Reading Rockstar
Benefield Reading Recovery News
So, what are you doing in there?
Let's get moving! At this time, we have the child go to the board for letter/word work. This allows the child to stand, as many of them are getting wiggly by now. We start by working with known letters and words only, then move to learning new letters and words. We sort letters and build words (The book, Word Solvers is a fantastic resource!) When the child is ready, we show them how to break words (play - ing, c - an), and how to manipulate words ("I can take a word I know, and make a new word." day and play, cat and can). This portion is 2-3 minutes.
Let's talk! Now it's time to have a brief conversation with the child. This can be about the book they read, or about their day. This part of the lesson is VERY important because it helps the child to build oral language fluency! At the end of the conversation, the child composes the story.
Ready, set, write! Now the child writes his message, with the assistance of the teacher. We use many strategies to get to unknown words, like clapping the parts, Elkonin Boxes, and analogies.
Just cutting up! The teacher writes the story on a strip and cuts it into parts for the child to reassemble. This allows the child to see spacing between words, locate words by using initial sounds, and practice phrasing. This goes in an envelope to take home for homework.
In with the new! Now it's time to read the new book. This book was chosen especially for the child, and the opportunities it provides.The teacher gives a 3 phrase gist of the story (go ahead and give away the ending!). Then the teacher does a book orientation to "debug" the book for the child. We have the child locate known and unknown words and rehearse tricky languages structures ("Away you go!") Who says that? Now, the child is on his way back to you! We try to move the child one level a week, to stay within the child's Zone of Proximal Development, so if you haven't heard from your Reading Recovery teacher about levels in a few weeks, please ask!Thanks for supporting our Rockstar Readers in your room everyday!