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Showing posts with label fluency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fluency. Show all posts

The Importance of Read Alouds!

I am committed to reading aloud to my students daily. 

The Importance of Read Alouds: Reading aloud has many benefits. Here are 15!

Not only is it my very favorite time of day, but there are so many benefits of reading aloud to kids.

Here are some advantages of reading aloud to children:

1. It's a shared literacy experience within the classroom community.
2. It's a great way to model important reading concepts, such as understanding characters, using inference skills, predicting, and more!
3. It's a great way to model phrasing and fluent reading.
4. Read-alouds are like advertisements for books! Ever notice how the kids want to read a book right after you read it to them? Or perhaps another book in the series?
5. Read-alouds develop a child's vocabulary.
6. Shared books are a great way to model writing skills!
7. Shared books are a great way to spark discussion about sensitive subjects.
8. Children learn language patterns and figurative language through Read Alouds.
9. When you have multiple reading levels in your classroom (which most of us do!) it "evens the playing field."
10. Reading aloud helps build attention spans.
11. It's a chance to "think aloud" to model decoding new words using context clues.
12. It's a great opportunity to integrate literature into other subjects, such as Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, and even Music, Art, and physical education!
13. Reading aloud encourages thinking and using imagination.
14. Reading aloud helps children learn about the world—not just their own world but also other places, cultures, time periods, and even fictional worlds.
15. It's fun!

Looking to get families involved? Enjoy this resource!





What books do you like to read aloud to children?

What other advantages to reading aloud can you name?

The Importance of Read Alouds: Reading aloud has many benefits. Here are 15!

Ten Bargains for Back to School, Including Freebies and Dollar Deals!

Yes, you read that right, that's a full ten back-to-school bargains!

These bargains are designed to make your teacher life easier for back to school!

Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.


These are some of the things that always help me through those first busy weeks of school! 
 
Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

Here's a Dollar Deal to help organize your literacy centers, including what the children do when they're not with you!

These cards are part of this more inclusive resource: 

Guided Reading and Literacy Center Management and Organization Resources


Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.
 
We all know those children who struggle to learn sight words. This research-based $2 Treat will help!


For a more inclusive resource see:


Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

 Here's a great way to keep communication open with parents, and give them some information that will help their children be successful!


Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

This system has helped many children master their basic math facts. This freebie is the first of 8 research-based, brain-friendly levels toward math fact fluency.


Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

Have your students mastered addition and subtraction facts? Move them on to multiplication and division! As with the addition and subtraction facts above, these are research-based and brain-friendly. This freebie is the first of 8 levels toward multiplication and division fact fluency!
 


Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

This freebie is a great way to start the year in Science and Social Studies.
 

For the full set of 9 enhanced activities see:

Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

  
Looking for some fun ways to get the children comfortable with each other and learn to work together? These 6 Dollar Deal Team Building Games are very popular!

These 6 games are included in:

These 20 games are included in the bigger set... this one will last you the whole year!

Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.
  
I use these Dollar Deal tools as a "school office" with my students. These hands-on tools help children become independent learners!
 

These tools are included in the big bundle:



Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

  
This Dollar Deal is a fun way to get the kiddos thinking about their learning and how they can take charge of their learning.

 
Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

This one will help the kiddos get all those summertime wiggles out!

If you find these freebies and dollar deals useful, I'd love if you left some feedback!

I hope these bargains and ideas make your teaching life a bit easier!

Ten Bargains for Back to School - These include parent communication, brain breaks, Science, Social Studies, literacy, and math freebies for 2nd grade.

December Freebies

It has come to my attention just how many freebies I have for the month of December. 

December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!

Here are some of my favorites:

December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!

Hanukkah is super early this year, in fact, it's happening now! Be sure to download this Hanukkah Game Board. It can be used with skill that needs practicing: math facts, sight words, task cards. Just do a card, check, and roll your way around the game board.  
December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!

Holiday Fluency Sample is a fun way to practice reading phrases.  With holiday words, of course!

December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!


This is my very favorite holiday activity. It focuses on the classic holiday music and the storyline that goes along with it. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker includes suggestions on which music to play with each part of the storyline. It's a great exercise in visualization, and the kids absolutely love it! Yes, even the boys! How can you miss when the setting is a place called The Kingdom of Sweets!(I've done this every year for at least 15 years!)
 
