Posts

5 SIMPLE Steps to Combat the Summer Slide with Reading

/in , , , , /by

For those who are not immersed in the world of education on a daily basis, the term “summer slide” may conjure up nostalgic memories of sunny afternoons at the pool.

For academia, however, summer slide is a dreaded term—one that is not associated with a relaxing pool day at all. Instead, summer slide refers to the loss of academic skills and knowledge over the course of the summer months when students are not in school.

Statistically, summer slide poses a greater threat to students of lower socioeconomic standing, or those considered “at-risk” and most adversely affected by the achievement gap. Research suggests that summer slide is a larger factor for students who may not have access to educational experiences, materials, and books over the summer.

But the grim truth is that regardless of a family’s income, any student is susceptible to the loss of knowledge and skills while being out of school for the summer months.

Some research indicates that summer slide could mean a loss of 20-30% of the information gained over the previous school year.

So yes, the summer slide is a valid concern for educators and parents to consider.

Fortunately, there are many ways to combat the summer slide.

For children and teens, summer reading packets, math booklets, and the like are most often met with groans. Summer is supposed to be a time of freedom from stress; it’s a time for adventure and exploration!

So, if parents truly want to sell a child on schoolwork during the summer, they really must package it appropriately.

  • Provide an ample amount of what teachers call “student choice.” 

Children are much more likely to invest their time and attention in a book or learning activity if it involves an aspect of interest. Additionally, a sense of agency and independence comes with children and teens having a say in what they would like to read or participate in.

Ask your children what they are interested in reading. Start with identifying fiction or nonfiction, then genre or topic, and narrow down from there. Once you have an idea of their interests, take your kids on a field trip to the local library and find a book together.

  • Provide various modes of texts (not just books)

Parents of reluctant readers will want to provide multiple modes of texts as well. Consider purchasing the audiobook or ebook so that your child can listen while following along.

If lengthy chapter books bring your child a sense of dread, expand literature options to graphic novels, magazines, or adapted versions of the classics.

Again, the more a young reader has to choose from, the more likely he or she is to land on something pleasurable.

  • Plan for activities that relate to or expand upon parts of the curriculum from that previous school year. 

Children are always surprised when topics or facts from the classroom suddenly apply in “real life.” Parents can check the school district’s website for curriculum materials or email the child’s teachers to review the major concepts, novels, or skill sets that students were to have mastered that year.

With that knowledge, parents can select materials or push children in the direction of texts and activities that incorporate those skills.

For example, if parents know that their middle schooler read The Diary of Anne Frank over the winter term, they may want to select from sub-genres involving WWII, Holocaust survival stories, or other autobiographical works that feature a strong, young narrator.

  • Get the whole family involved in summer learning

Consider starting a weekly family book club, in which each member reads the assigned pages and then participates in an informal chat about their thoughts on the chapter or events so far. The key to keeping the momentum and enthusiasm going is to ensure that the book talk remains as informal as possible.

Throw pillows and blankets around the living room, set out snacks, or use the night as an excuse to have a pizza party while discussing the book. Since a movie night can be a great incentive for children, think about choosing a book that also has its own film adaptation.

  • Connect the reading material to real-life experiences.

If a child is starting middle school next year, provide her with YA book options that feature a preteen navigating through middle school.

If soccer camp is on the agenda for the summer, find reading materials—nonfiction, fiction, or biographical—that center around soccer, soccer players, or the history of the sport.

The secret to keeping kids reading is to keep the material fresh and relevant.

 

Summer Learning: Inspire Summer Reading

/in , , , , , /by

child-1431616_1280

Reading and writing are likely the last things on your child’s mind as the summer kicks off—and this is nothing new. The battle of the books has been going on forever. Even I, an English literature major and secondary English teacher, was not fond of reading when I was growing up. It wasn’t until college that I found my love of books. When there are countless activities that are undoubtedly deemed more “fun” than reading and writing, it’s no wonder why kids gripe. And yet, the benefits of summer reading cannot be denied. Rather than harping on the idea and shoving a book into your child’s hands, take a look at some subtler ways to encourage literacy this summer.  

