What's Happening in Reading: February 2016

from your literacy specialists

Kindergarten...

Kindergarteners at HOD are wrapping up their third unit, Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles!  A lot of students have made the switch to more conventional reading! They are moving from no longer reading just the pictures to being able to read the words in their books!  Kindergarteners have strengthened many of their super powers to become even stronger readers!  They have also learned a new super power: pattern power!  Some readers can use the pattern in books to help them.  Kindergarten readers are continuing to read independently and with partners, as well as in small groups where they can use their super powers in “just right” books with their teachers.

 First Grade...

First-grade readers are wrapping up their third unit and have become bosses of their reading!  This unit was more strategy based and allowed readers to become more independent and flexible when solving tricky words.  First graders now have many tools to first solve those tricky words, and then even more tools to help them understand their books.  First-grade readers think about what would make sense, sound right, and look right when solving tricky words.  To help them understand, first graders reread if they don’t get it, make mind movies to picture what’s happening, and keep track of who’s talking as they read.  First graders are now ready to move on to the fourth unit where they will be studying story elements!

 Second Grade...

Second graders are doing a wonderful job in Unit Three: Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power! They began the unit sharpening their fluency skills by trying to scoop words into meaningful phrases and pay closer attention to dialogue when reading aloud. They then studied literary language by focusing on various authors’ use of fun and playful wording. As they shift into reading longer books, second graders are learning how to keep track of characters and plot, as well as how to stay on track when books get tricky. The final section of the unit is an introduction to book clubs, paving the way for the work they will be doing in the final unit, Series Book Clubs.

What’s Happening in Reading? 

from your literacy specialists

December, 2015

Kindergarten...
Kindergarteners at HOD are enjoying their new roles as Super Readers, who can activate all kinds of super powers to become stronger readers! These include: pointer power, reread power, partner power, picture power, snap word power, sound power, and persistence power! In addition to reading independently and with partners, students now also read in small groups where they practice using their super reading powers flexibly in books at their instructional levels.

  First Grade...

First ­graders are wrapping up their nonfiction unit and jumping into a new unit: Readers Have Big Jobs to Do. First­ grade readers are becoming the boss of their own reading and learning new word­solving strategies to help them take action when they encounter tricky words. They will also be learning comprehension strategies to help them better understand the books they are reading, and then putting all of these strategies together while reading fluently!                                            

Second Grade...

Second graders are wrapping up Unit 2, Becoming Experts: Reading Nonfiction. The final bend of this unit explores the idea of growing knowledge of a topic across books, comparing and contrasting information from various sources. We are teaching students to ask questions for deeper understanding, such as “How is this important?” and “What is another example of this?” instead of just looking for interesting facts. 

What's Happening in Reading? November, 2015

What's Happening in Reading? September 2015