December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!
 
This is what my students are working on tomorrow: Acts of Kindness Countdown gives the kids a chance to count down the days until Christmas and enjoy the joy of giving at the same time.  Plus, everything they are giving is free!

The two resources below are NOT free, but are totally worth it!


December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!

I had to throw in my newest resources, although this one is not free. December Holidays True or False Boom Digital Task Cards This digital resource gives the students a chance to practice reading skills while learning about holidays around the world. Boom Learning digital task cards are easy to use, perfect for remote or distance learning, and fun for the students!

December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!

And here's one more new one, that's very popular with the children! Boom Learning December General Knowledge Trivia Questions and Enrichment
 

The December holidays are great fun for the students, and a great excuse for fun learning!

December Freebies: Here are several freebies to help you through the month of December!


Seven Ideas for Reading Accurately

I've finished my DIBELS, and my kids are all over the ballpark as far as their needs go. 


I have noticed that several students had high "Words Correct Per Minute", but their accuracy was low. These kids read loads of words but were adding, changing, and omitting lots of words. These same kids also had trouble with punctuation, and retelling the story. They need work on accuracy!

Seven Ideas for Reading Accurately - Reading fluently is great, but accuracy is important, too! Here are seven ideas to help your readers become more accurate.

Here are some ideas for working on accuracy.

1.  Tell them that's what they need to work on. Yes, seriously, give them the feedback they need. That's the number one trick to improvement, knowing what you need to work at! If necessary, revisit the "finger-pointing" stage to help them focus on the words that are really there. (But don't stay at the "finger-pointing" stage, of course!)

2.  Partner reading - One partner reads, and the other partner checks to make sure they're reading accurately. This works best if the children are evenly matched at their own reading level.

3. Read with an adult - Grab a spare adult somewhere to read with students! It might be a teacher assistant, a parent volunteer, or maybe even the librarian, Phys. Ed. teacher or music teacher! Anyone that has a few minutes can sit down with a child and listen to them read. (Make sure they are ready to give feedback!)

4. Have them read "out soft" - often!  The more they read so someone can hear, the more accurate they will become. That "sense of an audience" really makes a difference. When my students come to reading group, I have them bring a book they are working on, and they are expected to sit down and start reading it "out soft". That means: loud enough so that I can hear them across the reading table, but not loud enough to be heard from across the room. They find it a little awkward at first, but it doesn't take long for them to feel comfortable reading their book just loud enough to be heard. This trick also gives me a chance to listen to individuals, give a little extra time to some kids, and has the children warmed up and ready for reading group. I notice huge improvements in accuracy and fluency when I start doing this!

5. Readers Theater - As mentioned above, that "sense of an audience" is a big motivator! Plus, Readers Theater can be fun, which is another plus! There are plenty of sources of scripts out there. Just google it! Just beware of the danger of readers theater: after reading it a few times, they memorize the script. Then it isn't real reading anymore! Find some ideas here: Using Reader's Theater to Help Students Learn Kindness.

6.  Reading song lyrics - Music is very closely related to the memory. If they already know the song, they'll be able to read the lyrics. Give out song sheets and have them "finger read". As above, just make sure they are truly reading, not reciting something that they have memorized. (There's nothing wrong with memorization, but that's not the skill we're trying to improve!)

7.  Practice sight words and phrases - In order to read accurately, they've got to know the words! Experts recommend that children learn sight words in context. See the freebie below for several phrases using the Dolch pre-primer list. There are plenty more of these for other levels, too!

Seven Ideas for Reading Accurately - Reading fluently is great, but accuracy is important, too! Here are seven ideas to help your readers become more accurate.


What are your ideas for building accuracy?

Seven Ideas for Reading Accurately - Reading fluently is great, but accuracy is important, too! Here are seven ideas to help your readers become more accurate.

How NOT to Read Fluently

Today, my students spent some of our reading time practicing fluency. Especially at this time of year, I go out of my way to make it fun. (Brain research shows us that "fun" is a big motivator, but I think teachers knew that before the research was done!)

How NOT To Read Fluently: This blog post tells about an activity that can be repeated numerous times, that the kids love, and that gets them thinking about fluency. (Plus a freebie!)