Embrace the audio book. Listening to audiobooks is a proven method to encourage reluctant readers. Especially if your family is hitting the road for vacation, an audiobook is a great way to get your child reading for pleasure. While some argue that listening to books on tape is not actively reading, this is far from true. The audiobook is simply a different means of comprehending a text. While listening, your child is still actively engaging with the text by following the plot, analyzing the characters, and making inferences and predictions. Furthermore, most audiobooks have renowned readers that provide entertaining renditions of the different characters, keeping even the most reluctant reader engaged.

Lead by example. With constant technological stimulation around the house, it can be difficult to peddle reading as a leisure activity. However, showing your own interest in literature can be a major influence on your child’s own perception of reading for pleasure. One of my favorite things to do when a summer thunderstorm strikes is to pick up a book. Make an experience out of the act of reading for pleasure. First, make sure to silence cell phones, shut down laptops, and turn off the television. Open the windows to allow the sound of the storm to set a relaxing ambiance. Put on some comfy clothes and curl up on the couch with your current read. By showing your child how books can provide a different kind of entertainment, a more relaxing form, he or she may be more inclined to partake in a leisurely afternoon of literature.

Think outside the book. Sure, reading books is the ultimate goal for parents of reluctant readers. But reading materials can take many forms. If your child enjoys sports, cooking, or video games, provide them with materials that revolve around such topics. Sports articles, cookbooks, and even video game blogs allow unenthusiastic readers to brush up on their favorite topics. Even try an unorthodox method of using reading as an incentive. For instance, when choosing a take-out restaurant, allow your child to choose the place, but only after reading the reviews online. Perhaps you offer your child a day-trip to the location of their choice. However, the catch is he or she must read up on activities to do in the area. Check out local live music opportunities. Pick a family-friendly artist and ask your child to read a few song lyrics before seeing the live show.

By keeping these tips in mind, you, too, can call a truce to the battle of the books this summer!

Remedies for Reluctant Readers, Part II

/in , , , , , , , /by

When reading for pleasure is not an instinct, it can begin to feel like punishment for kids. This is not where we want to end up. It may not be possible to turn every anti-reader into a little bookworm, but there are plenty of strategies that parents and educators can use to help make the process less cringe-worthy. Additionally, some strategies, when put to regular use, can help students become stronger, more critical readers.

 

Movement breaks

Reading can seem like a rather dull activity, especially for little ones. This is understandable—as reading is a quiet, still, and often solitary task. But it doesn’t have to be. One regular strategy that elementary teachers utilize as a best practice is to incorporate movement breaks when students are expected to read for a length of time. Depending on the reader, a movement break might involve a trip to the water fountain or kitchen to get a drink of water after reading a chapter or section. For others it may involve jumping jacks, a quick dancing brain break, or squeezing a stress ball while reading. Some students also find it helpful to read at a standing desk, on a yoga or balance ball, or on a wobble stool to help engage the body and allow for some rhythmic movement while reading. The key is to allow and encourage reluctant readers to expel energy to keep their minds engaged and focused.

 

Preview for background info

For many students, the dislike of reading comes from the fact that it can be tedious and strenuous, especially for struggling readers. Therefore, offering various reading strategies to students can help ease the difficulty and, in effect, increase engagement. One of these strategies, especially for nonfiction or textbook reading assignments, is to preview the reading and search for background on the topic. 

 

Depending on the reading and the student, this practice will look different each time, but here are the basics:

  • Pay attention to the titles, subtitles, headings, captions, photos, bolded vocabulary terms, etc. Students can garner a great deal of what the text will involve by looking at the text features beforehand.
  • Skim sections of the text to ground their reading; this will help orient readers and allow them to plan ahead in terms of seeing how long the reading will be.
  • For terms or concepts that are totally unfamiliar, students should be encouraged to do a quick Google search to help ground their understanding of the term, concept, or event.
  • Jot down questions while previewing; this helps students begin to engage with the text and practice close reading and critical thinking. The goal is to then revisit and answer or follow up on those questions after reading. 

