small groups, so you can really monitor if the students are correctly answering the question. Each group member will get 2 paper cups. They are to write a “B” on one and a “E” on the other. These represent beginning and ending. You will have a pile of pretzels sticks and a pile of M&M’s. If the sounds comes at the beginning they put a pretzel in the “B” cup. If it comes at the end they will put an M&M in the “E” cup. For example, ask the students where the /g/ sound is in the word “pig”. Make sure to enunciate the /g/ sound. The monitor very closely that the students are choosing the right cup.

More Activities for Phoneme Isolation (Differentiated Instruction):

· Which Sound? In this activity children will work individually. They will be given a worksheet that has several pictures on it. Under each picture the student will be asked, “Which sound does the picture start with?” Makes this a multiple choice option. Giving options will encourage the students to try out all the options. This gives them practice making those sounds as well as recognizing words that do not make sense. Example, they see a picture of a fish. Give multiple choice options of /hhhhhh-ish/, /kkkkk-ish/, and /f/f/f/f/f-ish/

· Word Scramble: In this activity you need to keep the words short and simple. I encourage group work until the students become more skilled at this concept. This practices the CVC format helping students understand where in a word that letter sound is being made. Beginning, middle, or end. Give words that are pretty familiar to the group to start with. Have magnetic letters at the table because they are easily moved around. Scramble the letters in “cat” Make the letters form “tca” Ask the children to sound out all the letters. Have them move the letters around to see if it spells something they are familiar with. If they struggle, give a clue. You can say it is an animal and it meows. Scaffold them until they are able to guess. Once they complete the order you can reinforce that the /t/ belongs at the end not the beginning. This is a higher level skill, so make sure you are there to assist the groups.

Strategy Two: Segmenting - This is a more challenging skill for beginner readers. It will take a lot of experience to nail down this technique. Being able to segment words or break them down is a critical element in reading. This helps with decoding.

· Sound Squares: In this activity the students will be given a worksheet that a picture of a something they will easily recognize like a dog. Out beside the dog will be three squares to represent the three sounds in dog. /d/ /o/ /g/. The teacher will be there to model how to break the sounds up.

Additional Activities (Differentiated Instruction):

· Rubber Band: Students will all be given a rubber band for this activity. It would behoove you to explain that they are not to play around with the rubber bands. If you don’t you may have rubber bands flying about everywhere! They need to focus and take this time seriously. You will demonstrate how to stretch a word using the rubber band. This gives them a visual representation. For the word “cat”, you would say ccccccc while stretching the band, then aaaaaa while stretching it further, and finishing with tttttt with the rubber band stretched to its max. Then you will let the rubber band return to regular size and say “cat” quickly.

· CVC Train: This will help children practice their sounds and realize there is a beginning, middle, and end to a word. This helps them segment the word into sections. Have children look on the board at a picture of a train. It will have the engine, passenger car, and caboose. Use the “hat” to demonstrate where the letters fit on the train. Say consonant hhhhhh, vowel aaaaa, and consonant ttttt. Using CVC have the students tell you where on the train the letters should go. H in the engine, A in the passenger car, and T in the caboose. Do this with a couple words to help model the correct way of placing the letters and sounds in the CVC pattern. Then split the students into groups and give them a list of words that has a train beside every word. Have them place the letters of each word in the correct compartment of the train.

Strategy Three- Emphasize Phoneme Sound - This teaches children how their mouth should be shaped when pronouncing that sound. Finding ways to connect the sound to something the reader can understand or would be interested in will help them internalize the information.

· Odd Word Out: This activity will have four objects grouped together. Three will have the phoneme sound being practiced. For example, the phoneme /p/ sound. You could have a popsicle, pear, pineapple, and an apple. Have the students name all the objects. Emphasize the first sound when you repeat back the answer they gave. After you have reviewed the objects have the students write and draw their answer down on a piece of paper. Call the objects out one by one. Instruct the students to hold their paper up when you call the object they think doesn’t belong. This is a quick way to see if the majority of the class has grasped this concept.

More Activities for Phoneme Sound (Differentiated Instruction):

· Which Doesn’t Belong: This activity is done in worksheet form. The children will be given a set of 10 questions. Each question will have three words that have a similar beginning sound and one word that doesn’t. The student must circle the one that doesn’t match. This builds on the previous activity providing more practice. It also is an extension of the above activity because it removes the mental image of the word. Children must sound these words out carefully to understand what they are.

· Name Game: In this activity the children will be seated in a circle. The teacher will start by saying, What’s my name, what’s my name? Listen to me say it and see if you can do the same. JJJJJJJJennifer! Give them time to echo. Then one by one go around the circle and have the students repeat what you did using their name.

Section Two:

cOMPREHENSION

VOCABULARY

FLUENCY

PHONICS

PHONEMIC AWARENESS

Section Three: Management Strategies

Strategy One: Kid Watch or Observe: This management strategy can be much more effective than using a test to measure what the children know. You are able to watch the students and see where they are struggling. You can also observe what skills they are strong in. Observation can also help you to see what interests the student. You can see what style of learning they seem to enjoy as well. You can see how they function while working in groups. Observation is a very critical tool that should be utilized.

Strategy Two: Teach Routine: Children thrive on routine. They know what to expect, so they can mentally prepare for the upcoming activity. Children also learn automaticity by repeating a skill or activity. The more they are exposed to something the more chance it will stick with them. You want to make reading as fluent as possible. Repeated routine will also help ease any anxiety that might be caused by something new being introduced. I am not saying you shouldn’t teach new skills, but keep things on a familiar level. Demonstrate new skills in an arena they are comfortable in.

Strategy Three: Build Positive Relationships: You want your students to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts with you. Be sure to continually encourage the students when reading. Praise them when they reach new milestones. Make sure you are giving positive reinforcement to students who are struggling with reading. You want them to know you are there to help them hone their skills and become fluent readers. If you seem aloof to some students they may not ask for help. You want to be an ally for your students. Really make an effort to build a relationship with each student. Pay attention to what they seem interested and build off that information.

References:

Graves, M. F., Juel, C., Graves, B.B., & Dewitz, P. (2011). Teaching Reading in the 21st Century: Motivating All Learners. (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson