Learning gains occur when there is a specific area on which to focus. This week, readers will approach their reading with a targeted reading goal. These reading goals are based on strengthening accuracy (reading the words correctly) or comprehension (remembering the story). As readers, there are certain aspects of reading that we do well and others that can be improved. Increasing awareness of these areas can help students take ownership of their reading skills. Students’ reading goals are posted on bookmarks which are used whenever they are reading books. Some readers are targeting strategies to help them read more accurately. Their goal might be to watch out for the middles or ends of words or to reread when the story doesn’t make sense. Other students who are already accurate readers might have a comprehension goal, remembering the who and the what after reading. Students are encouraged to focus on their goal in the regular classroom and at home. This week, ask your child about his/her reading goal.
Tag Archives: accuracy
Words That Look Alike
Our focus right now is on Look Alikes, those visually similar words that can confuse readers. This picture of two special first graders remind us how tricky it can be when things look alike! Many words in our language look like other words (want/went, there/here, has/have, looked/looks). Readers need to be mindful of these slight differences because a mistake with one of these words can radically change the meaning of a story.
There are several approaches that can help readers avoid getting tricked by Look Alikes and improve their accuracy. One way is to use a reading finger underneath the words during reading. This will slow down quick moving eyes and help tune the brain into letter/sound details. If your child is reluctant to do this, try using the Mirror Approach, using your finger above the words while your child mirrors or slides underneath. Another approach is to encourage your child to read aloud, staying alert for reading that doesn’t make sense and then fixing up the mistake. With Look Alikes, the first letter is sometimes the same (look/like), but the middle or end letters are different. Building awareness of these words can be helpful. If your child is making these kinds of errors, try some of the strategies listed above. When your child rereads the page or book, give specific praise for successful reading of these tricky Look Alikes.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Reading Goals
First Grade: Learning gains occur when there is a specific area on which to focus. This week, the first graders approached their reading with a targeted reading goal. These reading goals are based on strengthening accuracy (reading the words correctly) or comprehension (remembering the story). As readers, there are certain reading aspects that we do well and others that can be improved. Increasing awareness of these areas helps students to take ownership of their reading skills and provides goals for improvement. Each student has a reading goal on a green (Accuracy) or purple (Comprehension) bookmark. Most first graders are working on using strategies to read words well. As a result, many students have an Accuracy reading goal (checking the middle/ends of words, or reading without skipping words). Other readers who are already strong in Accuracy have a Comprehension goal (remembering the Who? What?) while reading. The reading goal is written on a reading bookmark which is used whenever they are reading books. Students are encouraged to continue focusing on this goal in the regular classroom and at home. This weekend, ask your child about his/her reading goal.
Second Grade: Close reading is a new term in education with the introduction of the Common Core State Standards. Close reading is a method for uncovering layers of meaning which leads to deeper comprehension. At this time in second grade, this comprehension is essential to becoming a strong reader. Taking time to read and reread stories helps students to understand ideas and details, as well as how characters change throughout the story. After reading through the whole book, we reread the book together, stopping frequently to discuss interesting words, the events of the story, or the author’s purpose in using certain words or phrases. As you can see, this is DEEP work. You can do some close reading at home with your child, discussing the story in detail. By doing this you will be helping to build some great reading habits!
Look Alikes
Dear Parents,
This past week during assessments, I was so impressed by the improved reading skills of the students. It is exciting to see the pieces of reading come together! We begin this week with new challenges and new books. Our focus is on Look Alikes, those visually similar words that can confuse readers.
Many words in our language look like other words (on/in, look/like, has/have, looked/looks). Readers need to be mindful of these slight differences because a mistake with one of these words can radically change the meaning of a story.
There are several approaches that can help readers avoid getting tricked by Look Alikes and improve their accuracy. One way is to use a reading finger underneath the words during reading. This will slow down quick moving eyes and help tune the brain into letter/sound details. If your child is reluctant to do this, try the Mirror Game, using your finger above the words while your child mirrors or slides underneath. Another approach is to encourage your child to read aloud, staying alert for reading that doesn’t make sense and then fixing up the mistake. With Look Alikes, the first letter is usually the same (look/like), but the middle or end letters are different. Building awareness of these words can be helpful. If your child is making these kinds of errors, try some of the strategies listed above. When your child rereads the page or book, give specific praise for successful reading of these tricky Look Alikes.
Happy reading!
Reading Strategies
Thank you to those who were able to complete my reading survey! The information you provided will help me learn important reading information about your child. If you haven’t had a chance to complete the survey yet, here is the link, Reading Survey.
First Grade: Students have worked hard to master letters and sounds this past week and many were able to “graduate” to beginning sight words. Having quick recognition of these words will help when reading first grade books. Next week, we will add two more strategies to our reading toolkit. Along with using picture clues (Eagle Eye) and the first sounds of words (Lips the Fish), we will learn how to use the rest of the sentence to help figure out a tricky word. This strategy is called “Skippy the Frog” and readers skip the word, read the rest of the sentence, and then try to use this additional information to figure out the word. We have discussed how a reader always checks his/her guess, to see if the letters and sounds match with the word. We will also practice stretching out the sounds of a word (Stretchy the Snake).
Sometimes, readers need to use multiple strategies to figure out tricky words, a very difficult skill for beginning readers. The old standby, Sounding Out, doesn’t always work! If your child gets stuck on a word, guide him/her to use a strategy that will be most helpful. If you can see that a great hint is in the picture, prompt them to use Eagle Eye. If they need to read the rest of the sentence to learn more information, prompt with Skippy the Frog. By giving these great hints, you can help your child become more comfortable using different strategies.
Second Grade: With second grade recently starting Reading Counts (RC), each student will choose a RC book at his/her reading level. After practicing this book several times and discussing it with me, students will take the RC quiz during our reading time. We will also discuss how good readers read all of the answers before choosing the best one, an effective test taking skill. Accuracy, reading words correctly, remains important and we are focusing on breaking longer words into smaller, readable parts, as well as making sure that their word choice matches the letters and sounds. Please encourage your child to use these strategies when reading to you, making sure that his/her reading speed is not too fast.
Most importantly, your child should be engaged in reading every night. You can read aloud to your child or offer support if your child reads a just right book to you.
Happy reading!