1. OCTOBER 15, 2014 MILTON SCHOOL Language Arts in the 2 nd and 3 rd Grade

2. Reading Reading is broken into five discreet strands

3. Phonics  Phonics is defined as a set of rules that specify the relationship between letters in the spelling of words and the sounds of spoken language  These relationships are predictable, but not completely consistent  Phonics helps young readers understand and use the alphabetic principle  Phonics helps young readers use the alphabetic principle - a systematic relationship between graphemes (letters and letter combinations) and phonemes (individual speech sounds)  Phonics instruction helps read and spell words accurately and automatically

4. Decoding Strategies Match The Word It is important, especially for young readers, to use their finger to match up each word as they read across the page. This also helps teach the child one-to-one correspondence. Check The Picture Encourage readers to look for clues in the pictures that might help them on a difficult word. Go Back and Read Again Once the reader figures out the difficult word it is important that they go back to the beginning of the sentence and read it through completely. Get My Mouth Ready Otherwise known as "sounding it out". Have the reader focus on individual letters and/or letter clusters. Work through the word slowly and try to verbalize as many sounds as possible. Self Monitor While reading, encourage the reader to use their eyes and ears to make sure what they are reading makes sense. Ask: Does it sound right? Does it look right? Does it make sense? Find Chunks I Know "Chunks" is a term we use for letter clusters. There are many letters that when combined with other letters form one sound. Also, there are many smaller/easier words that the reader may already know hiding inside the larger difficult word. i.e. about, speaking, there. CRASH Take the first 2/3 sounds of the word, blend it together and then go back to the beginning and connect the next 2/3 sounds. i.e. crash - start with cr-a, go back and put together cra-sh. Skip and Read On This is the most difficult task for a beginning reader to master. Have the reader cover up the difficult word and read to the end of the sentence. Hopefully the majority of the sentence will contain enough clues to help figure out the difficult word.

5. Fluency Fluency is the ability to recognize words rapidly, allowing readers to more easily comprehend text because they are not working to figure out words Fluency can also involve grouping words within a sentence into phrases that make what is read easier to comprehend Grouping words into meaningful phrases and reading with expression helps the reader understand the text by making what is being read resemble natural speech

6. Comprehension Comprehension involves constructing meaning that is reasonable and accurate by connecting what has been read to what the reader already knows and thinking about all of this information until it is understood Fluent decoding is considered a prerequisite to strong comprehension rather than an end in itself Good readers are aware of their own thinking processes, and they make conscious decisions to use different comprehension strategies as they read Comprehension is the final goal of reading instruction

7. Comprehension Strategies Monitoring Comprehension: track thoughts, ideas during reading Asking Questions: question the text before, during and after reading Making Connections: activate prior knowledge to connect with the text Determining Importance: focus on relevant information and key details from text Inferring: use clues from text to figure out meaning of text and new vocabulary Summarizing: Highlight main ideas and gist of text

8. Gradual Release of Responsibility

9. The Literacy Classroom Balanced Instruction

10. 2 nd Grade Readers In 2 nd grade we make a great leap into reading with meaning. “Decoding matters, comprehension counts.” Strong focus that reading is thinking. Focus on choosing a Just Right book for each child: “Just because he can, doesn’t mean he should.”

11. Second Grade Strategies Reading is thinking. Good readers are always thinking when they read... In the reader’s notebook... Write a prediction down and then write what actually happened Write a question down and then answer it once you have read (use evidence from the text) Write a personal connection to the text and be sure to walk in the character’s shoes

12. What does reading look like in 2 nd grade? Mini Lesson (a personal training session!) Independent Reading with Intention  Teacher confers with students  Teacher reads with guided reading groups Silent Sustained Reading “Once you’ve done your job, you can”:  switch to a different book bin book  continue reading your Just Right book  work with a partner Share

13. Example: 2 nd Grade Comprehension Strategy Good readers stop and check for understanding as they read. Good readers make sure they understand “Who is this about?” and “What has happened so far?” before they turn the page.

