Reading Strategies And Tools For Beginning Readers

Start-to-Finish Literacy StartersReading Strategies and Toolsfor Beginning Readers Don Johnston Incorporated37 Teacher Guide

Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters38 Teacher Guide Don Johnston Incorporated

Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters Don Johnston IncorporatedIntervention Planning Tool39 Teacher Guide

Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters40 Teacher GuideIntervention Planning Tool Don Johnston Incorporated

Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters Don Johnston IncorporatedIntervention Planning Tool41 Teacher Guide

Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters42 Teacher GuideIntervention Planning Tool Don Johnston Incorporated

Start-to-Finish Literacy StartersBuilding VocabularyFour word cards are included with each of the books in the Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters series. At theEnrichment and Transitional levels, these word cards are intended to build oral language—particularlyvocabulary knowledge.Enrichment and Transitional Vocabulary The vocabulary words selected for the enrichment stories represent core concepts and ideas that have a particularmeaning in the story, but may have other meanings in other settings. The word cards are NEVER intended to be used in flash card drill and practice. Use the vocabulary cards to build a vocabulary wall in your room and encourage everyone who enters yourroom to find a word and relate it to something they know or have experienced. Categorize, sort, and complete activities that highlight connections among words. As you begin using new books, don’t abandon old vocabulary – continue to build on and use existing vocabularyas new words are added. Create webs and graphic organizers that relate the new words to experiences and vocabulary the beginningreaders already know. Some beginning readers will generate these related words over time with minimal support– adding them to the organizers. Other beginning readers will require support from their parents or caregivers,who can be asked to send in photos and other relevant items that might trigger associations for thebeginning readers.The word cards that are provided with the Conventional books serve a very different purpose from thosethat are provided with the Enrichment and Transitional books. The conventional word cards, like the booksthemselves, are aimed at building word identification skills. The words are carefully selected to ensure thatthe most frequently occurring words and words with the most common spelling patterns are representedacross the entire Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters series.Conventional Vocabulary Notice that the vocabulary cards do not focus on meaning, but support beginning readers in developing fluencyin word identification. Add these words to a classroom or personal word wall that continues to grow as beginning readers areintroduced to and read more conventional texts. When beginning readers encounter these high frequency words when reading or need support in spelling them,refer them to the word wall for support. Engage beginning readers in word wall activities every day that require them to spell the words letter-by-letter.The lesson format is: See the words Say the words Chant the words (clap, stomp, rock) Write the words and check them together with the teacher Don Johnston IncorporatedBuilding Vocabulary43 Teacher Guide

Start-to-Finish Literacy StartersAlways ActivitiesAll reading, regardless of the difficulty or type of text, should be purposeful. Each time you read with abeginning reader, you must set a clear purpose. State the purpose clearly by saying, “Read so that you can.”. Each time you read a book with your beginning reader(s), decide on ONE purpose for reading. Read each book several times, focusing on a different purpose for reading each time. Use the before, during and after reading activities for your chosen purpose for reading to motivatebeginning readers to read and re-read, building their reading skills with each reading. Select from the examples provided or develop your own purpose to match the type of textyour readers are reading.Purpose for ReadingBefore ReadingDuring ReadingAfter ReadingOnly ask beginning readers toAlways begin with somethingRemember that the reading orbeginning readers know very well. listening should take longer than the complete activities that directly relateto the specific reading purpose in thebefore and after activities.left column. Be explicit—alwaystell beginning readers the specificpurpose of their reading.Selecting aBook Title44 Teacher Guide Tell beginning readers,“Authors use titles to helpreaders know what ismost important inthe book.” Ask readers to identifysome of the titles of theirfavorite television shows,movies and books. Have them sort the titlesbased on whether theydescribe the place, aperson or some other partof the show, movie orbook. Tell beginning readers,“Here are three possibletitles for the book you’llread today. While youread, think about whichtitle you think is best.”Hint: As you pre p a retitles, make them allplausible. Remind beginningreaders that they shouldbe thinking about whichtitle is best whilethey read. Several times duringreading, look at the threepossible titles youpresented before readingand ask which title thebeginning readers thinkfits the story best at thattime. Be sure to talk aboutWHY they think aparticular title fits the book(for example: the book isabout this person or thes t o ry teaches us aboutplants, etc.).Always Activities Ask beginning readers toselect or vote on the besttitle. Then, compare thereaders’ title with thereal title. Look back through thebook with the beginningreaders to find the wordsand pictures that mighthave lead them to choosea title different from theone the author chose. Don Johnston Incorporated

