Strategies for figuring out “tricky words”
o Put your finger under the word and say the sounds (like we tap in Fundations)
o Cover up the word ending (ie. Jumping, cover the ing, figure out the word and then add the ending back in.)
o Find a word inside a larger word (inside, today)
o Is there a base word inside the word (in reread, the base word is read)?
o Are there prefixes and suffixes in the word?
o Break the word into smaller syllables (to/mor/row).
o After you figure out the word, do a slow check to be sure you have the right word.
Sight Word Recall- also known as "Power Words"
o Readers need to continue to grow the number of words that they can automatically recognize
o Recall of power words become more automatic the more frequently a child sees these words
o Playing games with power words (like Memory and Go-Fish) and finding snap words in books are fun and engaging ways to practice and grow.
o Recognizing similarities between power words (If you can read the word me, you can also read the words he and we) and associations (mnemonic devices, etc.) that can be made with snap words helps make tangible connections within the brain and aid in the retention and recall of snap words.
o In kindergarten, fluency is practiced on a rereading of a text.
o Fluent reading is neither too slow nor too fast.
o Fluent reading sounds like we’re talking (sound like the character OR sound like you’re teaching).
o When rereading students need to:
o Pay attention to the punctuation.
o Pay attention to dialogue tags (like yelled, whispered, groaned, etc.).
o Readers think about what’s happening in the part of the book and then reread to make their voice match.
o Readers “scoop” phrases of words, as they read fluently.
o While reading, readers stop and name who is in the story and what is happening.
o While reading, readers stop and think about what has happened and then generate a prediction or ask questions.
o Readers stop and think:
o What they’re learning about the character
o How the character is feeling
o If the character’s feelings are changing and why that might be
o When something big happens
o When a character has strong feelings
o When the character or the plot changes
o After reading, readers:
Demonstrate key understandings about what they've just read from within the text. Readers tell the important events and details that happened in the story. Teachers and students have a conversation about the story to demonstrate their comprehension.
This may sound like:
First, Next, Then, After That, Last
Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then
This story is about (the character and characters and the setting of the story)...
The problem is…
The character tries…
At the end…
When reading Nonfiction, this may sound like:
This book/part taught me about
One thing I learned…
Another thing I learned…
Inferential Comprehension- Inferential comprehension moves beyond what is written in the text. The reader needs to use clues to figures out what the author wants their reader to understand. Examples of inferential comprehension include explaining what the reader has learned about a character, how a character is feeling and how they know that, what lesson or lessons a character learns, as well as how that lesson might be applicable to the reader's life. When having beyond text conversations, students use the book and their thinking to explain and cite evidence to support their responses.