 

Highlight as you go

Along with previewing as a reading practice to boost engagement and comprehension, highlighting is a common tool for successful readers as well. This practice builds strong, active reading skills and helps visual learners at the same time. Students should be encouraged to mark areas of the text for any of the following purposes:

  • Highlight words or phrases that connect to vocabulary terms or important concepts from class; this visual helps to engrain definitions and understanding into working memory.
  • Highlight main points of a section, chapter, or column of text. This way, when students revisit the text, they are able to identify the key points immediately. 
  • Highlight areas of the text that they find confusing or have questions about. This will act as a visual cue to remind students to follow up with the teacher, do a little more research about the specific topic, ask follow-up questions, etc. 

Highlight answers to any of the questions that they asked themselves at the start of the reading; again, this is essentially the foundational skill for active, engaged reading.

Essential Building Blocks for Reading Comprehension, Part II

/in , , , /by

As mentioned in part one, much of the reason that young learners might struggle with reading comprehension is the fact that the process involves a compilation of other complex skills. Such foundational skills necessary for children to begin to master reading comprehension include: fluency, phonemic awareness, accessing prior knowledge/making connections, vocabulary, syntactical rules/conventions, working memory, and attentiveness. 

 

Vocabulary Strategies

  • Instruct children about specific vocabulary terms, but make sure that the new words are connected to something they are currently reading, seeing, hearing, or learning about. It is important to avoid teaching vocabulary “in a vacuum.” Vocabulary words taught at random or with little context or connectivity to prior knowledge is not likely to make it into a child’s lexicon.
  • Pre–teach new vocabulary terms by relating them to concepts and terms that your child already knows. Then, when she encounters the word in a text, she will have prior exposure to the word and some sense of understanding.
  • Utilize root word instruction and practices. This might include creating root word charts with examples, opposite T-charts, visual word tree trunks with various prefixes and suffixes. Practice making new or nonexistent words using roots as a silly way to grasp root word meanings.
  • Use synonyms casually when speaking to your child.
  • Create a word web wall and add to the web as you make connections between new words.
  • Emphasize context clues while reading aloud; model how to actively engage with new words by making comments like, “I wonder what this might mean in the sentence given the surrounding information…”

 

Syntax Rules and Conventions

  • Ask your child to rearrange the words in the sentence, but maintain the same meaning. For example, given the sentence “You can watch a show after you have finished your homework.” Your child should rephrase by saying something like, “You must finish your homework before you can watch a show.”
  • Demonstrate different ways in which sentences can be combined, separated, or punctuated. The key is to show them that, even with variations in sentence structure, the phrases mean the same thing.
  • Model the process of summarizing a short excerpt or sentence. Then explain how paraphrasing is slightly different. Practice this process aloud together.
  • Exaggerate the purpose of punctuation while reading aloud to emphasize each punctuation mark’s function. 
  • Provide examples of how punctuation can drastically change the underlying meaning of a sentence. One favorite example is, “Let’s eat, Grandma!” vs. “Let’s eat Grandma!”
  • Find fill-in-the-blank reading options, where children are provided with word banks or suggestions on each page, but must use the context of the story to correctly complete each missing word.

 

Working Memory and Attention Strategies

  • Purposefully chunk down larger sections of text while reading aloud. Then ask clarifying questions or practice summarizing the section before moving to the next passage or chunk.
  • Ask your child to make predictions while reading to practice recalling and utilizing details that have already been mentioned in the text.
  • Plan for engaging questions while reading. Parents should preview the text and think about ways in which to connect the details to other aspects of a child’s life. Ask critical thinking questions as well, such as, “Why do you think the character did that?” “What do you think she meant when she said…?” “How would you have reacted differently if you were in the story?”
  • Sketch a visual timeline of events while reading. This doesn’t have to be a detailed, moment-by-moment recollection; you can use bullet points on sticky notes, a small white board, or index cards with events 1-3 on them. Be sure to deliberately emphasize the use of transition words, especially when focusing on chronological summaries.
  • Listen to an audio version of the text while following along with the physical book.
  • When reading together, once you reach the bottom of a page, ask your child which detail stands out to her the most. If she’s unable to recall a significant detail, encourage rereading.
  • Remove all distractions while reading, including background noise, cell phones/screens, etc. You can also find texts with larger print, reduced text per page, and print with extra space between paragraphs to help children visually focus on one aspect of the text at a time.

