CLASS THREE (July 12):   "Reading Strategies – Part One"

Lecture:  From word identification to comprehension: Fluency, Phonics and Spelling.   I

Class Three:  July 12 

 Reading:  Chap. 3 & 4   CMCM and Chap. 14 R&P 

**** PLEASE BRING R&P TEXTBOOK TO CLASS NEXT TIME (THURS. JULY 14)***

 -         New business:

1.     Everyone should have begun the Reading Logs.  There should be two entries corresponding to every class – the first after reading the chapter(s) before class, and then second, adding to that entry after the class discussion of the chapter(s).

2.     Please note the change in the Portfolio requirements:  Instead of choosing FIVE items from the list, you can now choose THREE only.  I still hope you will choose a variety of tasks and not all three from the same topic.  The purpose of doing these tasks is to encourage you to think about different aspects of teaching reading.  By all means choose what you are most interested in first, and then branch out a bit in the other tasks.

3.     Groups for Reading Lesson Presentations:  I’ve drawn up two options for groups that we can vote on.  The first is based on grade levels, the second on interests you expressed on the index cards I handed out.  In both cases I’ve tried to balance the groups in terms of those who have completed their practica and those about to go into it.  As you can imagine, it is impossible to make everyone happy, and I appreciate your flexibility.

-        Overview of today's class:   

These next two classes are among the most important in terms of building a foundation for the rest of the semester.  This is when we start to put some ideas into practice.  First, we will break into groups and do the lecture together, and then we will have a look at some primary educational magazines which we will use to do a practice lesson. 

1)     Lecture: 

n      We will break into groups and examine sections of chapters

n      Each group will discuss their section and then decide which member will take which sub-section

n      Each person will write a couple of key points on the group’s transparency

n      As a group, each member will lead the class in discussion of their portion. 

2)     Handouts:  to supplement material on Fluency, Word Recognition, etc. and more activities to develop specific reading skills. 

3)     Activity:  Magazines for practice lessons.  My Big Backyard and Ranger Rick.   Putting our knowledge to work.

I will assign partners for this lesson planning activity so we have a mix of those who have done 405 and those who are going to be doing it are together.

n      We will look at children’s’ magazines and think about how the material connects with ideas from our readings and discussion.

n      In partners, we will decide which parts of the magazine might be used to teach these reading strategies

n      Partners will brainstorm possible mini lessons could use the strategies we’ve learned

n      We will consult the lesson template and decide how it might be a starting point for our mini lesson

n      Partners will outline the lesson and then fill in the plan with details on activities, how to make the lesson multilevel and especially how the lesson will support struggling readers

n      Groups will present their lesson to the class 

Lecture from Your Transparencies

From Chapter Three:  Fluency is a bridge between word identification and comprehension.   It is the ability to identify words quickly and automatically.  To develop fluency, there should be lots of opportunities for reading and re-reading, especially easy books as well as practice in writing and reading. 

Children must learn to recognize and spell “high frequency” words – word walls are an excellent way to promote this.  Add approximately five new words per week.  Then, “if it’s on the wall, we have to spell it correctly”.  Also, these words can be learned through cue cards, or cutting up letters and asking students to reassemble the words, unscrambling words, fill in the blanks and highlighting words in “real” texts. 

With various types of repeated readings:  the first time, students identify the words; second time, they put phrases together in meaningful units; and the third time, they are asked to read faster and with more expression.

Echo reading:  One person reads, others repeat.  Read one sentence at a time.  First person stories are fun and it is also good for reading plays.

Choral reading:  Characters, phrases, verses are assigned to individuals or groups.   Practicing as a group helps fluency.

Taped readings/listening:  Child reads along.

Timed repeated readings:  After practicing silently, child reads to teacher.  Repeating this sequence will increase fluency.

Paired repeated readings:  Children take turns reading.

Cross age tutoring:  Buddy system benefits both older and younger readers. 

The more you read and write, the faster fluency increases.  Teachers and parents should schedule lots of time for reading.  Allow children to choose books at their level.  Encourage invented spelling; they become better at decoding words and will write more.   Independent reading helps them monitor themselves. 

Allow students to continue reading even if they make errors.  Later, draw their attention to sentences or phrases with the error and ask them to repeat the section.   Usually they will be able to self correct, which is more positive than being corrected by others.  If they continue to make the error, focus on the word and remind them of phonics or decoding strategies.  Help them to “figure it out” if possible. 

Aim for fluency in all subjects. 

From Chapter Four:  This chapter provides many activities to help children learn patterns that help decode and spell new words.

Children have to figure out pronunciation and meaning.  English is enriched by many other languages (Celtic, Scandinavian languages, French, Latin and Greek, among others!)  but the result is an inconsistency in letter sounds and spelling.  

Beginning readers need phonemic awareness, to know how sounds are represented by letters.  ABC books, songs, games as well as rhymes, chants, jingles, etc. help develop phonemic awareness.  Games/books that blend sounds, segment sounds and emphasize alliteration (onsets, beginning sounds) all help.

“M” is for Maple is a good ABC book.  Decoding strategy steps are shown on page 86. 

Through phonics, establish key words for sounds; i.e., A apple, B bear…  Allow children to choose the key word that works for them.  Create sound boxes.  Words that rhyme often have the same spelling patterns.  One way to build word knowledge is to “make words”.  By adding or changing a letter, students see they can make another word.   Students learn to use the words they already know to decode and spell other words. 

Strategies for decoding and spelling unknown words:  word sorting and hunting.  By sorting words into categories based on spelling and sound patterns, students can identify the word.  Comparing words:  What Looks Right?  Can determine the word by the arrangement of letters, or, when two words have the same sound, (plain, plane) the teacher can introduce the concept of homophones. 

Knowing morphemes helps with decoding multisyllabic words.  Look at roots, prefixes and suffixes for clues to meaning.  Students able to recognize patterns.  

From R&P Chapter 14:  (We didn’t have time to cover this chapter but I will add a few notes.  There were many overlaps here with the CMCM text but there are a few new ideas worth recording.)

After achieving word recognition accuracy, the next focus is fluency.  The teacher should model what fluency is:  speed, phrasing chunks, pauses, changes in volume and tone, and expression, which all lead to meaning.  

“Phrase boundaries” – an understanding of how to group words together in a sentence and where the emphasis lies.   Depending on how you read the following sentence will change the meaning:  The principal said the teacher was helpful.  Compare with punctuation,  “The principal,” said the teacher, “was helpful.”

Always choose texts that are easy when the focus is developing fluency.  Books with patterns, repetition and those that are predictable all help.  Series books work well for older students.

“Fluency Development Lesson” (FDL) follows the sequence:  Teacher reads the text to the students, students follow on their own copy.  Class discusses content, vocabulary and meaning.  Class reads chorally, in pairs and then the pairs perform for the class.  Students are praised for their reading.  Word activities follow.  Students take home texts to read to parents. 

Lesson Plans from Magazines (!) 

I must say that I was very impressed by every single person’s ability to pull together the material we covered in the lecture, add the lesson template and the considerations for phonemic awareness, decoding, spelling, vocabulary and fluency in the little time we had!  You not only found appropriate ways to use the material in the magazines but you were creative and found innovative ways to structure your lessons within the template.  Great work!