That means it's time for another holiday, emergent reader. And here it is...
[This is a revised version of this reader. If you have purchased it in the past, you can download the new file for FREE!]
As the literacy coach for my building, I found that the 1st grade teachers were not only willing, but anxious, to meet weekly for a mini-lesson on reading instruction strategies. Their responses have been so favorable that I thought I would share some of the strategies with you.
When working with emerging readers, it is advisable to choose 1 strategy and focus on it until your students show mastery. While I will be covering several topics, you should choose the one that best fits the needs of your students at the time. One of the most valuable lessons I learned in Reading Recovery™ was to avoid the shotgun approach.
High
Frequency Word Practice
The
text provides practice with the following high frequency
words:
the, is, on, in, &
of. Additional
HFW may appear only once, such as inside
or between. Some
of
these HFW
may be
unknown or partially known. Support your student's efforts by finger
masking the new or partially known words.
In this example, where inside
is unknown, mask the word so that the reader can recognize the known chunk in.
Draw
your child’s attention to the picture for a clue as to what the word that
starts with in- could be. This practice builds the dual skills of
chunking and using picture cues. Should
the word inside continue to be problematic, draw
your finger back slowly while providing the /s/ sound. If the student still cannot provide the word,
simply tell him.
Picture
Cues
The last word on each page is a
noun that may be unfamiliar to the reader. The illustrations provide support for these
unfamiliar nouns. If a student balks
when he comes to one
of these words,
remind him to check the picture for a clue.
Or, upon turning to a page with a
problematic noun, simply remind him briefly about the word on the page by saying, “There’s the [barn].” Then
again, you might
point to the picture and finger
mask
the word so that only the first letter shows. Ask him to say that sound. If that
still does not elicit the word, tell the child what it is.
1-1
Correspondence/Self-checking
Because
the number of words on each page varies, this text provides the opportunity to
assess your students’ ability with one-to-one correspondence. To check this skill, ask the student if he
had enough words on a given page. Then
have him check by pointing
to each word as he says them. Ask again,
after he points and reads, if he had enough words. On another page, ask if he had too many
words. After he points and reads, repeat
the question. It is important to make
these queries when the student reads correctly, as
well as when he omits or adds words. By drawing his attention to this skill,
you are giving him the ability to self-check.
It is common for polysyllabic words to be problematic to 1-1 correspondence. Words such as between and pumpkin may entice your student to double point. Or he may get lost in the pointing if he moved on to the next word, but realizes it does not match what he is saying. This is the perfect opportunity to explain that some words have 2 or more beats but still get just one finger point. Again, ask your pupil to check the accuracy of his pointing both when he is correct and incorrect.
Phrasing
and Fluency
While emerging readers should not
be expected to read fluently, it is never too early to encourage phrased reading. This text offers easy phrasing for young
readers. Model the phrasing you desire.
The turkey is /
[prepositional phrase].
Staccato reading is a problem that can be difficult to overcome later. Start early encouraging your kiddos to read in phrases.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Never give up. Great things take time.
You may also like:
Practice number sense and numeracy with Mitten Math. It is available on TPT Easel for digital learning. 