Essential Building Blocks for Reading Comprehension, Part I

/in , , , /by

Many of us don’t actually remember learning how to read. We may remember sitting on our kindergarten carpet squares, picking out new picture books at the school book fair, or feeling the excitement of turning the final page of a book read independently for the first time. Those fond memories are certainly associated with the skills one must acquire in order to first learn to read; however, we cannot necessarily remember the actual process of learning how to comprehend the words on the page. Thinking about it now, reading almost seems like an innate skill, as though reading just happens. If only that were the case…

 

Sadly, reading comprehension can be a labor intensive task for many young learners. Some children can fool us on the surface; they may learn to read fluently, briskly, and accurately, as though they are natural-born readers. However, reading fluency and comprehension do not always go hand in hand. Children may acquire the necessary skills to read clearly and accurately, but, try as they might, these same kids may simultaneously struggle with the ability to digest or comprehend a text. So, if it is not a natural or innate skill, what goes into reading comprehension anyway?

 

Part of the reason why reading comprehension can be a struggle for many learners is the fact that the process involves a compilation of other complex skills. Such foundational skills necessary for children to begin to master reading comprehension include: fluency, phonemic awareness, accessing prior knowledge/making connections, vocabulary, syntactical rules/conventions, working memory, and attentiveness. 

 

Fluency Strategies

  • Review sight words and high frequency words regularly
  • Turn fluency practice into a game by setting timed records, racing against the clock, and matching spoken sight words with word cards
  • Practice pronunciation by modeling and rehearsing
  • Clap period stops and snap comma pauses to improve punctuation recognition
  • Repeat readings to help with word recognition
  • Always read aloud to and with your child
  • Model and practice reading with expression
  • Give your different characters a “voice” while reading aloud to your child
  • Preview or expose children to the new or unfamiliar words before giving them the reading passage
  • Utilize poetry, nursery rhymes, and songs to practice fluency

 

Phonics Strategies

  • Use photos/images to match objects with corresponding beginning sounds
  • Practice sorting words into “like” sound piles using word cards
  • Create a word wall in your child’s bedroom or playroom
  • Play “blend bingo” using bingo cards and corresponding images of words that include each consonant blend
  • Use Scrabble tiles to “build” sounds 
  • Use rhyming strategies to group/categorize words
  • Play “which one of these is not like the others?” using word cards
  • Use tapping, clapping, or any other kinesthetic method for sounding out words

 

Background Knowledge Strategies

  • Expose your child to a variety of text types and different genres to create a repertoire of background information
  • Incorporate alternate media, such as movies, art, news, television, etc.
  • Teach new words in categories to help solidify new terms with prior knowledge
  • Practice word mapping to build connections
  • Compare and contrast words and concepts while reading
  • Preview new texts or frontload unfamiliar information using references or just casually discussing the topic
  • Use KWL charts to track knowledge of new concepts/topics
  • Utilize picture books, regardless of age, to pair images with new words
  • Take virtual field trips

Diversity and Summer Learning

/in , , , , , /by

Research finds that diverse environments are greatly beneficial to students for many reasons. Experiencing diversity allows us to expand our worldview by seeing, hearing, and working alongside people from different backgrounds. Everyone we meet has a different story. Therefore, the more people, cultures, lifestyles and differences we encounter, the more enriched our own lives become. Diversity encourages creativity and innovative thinking as well. Because a diverse learning environment promotes others’ perspectives, students become better thinkers and problem solvers simply by collaborating with people from various backgrounds.

 

With schools currently out of session, young learners may not be confronted with diverse experiences. However, there are activities and resources for parents to utilize that encourage children to explore the world outside of themselves. Here are a few ideas of how to incorporate diversity into your summer learning activities.

 

“Read Across America”

Originally created by the National Education Association to encourage literacy while celebrating  the legacy of renowned storyteller Dr. Seuss, Read Across America has morphed into a year-long celebration of enriching young peoples’ lives through literature. The initiative encourages readers to dive into books that introduce characters from all over the country, which enables children to explore American culture in its many forms.

