Reading Home

April 5

Read-alouds should be an integral part of the classroom program. At least 20 minutes a day should be set aside for reading aloud, and it should be held at a regularly scheduled time. Interesting, high-quality literature, both fiction and nonfiction, should be read.
Before reading a book to students, read it aloud for practice. Also note any elements that might pose problems for students. A read-aloud should be accompanied by prereading and postreading discussions.
Selecting Books for Read-Alouds
Chose books to readaloud that you believe will appeal to your students. Select books that you enjoy reading. Your enthusiasm for the book will enrich your reading and discussion. Try to select books that relate to a topic that is being studied or an author or genre that is being read. Pick books that are worth the special attention that you will be giving them.
In addition to books, read magazine and newspaper articles as part of your read-aloud program.
Introducing the Read-Aloud Selection
Hold the book up. Discuss the title and what the selection might be about. Also make a personal conncetion between the theme or content and the students' lives. Set a purpose for listening. In a narrative, students might listen to find out what happens to the main character. In an informational text, students might listen to find out what it is like to live and work in space.
During Reading
Hold the book so studnets can see the illustrations as you read. Make your reading dramatic, but not overly so. Use your voice to portray emotions elicited by the selection. Use different voices for different charactres. Fore informational text, use your vioce to highlight the most important information. A you reaad, briefly clarify unfamiliar words or concepts. At appropriate stopping points in the selection, ask students to predict what will happen next. Or have students offer a personal response to what has happened so far.
After Reading
In discussing the selection, start with a purpose question. Ask personal response questions so that students can create connections between their lives and the selection. Ask questions that help students make connections between the selection and another book or a topic that that the class is studying.

Graphic Organizers
Concept Mapping: http://www.graphic.org/concept.html
Mind mapping techniques will surely build useful foundations for student work and research in the upper grades. This site offers demonstrations and guidelines to help them understand and master these skills.

FreeMind: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
This is an open source graphic organizer.

Graphic Organizer Makers: http://teachers.teach-nology.com/web_tools/graphic_org/

Graphic Organizers: http://www.educ.state.ak.us/tls/frameworks/mathsci/MS5_2AS1.HTM#graphicorganizers
Alaska's Department of Education & Early Development offers organizers for Webbing, Content/Concept Maps, What We Know/Want to Know/Learned (KWL) Charts, Hypercard, Outlines, Timelines, Flow Charts, and Venn Diagrams.

Graphic Organizers: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm
Here is a whole selection of various graphic organizers. Information found here includes clustering, compare/contrast, family tree, interaction online, problem/solution, spider, storyboard, and Venn diagram.

Graphic Organizers for Content Instruction: http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/graphic_organizers.php
Visit this site for associated .pdf activities to graphic organizers.

Grids to Organize Thinking: http://www.fno.org/oct97/grids.html
Critical thinking skills rely upon organization to help them develop. These grid selections will help students to classify their thinking processes along several topics. If they are not familiar with the material, have them do a brief online search for information first.

IHMC CmapTools: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Index.html
This is a graphic tool that's not Inspiration based, and it's free courtesy of the University of West Florida.

A Taxonomy of Information Patterns: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss98/patterns-taxonomy.html

The Textmapping Project: http://www.textmapping.org/index.html
"Textmapping is a graphic organizer technique that can be used to teach reading comprehension and writing skills, study skills, and course content."

Kidspiration/Inspiration
Inspiration: http://www.inspiration.com/home.cfm
You can create checklists with Inspiration. Create a map on how to solve a problem or steps to completing a rubric and then go to Tools and choose "Show Checklist" It will add checkboxes. You can have students sign off that they completed each step. In that way they are held accountable up front for the work.

50 Uses for Inspiration. and KidspirationTM: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/conceptmap/50uses.html

Examples and Templates - Kidspired Tales: http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~ptk1nc/kidspired2002/samples.html

Flashes Newsletter: http://www.inspiration.com/newsletter/index.cfm
This is a link on the Inspiration web site to subscribe to Flashes, a newsletter. It is available in electronic version and has curriculum ideas.