Start-to-Finish Literacy StartersPurpose for ReadingBefore ReadingAlways begin with somethingbeginning readers know very well.During ReadingAfter ReadingOnly ask beginning readers toRemember that the reading orlistening should take longer than the complete activities that directly relateto the specific reading purpose in thebefore and after activities.left column. Be explicit—alwaystell beginning readers the specificpurpose of their reading.Predicting Tell beginning readers,“Predicting means tomake a guess aboutsomething that you thinkwill happen.” To help beginning readersvisualize predicting, askthem to makepredictions—or guesses—about what will happen ifyou: drop a raw egg,squeeze a balloon, ticklesomeone, or anything elsewith an outcome that isfamiliar to them. Tell beginning readers, “Iam going to show you thefirst few pictures in thisbook. Then you’re goingto make a prediction, orguess what the story isabout.” Hint: Whenworking with alternativecommunication tools,prepare some predictionsfrom which beginningreaders may choose. Stop one or two times (nomore) in the middle of thebook to ask beginningreaders about theirpredictions: “Do you think youguessed right aboutwhat this story isabout? Why orwhy not?” “What do you thinkwill happen next? Isthat the same thing youthought would happenbefore you readthe story ? ” “How do you think thestory will end?” Compare the predictionsbeginning readers madebefore they read the bookand during the reading ofthe book with what reallyhappened in the story. With the beginningreaders, look backthrough the book to findthe information thatshows whether theyguessed correctly.DescribingCharacters, Settingand other Elements Tell beginning readers,“We can use lots ofdifferent words todescribe people. Wo rd slike tall, short, young, old,mean and nice all work todescribe people.” To practice thinking aboutdescribing words, askbeginning readers toidentify words you’veprovided or readers havegenerated that describesomeone very familiar tothem (for example, atelevision character, theprincipal). Tell beginning readers,“While we read today,think about which of thesewords best describe thecharacter(s), setting(s) ortheme in the story.” Hint:To control the difficultylevel of this activity,provide familiar words foryour beginning readers(including picture symbolsas needed). Model thinking aloud forbeginning readers whenyou encounter informationthat would guide you toselect a particulardescribing word. Work with beginningreaders to find the wordsthat best describe thecharacter(s), setting(s) ortheme of the story. After beginning readershave completed theirselections, look backthrough the book togetherto find the informationthat led to their choices ofdescribing words. Don Johnston Don Johnston IncorporatedAlways Activity45 Teacher Guide

Start-to-Finish Literacy StartersPurpose for ReadingSequencing46 Teacher GuideBefore ReadingDuring ReadingAlways begin with somethingbeginning readers know very well.Remember that the reading orlistening should take longer than thebefore and after activities.Only ask beginning readers tocomplete activities that directly relateto the specific reading purpose in theleft column. Be explicit—alwaystell beginning readers the specificpurpose of their reading. Tell the beginning readers,“Sequencing meansputting things in the orderthey happened.” Ask beginning readers tohelp you put events thatare very familiar to themin order: meals they eat,days of the week, theirschool schedules, etc.Provide pictures and/orword cards that can bemixed up and thenrearranged into thecorrect sequence. Make photocopies ofseveral pages from thebook. Tell beginningreaders, “Here are somethings that happen in thestory. While you read,think about these thingsand the order theyhappen.” Hint: You canuse as few as two eventsand as many as happenin the story. Thedescriptions of the eventscan be in written formand/or picture form. Remind beginningreaders that they shouldbe looking for the thingsyou told them wouldhappen in the story. Model a think-aloud suchas, “Hey, that was one ofthe things we knew wouldhappen. It is the first onewe’ve found, so it mustcome first.” Work with beginningreaders to put the eventsyou talked about beforereading into the order thatthey occurred in the story. After beginning readershave placed the events inorder, re - read the book tocheck their sequencing.Always ActivitiesAfter Reading Don Johnston Incorporated