 

There are countless lists of recommended books for any reading level available online, but parents may want to curate their own list to ensure that children are discovering unfamiliar cultures, underrepresented communities, and unsung heroes across the United States.

 

Online Exhibits

Covid-19 has certainly thrown a wrench into many summer plans and activities. Museums, however, have done a wonderful job of creating digital exhibits and online experiences for learners of all ages. One great way to learn about other cultures is by exploring their origins.

 

  • Teens can explore the vast history of WWII and Jewish culture by “touring” the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  • The National Museum of Natural History allows explorers to tour every exhibit, room by room.
  • The National Women’s History Museum provides online exhibitions, as well as oral histories of notable women throughout history.
  • The National Museum of African American History and Culture provides interactive guides and resources for visitors to digitally explore the countless artifacts, historical moments, personal histories, and much, much more.
  • The National Museum of the American Indian also allows visitors to take a look at the true story of Pocohontas, view tribal wear and hundreds of artifacts, listen to firsthand accounts of the Native American experience, and explore plenty of other historical moments before the United States was established.

 

Celebrate the Arts

Exploring and celebrating diverse cultures means experiencing other communities on many different levels—from art, music, dance, to food and more! An easy way to introduce children to other parts of the world is by bringing their traditions into your home. Consider using one night per week to “taste your way” through an unfamiliar part of the world.

 

As a family, you can research traditional ingredients and methods of cooking, learn about the type of clothing children typically wear to school or at home, read up on the various utensils and table settings, and listen to traditional or popular music. Another idea is to have children select a country on a world map and have them be the experts of that country. The best way to test your knowledge of something is by teaching someone else! Help them with the initial exploration by providing guiding questions such as:

 

  • What do children from this area or community do for school lunch?
  • What is a typical “birthday treat” in this city or community?
  • What type of music is played at a family celebration?
  • What produce is native to this area? How do they prepare it?
  • What similarities/differences do you notice between your favorite American foods and their customary cuisine?

 

During this time when physical travel is limited, make it a point to experience the world with your children through reading, research, and new recipes!

 

Spicing Up Phonics: Tips for Parents Pt. I

/in , /by

Phonics instruction that young learners encounter in school can unfortunately be repetitive, systematic, and downright drab. Many phonics programs that schools use to teach reading and writing acquisition are prescribed—meaning that they follow a specific, almost formulaic pattern for everyday instruction. While these programs help students memorize and familiarize themselves with letter/sound patterns, they often fail to spark imagination, creativity, and engagement. With this in mind, parents can supplement their child’s formal phonics instruction with several different activities that also allow for some fun at the same time.

“I Spy Collage”

To help children make connections between letters and their corresponding sounds, parents can use old magazines for letter/sound inspiration.

  • Allow children to choose a letter of the alphabet.
  • Using craft scissors and adult supervision, children should skim through the magazine to snip out photos of objects that begin with that phoneme or sound.
  • After snipping a solid collection of images that begin with specific sounds, children can then organize the magazine clippings into numerous different categories.
  • On one day, ask your child to sort images of vowel sounds.
  • Then ask your child to sort images into long and short vowel sounds.
  • On another day, ask your child to organize clippings in alphabet form.
  • As an extension, parents can help children come up with a picture story using the various magazine images. Children can then glue the clippings down and have a visual short story that represents their alphabet journey.

“Leap to the letter”

An engaging way to incorporate movement involves just a few household items.

  • Using colored construction paper or card stock, write down different letters of the alphabet, one letter per piece of paper.
  • Scatter the letter cards facedown around the room or backyard, making sure that the papers are trailing one another in stepping stone format. It will look like a giant game board trailing around the room.
  • Using dice, ask your child to roll, count the number, then take that same number of hops onto the colored letter cards.
  • Once they’ve taken the appropriate number of hops, ask him or her to turn over the letter card that they are standing on.
  • Your child should then make that letter sound, as in /p/, for example.
  • To extend the activity, challenge your child to find an item in the room that starts with the same sound.
  • Want even more of a challenge? Use a small chalkboard or scratch paper to keep track of each “hopped” sound. Then help your child arrange those letters into sight words.

