Part 4: Read 3 chapters of your choice!

Week 5

Week 5

by Ginny Reome -
Number of replies: 3

Name & Summarize (a few sentences) about the chapters you read.

I read Spelling chapter 14.  This chapter explained the developmental stages of spelling and detailed the importance of improving spelling will also enhance decoding.  Some of the spelling scaffolds described are; word sorts, teaching commonly misspelled words, and teaching homonyms in context.

I read Phonics chapter 15.  This chapter explained the importance of word recognition for older students and provided scaffolds to help students build phonics skills.  Teach onset and rimes, teach high frequency words, provide directed practice, read decodable books and books on independent and instructional levels and if the text is not readable by a student, understand that it is okay to read it aloud to them.  This chapter also gave a suggestion for a quick assessment; ask students to name the letters in words and identify sounds they make.  

I read chapter 16; The Value of Reading More.  This chapter began by explaining The Million-Word Gap; students entering Kindergarten having been read 1 book daily will have heard a million words when entering Kindergarten.  Then the chapter explains that the word gap widens and as students age most do not read for pleasure anymore.  Because of this, educators should provide more reading time in the classroom.  The reading time shou;d be directed practice.  Students should have a clear goal explained by the teacher for reading and be given opportunity to discuss reading with someone daily.  We as educators do not have enough time to give to directed reading practice, but we must find it.  Reading practice takes time and the curriculum is rolled out to quickly.  

- How will these impact your teaching?

Reading instruction is of high importance in my Resource Room and I have taught students word families but have learned from the chapter on Phonics that rhyming words will be easier to decode if I teach the onset /b/ then the rime /at/.  Students may have an easier time decoding the book.  I will also provide more time for delibrate practice.  Deliberate practice requires readers to practice a specific skill when reading and allows for discussion afterwards.  I think discussion is an important part of learning.  My district has starting implementing the Words Their Way and I love that this book also discusses the importance of word sorts for the different developmental levels of spelling.


In reply to Ginny Reome

Re: Week 5

by Jennifer hutchins -
I am planning on having word wednesday's where we study words using semantic mapping. I plan on doing deliberate practice opposed to independent reading time. Some students may have independent reading books but some students may not, but I am going to attempt to get them to a point where they all can have independent reading books.
In reply to Ginny Reome

Re: Week 5

by Jessica Sullivan -
Chapter 16 really stuck out to me as well. I also think this is why read alouds are so powerful. This gives the teacher an opportunity to introduce and discuss new words and expand student vocabulary. Our Kindergarten teachers have also started to build on their collection of wordless picture books to provide students with the opportunity to tell a story across the pages using the illustrations as a guide. I have been amazed at the stories our 5 year olds can generate when given the opportunity to engage in discussion with their peers.
In reply to Ginny Reome

Re: Week 5

by Peggy Wells -
I used to always do word families too, this past school year I began teaching onset and rime, it made a huge impact on how much my students were able to recall when using those skills to decode other words. I also used a lot of word ladders, this got them thinking of onsets, rimes and they had to listen carefully to know where the change was as they worked their way through the ladders.