1. First Grade Reading Workshop
Wednesday, October 29, 2014

2. What is Reading? Real reading involves all of the following skills:
The understanding of how phonemes are connected to print
The ability to decode unfamiliar words
The ability to read fluently
The knowledge of sufficient background information and vocabulary to support reading comprehension
The ability to use comprehension skills and strategies
Reading is more than speaking the words on the page.
Some children pick this part up automatically, but it is so much more than that

3. What do we teach in first grade?
Children will…
Solidify their knowledge of phonemic awareness
Learn to connect sounds and spellings early and quickly
Develop a strategy for accessing words and text
Become fluent readers
Engage in real reading as quickly as possible
Gain fluency in writing enabling them to use it as a tool of inquiry and communication
Take responsibility for their own work, their own mental development and their own paths of inquiry as soon as possible
In Kindergarten they got a good knowledge of the phonemes
They learned the sounds of the alphabet and how to make those letters
They learned some sight words and began putting those sounds to words.
First grade we go back to review those things—leaving no cracks for anyone to fall through

4. What is Open Court Imagine It Reading?
The Imagine It program is a comprehensive reading, writing, and learning program that:
Develops confident and fluent readers through print and phonemic awareness activities and explicit, systematic phonics instruction,
Engages students in constructing meaning by applying of reading strategies and meaningful discussion,
Incorporates writing as a form of learning and personal communication,
Creates a classroom environment in which students explore, discuss and research ideas,
Gives students the tools to become independent, self-directed learners.
We have used Open Court at WCS for about 30 years.
Last year we started using the newest version – Imagine It

5. What is Explicit, Systematic Phonics?
Explicit, systematic phonics is a way of teaching that introduces each sound in a very sequential way.
When phonics instruction is explicit—students are told the sounds associated with the different written symbols—there is no guesswork involved.
When phonics instruction is systematic students are continually building on what they learned the day before.
These new sounds and spellings are then blended into real words. Blending teaches children a strategy for figuring out unfamiliar words while reading.

6. Students then apply their knowledge of sounds and spellings and blending through the reading of Decodable books. Decodable books include a large percentage of words whose sounds and spellings have been previously taught. In addition, these books contain previously taught high frequency words that allows for more natural written language.

7. Sound/Spelling Cards
Purpose of the cards is to remind the students of the sounds in English and their spellings.
The name of the picture on each card contains the target sound at the beginning of the name for consonants and in the middle for the short and variant vowels. Long vowels are represented by elongated pictures of the vowel.
These cards and pictures may be different from how you learned to read.
26 letters in English
45 sounds
Every sound has a card
The cards tell how the sound is spelled

8. The picture also associates a sound with an action.
Cards are introduced with an interactive story in which the pictured object or character “makes” the sound.
Hound Dog card
Harry the hound dog hurries around. Can you hear Harry’s hurrying sound? This is the sound Harry’s breathing makes when he hurries: /h/ /h/ /h/ /h/ .
When Harry the Hound dog sees a hare hop by, he tears down the hill, and his four feet fly. Hurry, Harry, hurry! /h//h//h//h/…
Student remember the sound in different ways, some by the picture, some by the sound, some by the name of the card

9. Each card has a name, a sound, and a spelling.
Many sounds have multiple ways to spell that sound.
Bird Card
Sound is /er/ since she doesn’t caw or tweet, he makes this chirping sound
Spelled er, ir, ur (also ear and wor)

10. The consonants are written in black and have white boxes on them.
The vowels are written in red and have different colored boxes.
Green boxes for short vowels
Yellow boxes for long vowels
Blue boxes for other vowel spellings such are r-controlled vowels, diphthongs, and variant vowels

11. The blanks in the spellings indicate:
A letter will take the place of the blank in a word
The position of the spelling in a word or syllable

12. Green boxes in the spellings serves the same purpose as a blank, but the letter that precedes the spelling must be a “green box” vowel (a short vowel).
Batch
Crutch
Crunch
Church
See the green box before, x, dge, ng, nk, ck, tch

13. Each card is introduced by using a see/hear/say/write sequence:
See: students see the spelling on the card
Hear: students hear the sound used in words and in isolation in the story
Say: students say the sound
Write: students write the spellings for the sound.