Swat the letter

This is another fun activity that requires very little prep time and minimal materials. What parents will need are plastic magnetic letters, a magnet board or refrigerator, and a fly swatter.

  • Scramble the magnetic letters around the surface of the fridge in no particular pattern.
  • As you call out sounds, your child will take the fly swatter and swat the letter that matches the sound that they heard.
  • Parents can also increase the challenge by saying words or names, then asking the child to swat the beginning or ending sound of that word or name.

Summer Writing For Your Elementary Schooler

/in , , /by

Summer slide, or the tendency for students to lose academic knowledge or skills while they are out of school during summer break, is a common concern among parents and educators. For many students, literacy skills see the most regression over the summer, which is why summer writing can be so crucial for families once school lets out.

Practices to Consider

The key to encouraging summer writing, especially for struggling or reluctant writers, is to fuse function with fun. That is, make writing feel less like an assignment and more like an engaging activity by linking it to your child’s everyday summer activities.

  • Grab the sidewalk chalk and help your early elementary-level children with their sight words in the driveway or out front on the sidewalk. Because chalk can be easily brushed/swept or hosed off, children do not need to worry about perfection. Stress the fact that this meant to be a low-risk activity to practice sight words.
  • Continue using sidewalk chalk to write sight words, spelling words, or vocabulary words, but add a layer of complexity by devoting specific colors for consonants and vowels. Extend the challenge by grouping long vowels and short vowels, underlining consonant blends, etc.
  • Practice summarizing, making predictions, and extending or altering the endings of your child’s favorite bedtime story. This activity allows them to tap into their literacy skills and their creativity. It also incorporates choices—they can choose their bedtime story, decide on an alternate ending, or add on to the story to keep it going in whatever direction they’d like.
  • Use a whiteboard on the fridge to start a daily or weekly vocabulary word for the family to learn and practice. Of course, you will want to make sure that the vocabulary term is grade-level appropriate or something that your child would see in school in the coming years. The purpose is to get them excited about and proud of their expanding vocabulary. Add to the challenge by tallying every time your child uses the word properly.
  • Show children that writing can be a great way to wind down, especially at the end of those long summer days filled with physical activities. A leisurely way to settle one’s thoughts is to put them on paper. Encourage a brief daily journaling routine or start a 365 diary. The diaries are meant to capture key takeaways from the day or respond to thought-provoking, open ended questions. At the end of 365 days, your child will have an autobiographical account of their experiences and musings.
  • Frame the writing activities or journaling practices as an experience—designate a specifically cozy spot in the house with cushions and blankets, special pens, markers, and stickers. Play soft, instrumental music in the background and remove distracting technology. Parents should follow the guidelines as well and join in with their own journaling. Turn off the television, silence phones, and immerse yourself in writing for 15-20 minutes to demonstrate how a leisurely routine is cathartic and engaging for everyone.

 

Reading Better

/in , , /by

For elementary and middle school-aged students, reading better, in their minds, often means simply reading faster. While reading fluency and words per minute (wpm) are crucial indicators of a strong reader, a student whose primary goal is to read quickly is not necessarily reading properly. To curb this “faster is always better” mentality while still promoting fluency growth, parents and educators can help shift the focus to a more broad definition of a strong reader.

