Elementary Literacy Instructional Strategies

SCPS Best Literacy Practices

This video was created by SCPS faculty, featuring our teachers and students, to highlight best practices in literacy instruction. This video can be viewed in full or in parts. Strategies included are:

• Interactive Read-Aloud

• Track Your Thinking

• Small Group Instruction

• Guided Reading

High Frequency Words:

Phoneme/Grapheme Mapping & Heart Word Strategy

This video shows how to use the "heart word" strategy to teach students to map irregular words into sound boxes

Materials to guide instruction in the Dolch high frequency words using the "heart word" method can be found below.

The materials also provide guidance for the teacher on how to map each word.

High Frequency Word Materials

Interactive Read-Aloud

In an interactive read-aloud, the teacher models how to fluently read and think about a text. The teacher pre-plans sections of the text where she would like to stop and model her thinking or prompt students to analyze the text.

Guided Reading 

with Comprehension Skill

This guided reading lesson focuses on a phonics skill that students need. They begin with a mini lesson and then apply the skill in their reading.

Notice that the text has been selected to provide practice in this specific skill, and the teacher discusses decodable words from the book before students begin reading.

Running Records

Conducting a Running Record

This  video shows how to conduct a running record. See the Balanced Literacy Guide for SCPS expectations and additional support in conducting running records.

Running Records

Analyzing a Running Record

This  video shows how to analyze a running record. See the Balanced Literacy Guide for SCPS expectations and additional support in analyzing running records.

Vocabulary

Notice how the teacher uses Robert Marzano's Six Steps Process for teaching vocabulary words and how the teacher has carefully selected high-utility words that students may not be familiar with.

Heggerty Phonemic Awareness

Hand Motions

All K-1 students practice phonemic awareness by interacting with Heggerty's daily curriculum. In Heggerty exercises, the teacher uses hand motions to help students identify phonemes in a multisensory way.

Word Work

Closed Sort: Introduction and Practice

In a closed sort, students arrange their headings or sample words so they know which phonetic features they are listening for. Then, they read their words and determine which word goes in which category. It's important for students to read the words aloud each time so they can connect sound of the features to print. The purpose of word work is to teach students how to decode and spell words based on common phonetic features.

Word Work

Blind Sort: Listening Only

In a blind sort, students listen for similarities and differences in the words they are studying, based on common phonetic features. With this activity, students only need to listen to analyze the words. The purpose of word work is to teach students how to decode and spell words based on common phonetic features.

Word Work

Blind Sort: Writing

In this blind sort, students listen for similarities and differences in the words they are studying, based on common phonetic features. Additionally, they connect the sound patterns to writing by writing each of the words in its correct category. The purpose of word work is to teach students how to decode and spell words based on common phonetic features.

Why Spelling Matters

Writing

Students should understand why correct spelling is important, instead of just expecting that "this is what we do in school." While this video was created for older students and adults, its message can be adapted for younger learners to introduce word work.

Why Spelling Matters

Reading Connection

Students should learn phonetic features for reading and spelling side-by-side so they have a complete understanding of that feature. Often, a student's spelling errors highlights a misunderstanding in reading that they may be compensating for in other ways.

Teaching Grammar in Context

Teaching grammar in context better facilitates student understanding of the conventions and is less likely to produce students who strongly dislike writing. Check out Dr. Sean Ruday's work on teaching grammar in the context of writing for more.

Mentor Texts

Mentor texts are crucial for modeling what strong writing looks like and teaching students how authors integrate specific techniques into their writing. Mentor texts can be whole bodies of work, such as reading Enemy Pie by Derek Munson to see how the author describes scenes, or reading specific sentences from Enemy Pie to see how the author uses sentence formations or specific words to create an effect.

Shared Writing

In shared writing, the class and teacher compose a short piece together, with the teacher gradually releasing control of the writing decisions to the students. In shared writing, the teacher is holding the pen, literally and figuratively. The teacher is able to correct and redirect errors so misconceptions can be discussed before they go into the writing product. Students would independently write using the featured skill after a shared writing lesson occurs.

Interactive Writing

In interactive writing, the students and teacher compose a sentence together with the students making writing decisions, heavily guided by the teacher. This strategy is especially beneficial in small groups when students are grouped according to common needs. Ideally, the students would write the information they provide orally to the teacher.

Orton-Gillingham Routines

Overview

Orton-Gillingham routines provide students multisensory experiences as they learn and practice phonological awareness and phonics skills.

Orton-Gillingham Routines

Three-Part Drill

This lesson opener helps students review previous skills and integrates newly-learned skills in a multisensory way.