More Tips for Readers

We’ve been connecting with our teachers to get some feedback on strategies to best engage their students during our reading sessions.  Below are the tips shared by a first grade teacher at Garfield.   For the “animal name” strategies not all teachers use the animal names but most do teach the strategies. So for instance for “Skippy Frog”, the Reader could say, “Why don’t you try to skip that word. Read to the end of the sentence and then try the word again.”   These should give some ideas that will help with the kids.

Reading Strategies for Solving Words:

• Eagle Eye- Look at the picture. Use the beginning letter of the word to make sense of it.
• Lips the Fish- Get your mouth ready. Say the first sound.
• Stretchy Snake- Slooooowly stretch each letter sound together.
• Chunky Monkey- Break the word into chunks you know/look for parts you know.     c ar t     fl at    walk ing
• Tryin’ Lion- Try to re-read the sentence. Think about what word would make sense.
• Skippy Frog- Skip the tricky word. Read to the end of the sentence. Go back & try the word again.
• Flippy Dolphin- Flip the vowel sound. If the short vowel sound doesn’t work try the long vowel sound.

Comprehension Strategies

Check For Understanding:

• Start the book by making predictions. What do you think will happen in this story? Use the book cover or take a quick “picture walk” through the illustrations.
• Ask questions and make comments during the reading process.
• After reading a book, have your child tell you the events from the story in the correct order.
• What was the problem in this story?
• How did the character feel when…?
• What was the main idea?
• Encourage your child to make connections. Does this story remind you of another book you read, an event in your life, or a movie you have seen?