1. Parent’s Reading Tutor for Grades 1 & 2 A Few Simple Steps to Help Your Struggling Reader Become an Exceptional Reader

2. Phonics – the relationship between letters of written language and the individual sounds of spoken language. Isolate, Practice and Write

3. Isolate – Make a Word (Cunningham, 1991) A great activity to do to practice isolating letter sounds is Make a Word. It helps your child to learn letter/sound relationships. Your student will use this knowledge to create words. For letter combinations and word lists go to www.getthinkingworks.com www.getthinkingworks.com 1.Have your student cut out the alphabet from a piece of paper, or you could purchase alphabet tiles. 2.Have your child outline the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) in a color of their choosing. 3.Ask your child to make words by using the letter cut outs. For example:  Take 2 letters to make the word “an”  Add 1 letter to make the word “ban”  Change 1 letter to make the word “can”  Make the 4 letter word “scan”  Change 1 letter to make the word “span”

4. Practice – Word Sort (Cunningham, 1991) Use the words from the Make a Word activities.  The words should be given to your child in a random order.  The child will then sort the words under the appropriate spelling pattern. For example: if the patterns “an” and “am” are being practiced, your child would sort the words can, Pam, ran, ham, slam, Stan in the appropriate categories. Your child could additionally search for words with the same spelling patterns.

5. Practice – Pick-Up (Johnston, Juel, & Invernizzi, 1995) This activity is very similar to the Word Sort activity. You will use three different spelling patterns. 1.Place the word cards randomly in a column. 2.Ask your child to sort them into their appropriate spelling groups. 3.Next, have your child alternate picking up cards from the different groups and read them. 4.Alternatively, you could have your student call out a card while you find it and pick it up.

6. Write - Writing for Sound (Johnston, Juel, & Invernizzi, 1995) After your child completes the Make a Word activities, have them write the words they have worked on. 1.Chose a word and have them repeat it aloud to you. 2.Encourage your child to stretch out the word like a rubber band, so that they can be positive all the words are included. 3.While tutoring continues, be sure to periodically review previously studied spelling patterns. This strategy helps children apply their phonics knowledge through writing. They write by “sounding out.”

7. Reading in Context (Gaskins et al., 1989) Structured Language Experience Story is a passage that has been developed to provide your child with reading material that contains the specific spelling patterns they have been studying and sight words. You can find Structured Language Experience Stories online at www.getthinkingworks.com www.getthinkingworks.com You can also create your own story. Spelling Pattern: an Spelling Pattern Words: pan, can, ran, Fran, Stan, stranded Setting: The woods Characters: Fran, Stan Problem: They are stranded Events: They were going on a trip The car broke down Fran and Stan ran They found a magical pan Ending: It transported them home. Then you and your child can summarize the information and add details.

8. Reading in Context Continued… Encourage your child to repeatedly read the Structural Language Experience Story throughout the week using an “Autograph Sheet” to record the number of times it was read.

9. Sight Words – Word Banks (Bear et al., 1996) Word Banks is a very good strategy to work on with children to help them recognize words instantly by sight. They do not need to decode it’s immediate recognition. 1.Your child should have two “Word Banks.” One bank should include words being studied, and the other should include words that they have learned and should be reviewed periodically.(“Words I am Learning” and “Words I Know”) 2.Print words on word cards or index cards and secure on a metal ring or separate piles. 3.The words should be words missed when reading, sight words and words that the student choses. 4.Review the words with your child daily and document the number of times they correctly identified the word by marking the corner of the card with a star or dot. 5.When your child has reads the words correctly five times, those words can be moved to the “Words I Know” ring or pile. Additionally, you can keep track of the words your child has learned by graphing your child’s progress.

10. Fluency – Talking Dictionary (Ballard, 1978) Talking Dictionary helps your student become a fluent reader. Simply put, all your child will do is read a passage twice. Time your child (2-3 minutes per read). If your child encounters an unknown word, you say the word for them rather than have them “sound it out.” When they reread for the second time you should see an increase in words read. Repeat this activity often and graph how many words the student has read.

11. Reading Comprehension – About Point (Martin et al., 1977) About Point (Martin et al., 1977) is a strategy that helps students find the main idea of a story and to summarize the important parts of the reading passage. 1.Students will read a short passage or chapter. 2.They will then identify the ”about” or topic of the text. 3.They then identify what they think the author wanted to say about the topic (“point”). 4.Lastly, they combine them to make a statement. About point is best used for Expository Texts.

12. Reading Comprehension – A Plot Relationships Chart (Macon et al., 1991) Plot Relationships Chart is used for Narrative Text. This strategy helps students to focus on the problems and solutions of a story. This strategy will help your child to understand the connections between the characters, their goals, the problems they faced, the reason certain events happened and the resolve of the problems. Example:

13. Vocabulary – Personal Clues (Carr, 1987) Personal Clues is a strategy that helps children memorize unfamiliar words through a personal connection. 1.The child will write down the unknown word down. 2.The parent or teacher should help that child to come up with a simplified definition. 3.That child will write down a word or words that will help them in particular to recall that vocabulary word. Another option is to have them draw a picture that would be linked to the clue.

14. Topics Covered… Hello All, The strategies used in tutoring cover the following: Phonics, Context (Reading), Sight Words, Fluency, Comprehension and Vocabulary. These are vital to helping your child become an exceptional reader. I wish you the best of luck and I hope that your child shows significant growth in their reading soon. If you have questions or need alternative strategies feel free to contact me: 330-572-2792 rachel.skifstad@colonialprep.org Sincerely, Mrs. S