14. How are the Lessons Organized?
Preparing to Read – Phonemic Awareness activities, phonics instruction, blending, dictation and reading decodable books
Reading and Responding – reading the big books, comprehension strategies and skills
Language Arts – Writing, grammar, usage and mechanic, speaking and listening skills
Each reading lesson is divided into 3 sections
The first 2 parts are done with all three teachers, the Language Arts is done without Kerrie in the room.

15. What is a “typical” lesson?
Daily Warm-Ups
Phonemic Awareness Activities
* Purpose-to provide structured practice to help children hear and understand the sounds from which words are make.
Before children can be expected to understand the sound/symbol correspondence that forms the base of written English, they need to have a strong working knowledge of the sound relationships that make up the spoken language.

16. Phonemic Awareness Activities
Oral blending – the word is separated and they put it together. This is reading.
Segmentation – the word is together and they separate it. This is spelling.
Word play – Quick change game, rhyming, Word relay…
Oral blending – use the puppet a lot.
I say s t u m p
I say team, Leon says /s/ they put the word together
Segmentation –
I say team, Leon says tea. They tell me what he left off
I say a word, they say the beginning sound, end sound
Word play – quick change game, word relay, pack my bag, silly sentences…

17. Phonics Instruction Introduce the new sound/spelling
Blending – this is the strategy taught for figuring out unfamiliar words.
Guided practice with the skills practice worksheet
Dictation – teach the children how to write words based on the sounds and spellings they have already learned
Word building – spelling with alphabet cards
Blending is the heart and soul of phonics instruction
Blending is taught sound by sound, whole word, whole word by sight (mental blending), syllable by syllable
Dictation – sounds in sequence, whole word, then sentence (Proofreading is very important)
Decoding (part to whole) in blending
Encoding (whole to part) in spelling

18. Reading the Decodable Books
Purpose is to make written thoughts intelligible to students.
Browse, read, retell, answer questions for comprehension, partner read
Stress pointing to the text as they read
Multiple readings promotes fluency
Work on reading with expression
Insist on correcting their own mistakes
Whisper phones

19. Reading Workshop Small groups with me Partner reading Challenge work
Fun papers/silent reading
Differentiated Instruction

20. Reading the Big Books Reading aloud to students Introduce vocabulary
Comprehension strategies/skills modeled and taught.
Gives us a chance to read text in front of a large group and model what good readers do

21. Good readers continually monitor their speed and ability to understand throughout reading.
The goal is to turn responsibility for using strategies over to students as soon as possible.
All selections are read twice. The first time focusing on comprehension strategies, the second on comprehension skills.
Show the Big Books

22. First Read of the Selection
Comprehension strategies modeled and taught:
Summarizing
Clarifying
Asking Questions
Predicting
Making Connections
Visualizing
Adjusting Reading Speed
Often 2-3 are modeled and taught in each selection

23. Second Read of Selection
Comprehension skills modeled and taught:
Author’s point of view
Sequence
Fact and opinion
Main idea and details
Compare and contrast
Cause and effect
Classify and categorize
Author’s purpose
Drawing Conclusions
Reality and Fantasy
Making Inferences
By keeping the organization of a piece in mind and considering the author’s purpose for writing, the reader can go beyond the actual words on the page and make inferences or draw conclusions based on what was read.
“Between the lines” skills
Also includes reading with a writer’s eye

24. Benchmark Writing Mini Lesson Writing process cycle Journal Writing
Personal Narratives
Informational Reports
Book Reviews
Independent Writing Time
Sharing Time

25. GUM (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics)
Grammar involves the parts of speech and sentence structure
Usage is our word choices
Mechanics is the punctuation and capitalization
Taught is logical sequence and practiced in reading and writing, not just taught in isolation.

26. How Can You Help? Read to them Listen to them read Decodable Books
Practice word lists
Review high/frequency and outlaw words
Keep it fun!

27. Other resources
iphone app. Search for “McGraw Hill’s” eflashcards. Sight word flash cards and Big Book story vocabulary words.