There are 4 important parts to fluency:

  1. automaticity in word recognition 
  2. accurate word recognition
  3. rate (speed) of reading
  4. prosody, or expression
We started today with a demonstration of what NOT to do when reading. I demonstrated reading too fast, not stopping for punctuation, mispronouncing words without going back to fix it, and using a monotone- no expression at all. 

There were lots of giggles.

Then I modeled the proper way to read. I read smoothly and accurately. I kept an appropriate pace, and I gave it meaning as I read it. This time, instead of giggles, I got applause! (I admit, I have my class well trained!)

I thought this activity would be perfect to put into my emergency sub plans. It's got limited materials (just books for kids, which I'm sure you have!) and is a skill that needs to be practiced frequently. This is the type of activity that can be repeated several times during the year. I've typed up the directions for you to download and put into your own emergency plans. Just see here or the image below. How NOT to Read Fluently

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-NOT-to-Read-Fluently-4840789?utm_source=70b&utm_campaign=how%20NOT%20to%20read%20fluently

For more ideas for substitute activities, see THIS POST

For more information about fluency, see THIS POST.


 Enjoy!
This blog post tells about an activity that can be repeated numerous times, that the kids love, and that gets them thinking about fluency.



Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some

Did you know there were 6 kinds of syllables?

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some: This post discusses the 6 syllable types and why these are important in learning to read. It includes a multi-syllable resource!


Knowing the different kinds of syllables will help the children move as readers from reading basic single-syllable words to multi-syllabic words like watermelon and helicopter.


However, children shouldn't be trying to decode multi-syllabic words until they have mastered single-syllable words with blends, digraphs, short vowels, long vowel patterns, r-controlled vowels,  diphthongs and other vowel pairs, prefixes, and suffixes.


In my second grade class, I'm still working on fluency with short vowels with several of my students, but my top readers are very much able to decode multi-syllabic words, as well as spell them!

Here are the six kinds of syllables:

  • Closed Syllable - These are short vowels followed by a consonant, such as  num in number, or vel in velvet
  • Vowel Consonant e Syllable - This is your classic long vowel/ silent e pattern such as ade in parade or cide in decide.
 
  • Open Syllable - These are long vowel syllables that end with the vowel such as ta in table and spi in spider.
 
  • Consonant l e Syllable - These are at the ends of words like ble in table and tle in little.
 
  • R- Controlled Syllable - These have an r controlled vowel such as gar in garden and der in under
 
  • Vowel Digraph/ Diphthong "D" Syllable - These contain a diphthong or a vowel diagraph. (Sometimes called "vowel teams") Examples are thou as in thousand and poi as in poison.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some: This post discusses the 6 syllable types and why these are important in learning to read. It includes a multi-syllable resource!
Why is it important to teach syllables?  When readers break unfamiliar words into syllables, the words become easier to decode. Learning about syllables also help students remember spelling patterns. Knowing how to decode syllables will help children become more fluent readers, and studies show that fluency helps comprehension. And that's our goal, isn't it?  
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some: This post discusses the 6 syllable types and why these are important in learning to read. It includes a multi-syllable resource!

Many teachers teach syllables by having the children clap the beat of the syllables. This works for most children. 

A more tactile way is to teach the children to place their hand under their jaw as they say the words. As the mouth will open for every vowel sound (and each syllable represents a vowel sound) the jaw will tap the hand for each syllable.  

Want to read more about syllables?


  • Six Syllable Types on Reading Rockets was co-written by my instructor of the LETRS training, so it's got to be quality information!  (And interesting, too!)
  • Vocabulary.co.il has a couple of syllable games and videos for the kids.

I've put together a resource with a couple of lists that can be used for practicing with syllables. There are a few options for using my syllables lists. They could be used simply as lists for children to practice reading. They could also be cut out and shuffled, for the kids to sort. They could sort by syllable type, or simply how many syllables are in the words. Find your resource here: Reading 2 and 3 Syllable Words.

Enjoy this resource and your 6 kinds of syllables!
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some: This post discusses the 6 syllable types and why these are important in learning to read. It includes a multi-syllable resource!! 

Want some more work on syllables? 

Check out Buggy Syllables 

and 


Plus, here's a blog post that explains more about why children should practice nonsense words:


Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some: This post discusses the 6 syllable types and why these are important in learning to read. It includes a multi-syllable resource!
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