Learning to use Inspiration in your classroom: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/inspiration_use.htm

Our Nations Symbols: http://www.msad54.k12.me.us/MSAD54Pages/Mercer/Winship/index.htm

Rubric for Graphic Organizers - Inspiration Diagrams: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/inspirationrubric.html

Teacher-Created Inspiration. and KidspirationTM Projects: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/inspirationprojects.shtml

Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery Council of North America: http://www.readingrecovery.com/
"Reading Recovery is a highly effective short-term intervention of one-on-one tutoring for low-achieving first graders. The intervention is most effective when it is available to all students who need it and is used as a supplement to good classroom teaching. In Reading Recovery, individual students receive a half-hour lesson each school day for 12 to 20 weeks with a specially trained Reading Recovery teacher. As soon as students can read within the average range of their class and demonstrate that they can continue to achieve, their lessons are discontinued, and new students begin individual instruction."

Ten Principles In Literacy Programs That Work: http://www.readingrecovery.com/sections/reading/principles.asp
PRINCIPLE #1: Phonological Awareness: Teach students to hear the sounds in words.
PRINCIPLE #2: Visual Perception of Letters: Teach students to perceive and identify letters of the alphabet.
PRINCIPLE #3: Word Recognition: Teach students to recognize words.
PRINCIPLE #4: Phonics/Decoding Skills: Teach students to use simple and complex letter-sound relationships to solve words in reading and writing.
PRINCIPLE #5: Phonics/Structural Analysis: Teach students to use structural analysis of words and learn spelling patterns.
PRINCIPLE #6: Fluency/Automaticity: Develop speed and fluency in reading and writing.
PRINCIPLE #7: Comprehension: Teach students to construct meaning from print.
PRINCIPLE #8: Balanced, Structured Approach: Provide a balanced approach so that literacy develops along a broad front and students can apply skills in reading and writing.
PRINCIPLE #9: Early Intervention: Intervene early to undercut reading failure.
PRINCIPLE #10: Individual Tutoring: Provide one-to-one assistance for the students who are having the most difficulty.

Phonological Awareness
Earobics: http://www.earobics.com/

Onset and Rime in the Phonological Awareness
Onsets are all initial sounds and blends, rimes are the vowel and ending.

Lesson Example using "Jog, Frog, Jog" by Barbara Gregorich. This book is a Reading Recovery Level 7: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/tempo/ERWeb/ERClass8/WordBuilder1.html

Onset-rime coarticulation in the production of /dai/ and /stai/ by four-year-old Scottish English: http://sls.qmuc.ac.uk/pubs/scob2000BCPdraft.pdf

Phonology, Reading Development and Dyslexia: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective: http://www.interdys.org/jsp/conference/handouts2002multi/usha-goswami.pdf

The Reading Genie: http://www.auburn.edu/~murraba/

SNIP: Special Needs Information Press: http://www.crossboweducation.com/snipsnip.htm
This site explains Onset and Rime, with suggested activities.

Topic 2 - Reading Development: The Role of Phonological Awareness: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/science/psychol/Helen/ps3484/topic2.html
What is phonological awareness?: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/science/psychol/Helen/ps3484/topic2_part3.html
Dual-route models of reading: The role of phonological awareness: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/science/psychol/Helen/ps3484/topic2_part4.html
Phonological awareness and reading development: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/science/psychol/Helen/ps3484/topic2_part5.html

Tuning In to the Sounds in Words: http://www.readingrockets.org/article.php?ID=189

Visual Perception/Word Recognition
Visual Perception: Its Role in the Act of Reading: http://www.audiblox.com/visual_perception.htm

Teaching sight words
*Cut out site words from magazines or newspaper
*Use paint to write words
*Parents or friends spell site words on friends back and they try to guess what it says
*Sing a song of site words
*Use yarn or string to form your words
*Use coins to form your words
*Write them in chalk on the sidewalk
*Spread peanut butter over bread and use raisins to spell words
*When driving instead of alphabet game play site word game - ginding words along road
*Put site words in a container and child reads ones that spill out - worth points for correct ones
*Make a trail of site words - child needs to read cards you show them to jump to a new word - first across wins.

Decoding Skills: http://www.eduplace.com/marketing/nc/pdf/fw_p11-20.pdf

Facts on Research on the Teaching of Phonics:
http://critical.tamucc.edu/~blalock/courses/3360/readings/facts/photeach-research.htm

Phonics/Decoding: http://www.proteacher.com/070011.shtml

PRT (Phonics Based Reading Test): http://www.academictherapy.com/pdfs/phonics_reading_test.pdf

Skills and Strategies /Phonics and Decoding: http://teacher.scholastic.com/ilp/index.asp?SubjectID=1&SubheadID=4&TopicID=50

Reading Fluency: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/reading_fluency.html

This site began in March 1998 by Janet Luch.
Email comments and questions to studyplans@yahoo.com