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Strategies Used

EXPLICITLY TEACHING DECODING STRATEGIES

During guided reading, students would meet with the teacher in small groups to work on high frequency words, phonics skills, and decoding strategies while using a leveled reader that matched the skill of the week. Students worked on  specific decoding strategies that helped them break apart words. The decoding strategies taught included ten specific  strategies that helped students when they encountered a word they did not know.

ELKONIN BOXES

During guided reading, students would work on the specific phonics skills introduced that week. This was also the time that students would review phonics skills that had not been mastered. These phonics skills included sounds for letters, blends, digraphs, and word patterns. Elkonin boxes helped students see the parts of the word and what letter patterns made specific sounds. Students broke apart words and used plastic chips to slide into boxes as they said each sound. Each student was given a set of Elkonin box cards with two, three, and four box options for a variety of words. Students used a dry erase marker to write each sound or sound pattern in each box. They placed one plastic chip under each sound. As students said the sound in each box, they slid a plastic chip into each box. Once each sound is said separately, students blended the word together. Elkonin boxes were also used to help with any words students were struggling with during the repeated reads.

PHONICS SKILL

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REPEATED READS

When a student is reading the same reading passage multiple times, these are called repeated reads. These are completed with the idea that students will improve how many words they can read in a minute each time. 

 

  • On Mondays, students completed a cold read of a Reading Street Fresh Read passage. This was a selection of reading that students had not seen before. Students had one minute to read as many words as they could. While the student was reading, my CADRE associate or myself completed a running record. A running record is a way for the teacher to mark words that students may have read incorrectly. This information was used to review any skills a student was struggling with. After the student completed their one-minute read, the number of words read was counted and the number of words read incorrectly was subtracted from this number. This number was then recorded on a graph and students got to color in the number of words read accurately on their graph.

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  • On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, students completed a warm read and read the same passage again each day. Each time a student read, the number of words read in a minute was recorded and colored in on their graph. I looked at the words read incorrectly each time and used this information to guide their small group reading instruction time with me. This allowed me to review any skills with them that they were having difficulties with.

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  • On Fridays, students completed their hot read. This was the last time they got to read the passage and graph their score. By Friday, it was expected that students increased the number of words read in a minute and decreased the number of words read incorrectly.

READING PASSAGE

Students had one-minute to read a new passage. The teacher marks any errors as the student reads.

Anecdotal Notes

During guided reading, I took anecdotal notes about what decoding strategies students were using while reading the leveled readers provided in our curriculum. I also made note of any phonics patterns students were struggling with and used this data to guide phonics instruction during small groups.

Research

Reading fluency is a critical part of a student's ability to comprehend what they are reading. The inability to break apart words impacts a student's understanding of text. To increase reading fluency, students must have word recognition skills as well as the ability to decode unfamiliar words. With knowledge of a variety of strategies, and opportunities to practice these strategies, students can become fluent readers who understand what they are reading. 

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