  • Strong readers do much more than absorb and store the information that they have read in their minds. Recall is important, but application is more important. This means that, after students read, an immediate process or task to apply that information or combine details from the text with another skill is critical.
    • After reading about ancient civilizations, for example, ask students to participate in a discussion in which they compare ancient tools and building methods to today’s modern tools and structures.
    • While reading a “how-to” text, ask children to restate each step in order using the text. Then ask them to consider why certain steps must be completed before others.
    • When reading a novel or story, encourage students to make connections to the text with questions and considerations, such as:
      • Why do you think the character responded in that way?
      • How do you think he/she is feeling at this point in the story, why?
      • Have you ever felt that way or experienced something similar?
      • What would you do if you were in this same situation?
      • What kind of relationship do these two characters have? How do you know?
      • Do you think the character is making good decisions?
      • What do you think might happen next based on what we have read?
      • Have you read anything like this before?
      • How was that story similar or different?
      • Does this story, setting, conflict, or character remind you of anything you have heard or watched before?
    • If students are asked to complete a multi-step assignment or required to read complex or lengthy directions, encourage them to break the steps or directions down into smaller, manageable procedures. Prompting students to rephrase instructions or directions is also a good practice for applying what they have just read.
  • Teach young readers how to consider their intent for reading whatever it is that they are reading. When reading for pleasure, their reading strategies might include making predictions, visualizing the details of the story, or discussing the section or page with a friend who is reading the same novel.  However, if a student is reading something for school, the strategies are likely different because of his or her intent.
    • Ask students to consider their goals for reading prior to diving into the text. Do they want to memorize certain information? If so, rereading is going to be a necessary process for that text. If a student is reading something to learn a new skill or strategy, they may want to summarize or simplify the text as they work through each page or chapter.
    • Similarly to goal-setting before reading, teachers should encourage readers to consider one thing that they hope to gain from the text. Are you seeking another’s perspective? Absorbing new vocabulary? Looking for clues to a math word problem? Comparing/contrasting information? Summarizing a process? Investigating a problem and potential solutions? Following a sequence?
    • Ask students to then identify if their goal or intention was accomplished or met by reading the text. If not, ask them to question why they may have missed the mark while reading.

Discuss what active reading looks like. For many students, especially reluctant readers, reading simply means getting to the end—each page or paragraph is just one step closer to being finished. When completion is the goal, students tends to daze, daydream, and lose focus of the text. Remind students that, if they get to the bottom of a page and realize that they had been thinking about something completely different from the actual text, they were not actually absorbing the information. This is similar to the difference between seeing something and looking at something—sounds like the same thing, but looking at something means to examine it; seeing it means to just come across something without actual consideration.

Scrabble as an Instructional Tool

/in , , , , , /by

April 13th is the official day to celebrate every word-lover’s favorite board game—Scrabble! This beloved game-cabinet staple has been around since the 1930s, but its relevance in the classroom is eternally apparent. Not only Scrabble, but countless other board games and childhood favorites, can also be used to support learning and spur student engagement. Browse the ideas below to see how Scrabble could be incorporated into your own learning environment, whether it be in the classroom or at home.

 

Scrabble:

  • Use the letters as a form of equity sticks or calling sticks. Each student will be assigned a letter. When that letter is drawn, that student is selected to participate, read aloud, share their example, etc. Use the letters to correspond to students’ names. Similarly to calling sticks, if the teacher or another student draws the letter “D,” the next participant/classroom speaker’s name must start with or include the letter “D.”
  • Use the letter pieces to spell sight words for students. They can recreate the sight word from memory when the letters are scrambled up. Conversely, to challenge the strong spellers or provide enrichment, teachers may want to spell a sight word incorrectly and ask the student to remove or swap out the incorrect or misplaced letter.
  • Split students into groups and provide them with a pile of letters. Groups must race to sort the consonants and vowels into two different piles. The first group with everything sorted correctly wins!
  • Provide students with two vowels and three consonants. Then challenge them to see how many words they can spell with their letters by rearranging the squares.
  • For students just learning the alphabet, provide them with several letters and an alphabet reference strip if needed. Ask students to then put the letters in alphabetical order, skipping any letters that are not part of the sequence they were given.
  • Divvy up the letters to small groups of students. Put a photo up on the board to represent a spelling word, like “table,” for example. Then ask students to raise their hands if they think their letter is involved in the spelling of the word. If so, then as students with hands raised to arrange themselves in the correct order to spell that word.
  • Set up a “photo album” of images that contain consonant blends or digraphs that students have been learning about. For each photo, ask students to place the Scrabble squares of the letters that form that digraph or blend. For instance, if the photo depicts a flower, the student would place “f” and “l” on the picture; a stop sign would mean that “s” and “t” should be placed on the image.
  • As an extension activity, or to challenge students with strong phonics skills, provide them with a recorded sound, like “ew.” Then ask them to come up with all of the vowel/consonant combinations that could compose a word with that vowel sound: blue, too, crew, shoe, bruise, two, flu, etc. The key for this activity is that students begin to recognize the different combinations of letters that can make the same or similar sounds.