1. Small Group Reading Instruction
What should it look like?

2. What happens… Beyond McKenna/Walpole phonics instruction?
In between McKenna/Walpole phonics cycles?

3. Fluency and Comprehension
Good introduction to “real” reading.
Designed to build accuracy, rate, and expression using real texts.
Lots of teacher support
Reading and re-reading!
Comprehension checks
Multi-syllabic instruction

4. Fluency & Comprehension Lessons Include…
Instruction of Multisyllabic words
Review what we’ve read, prepare to read the next section.
Choral or echo reading first time through
Whisper or partner read second time through
Comprehension questions

5. Vocabulary & Comprehension Lessons
This level is the goal we have for all readers, to reach this place where they can read with comprehension, discuss and write about what they’ve read, and go deeper with comprehension skills and strategies!
Pick great books!
How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction by McKenna/Walpole is a great resource!
Instill love for reading!! (Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane… story)

6. “ Let’s get this party started! ”
Before Reading
“ Let’s get this party started! ”

7. “Can we just read the book now
“Can we just read the book now?” Joey Grade 3 “Why do we always have to talk about the book?” Jacob Grade 4 “Are we ever gonna read?” Anonymous

8. “I want to make the book as easy for you to read and understand as I can.”

9. I want to stack the deck so everyone is a winner.

10. What counts as pre-reading?
Any activity that helps students understand what they are about to read

11. Pre-reading activities are designed to:
Get students excited about (or at least interested in) reading the text
Give students a sense of how the text is organized
Give students “tips” before reading
Build confidence
Bring forth prior knowledge that is relevant to the text and access students’ schemata (“say whaaat?”)

12. What is a schema? Everybody’s got one!!!
(actually more than one- schemata)
Your schema is your knowledge of the world
and how that knowledge is organized in your
brain.

13. If knowledge of the world tapestry where it belongs.
is like a tapestry…
(“an everlasting vision of the ever
changing view” –Carole King)
…then kids need to find the
right loom and weave
that new piece of
information into the
tapestry where it belongs.

14. There’s more…
As experiences happen and new knowledge is encountered, schemata are added to or modified.
So, our job in pre-reading instruction is to help students access existing understanding, so they can weave in new information and create a new schema.

15. Time spent in pre- reading activities is time well spent…
The Vocabulary and Comp lesson plan from McKenna /Walpole allocates 4-5 minutes to build background knowledge and introduce unfamiliar vocabulary

16. Tick, Tick, Tick
…and 4-5 minutes of Teacher modeling to Provide focus for reading or listening

17. Examples of “teacher talk” can be found in the McKenna/Walpole “Rainbow Book”… …and can be modeled by your friendly neighborhood Instructional coach.

18. Vocab & Comp – Before Reading
Introduce the book: build background, present vocabulary needed to understand text.
For Fiction Selections: Use front cover and illustrations to make predictions and set a purpose for reading.
For Nonfiction Selections: Describe text features; use them to make predictions about content and set a purpose for reading.

19. Vocab & Comp – During Reading
Focus students on a comprehension strategy to be used while reading the text: Predicting Synthesizing Monitor/Clarify Fact/Opinion Evaluate Cause/Effect Questioning Compare/Contrast Inferring Text/Graphic Features Analyzing Understand Characters Main Idea/Details Sequence of Events Story Structure
Pages of McKenna/Walpole book – as a handout??
When you plan a book for small group reading, think about which comprehension strategy will be most suited to the book, which is most needed by your students, and what fits with the instruction you’ve provided in whole group instruction. Duffy handout – rainbow book pg 123 (bottom)-124

20. Vocab & Comp – During Reading
Students are to whisper or partner read the part of the book assigned .
They will read with their purpose in mind!
Students can go to their desks to read while the teacher meets with another group.
For a very low group, or for Kindergarten or 1st grade, the teacher may read the text instead of the students – this would be helpful for practicing comprehension strategies or building background, but shouldn’t be used all the time. Students need to be reading text, also.

21. Vocab & Comp – after reading
Review comprehension strategy and purpose for reading – “debrief,” with students expressing their thoughts. A graphic organizer may be useful to reinforce the strategy used in reading.
Ask specific questions to see that students understood the text and applied the comprehension strategy.
Sentence frames – SOL questions -

22. Vocab & Comp – After Reading
After Reading – choose from:
• review the comprehension strategy – restate (or have students restate) the use of the strategy –
refer to (look at ) the diagram or graphic organizer you used for this book
• for longer books, review what you’ve learned or read about so far, then wonder about what you
might learn in the next section

23. Vocab & Comp – After Reading

24. Vocab & Comp – After Reading

25. Vocab & Comp – After Reading

26. Vocab & Comp – After Reading

27. Vocab & Comp – After Reading
review vocabulary
* nonfiction – review content vocabulary
* fiction – review / introduce Tier 2 words

28. Vocab & Comp – After Reading
review the text structure (pg. 129)
* sequential
* topic-subtopic
*simple listing
*comparison-contrast
* problem-solution

29. Vocab & Comp – After Reading
Ask questions that prompt children to think actively about the text

30. Vocab & Comp – After Reading

31. Follow-up Activities Journaling Graphic Organizers Art Drama
Retellings
Connect to Content Area
Projects and Presentations (particularly after a unit)
BUT spend more time reading and writing than on “extra” projects!