What is Yellow?
Yellow readers are reading the pictures. At this level, your child won't read any of the words necessarily, but will instead remember the repeating sentence pattern and "read" the pictures.
In Yellow books, the sentence is the same on every page except for one word that changes on each page to reflect the main idea of each picture. There are 3 stages in Yellow.
3 Stages of Yellow:
1Y readers can:
Remeber and use the sentence pattern and pictures to "read" their book.
Figure out the one word that changes on each page by reading the main idea of the pictures.
2Y readers can:
Point to each word, under the first letter, as they read.
3Y readers can:
Get their mouth in position to make the first letter sound of the new word on each page.
Say a word that matches the first letter sound of a word, check the picture, then say a word that matches both.
Click to see the 1-3 Yellow Skills Card.
Ways to Support your Reader at Home:
Reading Yellow books at home with your child:
Have your child pick one of their Yellow IRLA books.
Yellow books have a repeated pattern that students can identify and hold while "reading" a book.
Read the first two pages to your child, as you are reading point under the first letter of each word.
Things to practice at home with your child:
Counting and 1:1 Correspondence:
Count items you can move: blocks, toys, etc.
Play board games.
Count while going up or down the stairs.
Concept of Word:
Say a sentence to your child and clap each word in the sentence.
Say a sentence, have your child repeat the sentence, and push a block for each word they say.
Write out a sentence; put each word on an index card, and push up each word as your child reads the sentence.
Tracking:
When you read the first two pages, model pointing to each word under the first letter as you read.
Encourage your child to point under each word as they read.
Initial Consonant Sounds:
Play with magnetic letters, using their sounds, not their names.
Play "I Spy with my little eye something that begins with /m/."
With you child's help, fill a bowl with 5-7 things you can find around the house that all start with a given letter. Practice a new letter every few days.
Point out words that begin with the same letter as your child's name (for example. John and jump). Talk about how the beginning sounds of the words are alike.
In order to transition to 1G, a reader must:
Recognize 1G power words at flash speed in and out of context.
Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondence.
Ask and answer questions about key details in the text.