14. Example: 2 nd Grade Comprehension Strategy Good readers are always thinking! Good readers stop and make predictions as they read based on what has happened so far. Good readers wonder (ask questions) as they read. Student’s reading notebook

15. Conferencing Check in Set goals Monitor book selection Student’s reading notebook

16. The Literacy Classroom Balanced Curriculum Learning to Read Grades K-2 Reading to Learn Grades 3-5 Vocabulary Grammar Spelling Patterns Genre Study Author Study Predictions Connections Fluency Concepts of print Story mapping Rhyming Word families Retelling Decoding strategies Fantasy/Reality Oral Reading Summarizing Story analysis Features of non- fiction Author Purpose Fact/Opinion Self Monitoring Silent Reading

17. Using Peter Pan to identify character traits  T chart in notebook  left side- trait  right side-evidence  Traits are more permanent (mean, jealous) not feelings which are more temporary (sleepy)  Utilize evidence from the chapter

18. Tinker Bell Chapter 3 p. 23 (bottom)-25 Choose a trait to describe Tink Find evidence or proof - what the character says or does

20. Tinker Bell Trait Evidence from text naughty“… such language, Tink” “She says you are a huge ugly girl.” jealous“Wendy screamed as if someone pulled her hair…That must be Tink.” “…she would continue to misbehave so long as Peter kept being nice to Wendy.”

21. Why is this important? Character traits help you understand a character’s actions A character’s actions move the story forward

22. How can parents support their children? Read aloud to your child (even if he/she is a strong reader) Be a model Provide exposure to a variety of text, experiences and literacy contexts Discuss reading and words Encourage rereading and reading aloud Help your child use and recognize a variety of reading strategies Create a regular reading time for your family Make reading fun Visit the public library, school library, or book store Encourage your child to use RAZ kids Check that homework is complete and monitor ongoing projects

23. Please take time to read: TO your child WITH your child OR listen to your child BY himself/herself Suggestions when your child is having difficulty reading by him/herself: Give a few seconds of wait time to see what attempts are made Ask what would make sense in that sentence Use picture clues Skip the word and come back Go back to the beginning of the sentence and try again Tell the word and go on

24. What Can Family Literacy Look Like? Let your child see you reading for pleasure. Share some vocabulary or great phrases, a character, or even part of the story line with them. See if there are any similarities with books that your children are reading. Talk to your children about how your parents read to you and told you stories. When you’re riding in the car, tell your children a story about when you were little, or tell them a story about something that happened at work that day. Leave off the ending and let them provide an ending. Make a family book that is a collection of stories; favorites retold generation after generation or stories of family events (first visit by the tooth fairy). Have your children select three things they want included in the story. Make up a story that includes those three things. For example, the selection might be a princess, a race car, and an ice cream come. The children will love helping you find clever ways to include all three things in the story. When you go on a trip, keep a family journal, writing down impressions and events, keeping postcards or illustrations, noting unusual names for places, or recording strange stories from different places. When you watch a movie, talk about the characters, about how important the setting (time and place) were in the movie, about the sequence of events. Ask how the movie compares with a book and discuss an alternative you or the children might have written for the movie. Use whatever the children have watched on television to connect to books. Help the children find books that give more information about something that has interested them on T.V.

25. What to Do When Reading Isn’t Fun for a Struggling Reader Allow your child to choose material the s/he finds interesting. Yes, even comic books! Expose the struggling reader to all types of literature and all types of books. Be sure that the books are near your child’s reading level so that your child can read them independently. Suggest that your child read a well-known picture book to a younger, non-reading child. This is much less threatening than reading to an adult or a peer. Remember that the most important task of any reader is to create meaning from printed text. Don’t get caught up on sounding out every word. Encourage educated guesses about unknown words from the context and/or picture clues.

26. “Just Right” Books Have your child use the “five finger test” to see if the vocabulary is just right. Ask your child to read one whole page from the middle of the book and count the number of words s/he stumbles on and doesn’t know. If it is more than five it is too difficult. If s/he gets them all or misses only one or two the book is “just right.” Help your child look through the book for the size of the print and the number of pictures-these should be similar to other books your child has successfully read. Encourage your child to read the back cover or inside fly of the book before beginning reading to determine whether the book would be interesting – it is OK to abandon a book occasionally, but not every week! Encourage your child to read at least the first few chapters before deciding to abandon a book – some books may have a slow beginning

27. Second and Third Grade Library

28. Second and Third Grade Library Resources

29. Questions? Many thanks to our contributors: Second Grade Teachers Jacquelyne Benfari, Dayna Reist, Katy Ridley, Tara Taddeo Third Grade Teachers Allison Bily, Jen Bruton, Jeanette Hughes JoAnne Nardone, Principal Kerri Winderman, Staff Developer Barbara Mehlman, Librarian Merrill Bronson, Support Teacher Anna Sandolo, Support Teacher