Five Areas of Literacy
Phonemic Awareness/Phonics
Phonemic awareness: is the ability to think about and work with the inividual sounds in spoken words. Before a child can learn to read, they must learn about the sounds in the words. Children must understand that words are made up of speech sounds or phonemes.
Phonics: teaches the children about the relationship between the letters and the sound each letter makes. Phonics teaches children that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds.
Phonics: teaches the children about the relationship between the letters and the sound each letter makes. Phonics teaches children that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds.
Phonemic Awareness Activity: Initial Phoneme Picture Sort
How to access: The button to the right will lead to you a PDF of activities from the Florida Center of Reading Research. These activities are evidence-based and engaging. A great phonemic awareness activity is on page 1-5 called initial phoneme picture sort. An example of the activity is shown below.
There are four header cards face up on a flat surface. The phoneme picture cards are face down in a single stack. The students take turn selecting a card from the stack, name the picture, and say the initial phoneme (ex: "penguin, /p/") The student will then place the card under the matching inital phoneme header (ex: purse.) Continue until all cards are sorted. |
Phonics Activity: Letter Cube Blending
How to access: The button to the right labled "phonics activity" will lead you to a phonics activity found on Intervention Central. The letter cube blending activity targets alphabetic (phonics) skills. The game is hands-on and will keep the students engaged.
The student is given cubes with assorted consonants and vowels appearing on the sides (see below). The student rolls the cubes and records the resulting letter combinations on a recording sheet. The student then determines if the "word" composed from the letters randomly appearing is a real word or a nonsense word. This activity can be used with a group or with an individual student. |
Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking.
Fluency Activity: Fluent Phrasing
How to access: Once you click the button to the right you will be sent to a pdf of fluency activities. The activity is on page 1-8.
The Florida Center for Reading Research has many evidence-based activities on their website. The button to the right labeled "Fluency Activity: Fluent Phrasing" is a fluency activity found on the website. The activity is for second to third grade students. The activity is found in part three under the fluency tab in book two. The sentence sailboat cards are placed face down in a stack (see example below.) Student one selects the top card and reads line by line until completing the entire paragraph. Student two follows along. Both students re-read the sentence on the last line of the sailboat aloud together. The students then reverse roles and continue until all the sentences have been read. |
Fluency Activity: Shared Reading
How to access: The link to the right labled "Fluency Activity: Shared Reading" will lead you to the activity on the reading rockets website. Shared reading is an interactive reading experience that occurs when students join in or share the reading of a book or other text while guided and supported by a teacher. The activity can be used before reading, during reading, and after reading. The activity can be used on an individual level, with a small group, or a class setting.
The teacher introduces a story discussing the title, cover, and the author/illustrator. The teacher asks the students to make predictions regarding what they think the story may be about. The teacher reads the story aloud to the students, using appropriate inflection and tone. The teacher will pause and ask the students to make predictions. This keeps the students engages. The teacher will ask brief questions to determine students' comprehension level. Then the teacher concludes the reading by reserving time for reactions and comments. The teacher asks questions about the story and relates the story to the students' similar experiences. The teacher asks the students to retell the story in their own words. The teacher re-reads the story and/or allows for independent reading. Finally, the teacher conducts follow up activities, such as making crafts related to the story. The video below shows shared reading in action. |
The button to the right will lead you to a pdf. The PDF will provide you will a detailed description of shared reading for grades K-1.
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Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. In general, vocabulary can be described as oral vocabulary or reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words we use when speaking or recognize when listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize in print.
Vocabulary Activity: Word Map
How to access: The button to the right labeled "Word Maps" will lead you to the Reading Rockets website. The website provides information about why using word maps is helpful, how to use the word maps, and a video of a teacher using a word map.
A word map is a visual organizer that promotes vocabualry development. Using a graphic organizer, students think about the terms or the conceos in different ways. The word map will engage students in developing a definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture for the word. Developing vocabulary is critical in order to develop students' reading comprehension. The students are given a word map worksheet. The teacher introduces the word map and the vocabulary term. The teacher instructs the students how to use the map by putting the target word in the central box. The teacher asks the students to suggest words or phrases to put in the other boxes, which answer the following questions: "What is it? What is it like? What are some examples?" The teacher encourages the students to use synonyms, antonyms, and a picture to help illustrate the new target word or concept. The teeacher models how to write a defintion, using the information on the word map. An example word map is linked below. |
Vocabulary Activity: Category Sort
How to access: Category sort is an interactive activity found on the Florida Center for Reading Research activity. Click on the button to the right labeled "Category Sort." You will be led to a PDF of many word analysis vocabulary activities. The activity is on page 22-23.
The students brainstorm the category headings and produce words for each category. The teacher places large and small index cards at the center. The student is provided with a marker. The students work in pairs to brainstorm four headings for categories (ex: animals, habitats, planets, vegetables.) Students write the headings on large index cards and identify and write five words for each category. For example, if the category is vegetables, you may write eggplant, peas, corn, etc. Students then place the cards under the corresponding heading. The students write the headings and words on the student sheet (page 23 of the PDF.) An example is shown below. |
Comprehension
Comprehension is the reason for reading. We read text in order to understand. If readers can read text, but not understand what they are reading, they are not really reading.
Comprehension Activity: Compare a Character
How to access: To access this activity click on the button to the right labeled "Compare a character." The activity is on page 4-7 of the PDF.
The activity on the Florida Center for Reading Research website, targets the narrative text structure in comprehension. The activity can be found in book two, part one under comprehension. Students are given the compare a character worksheet. The student reads the text. The student orally states the two main characters in the story and writes each name at the top of the character map (inside the head of the character pictures.) The student then writes specific character attributes under the names of the characters and then writes the shared characteristics in the circle between the two figures. This activity makes the students think during the reading. The student will be thinking about two characters he or she can compare. This activity can be used on an individual level, small group, or whole class. The activity keeps the students engaged before, during, and after reading. |
Comprehension Activity: Main Idea Map
A great comprehension activity is a main idea map found on Intervention Central.
How to access: the button to the right labeled "Main Idea Map" will lead you to the activity page on Intervention Central. A main idea map is a simple strategy that teaches students to create a graphic organizer containing the main ideas of the story. The teacher introduces the strategy to the students. The teacher will then demonstrate how to use the main idea map. Students, along with the teacher will work together to fill in a main idea map. Finally, the students will work independently to find the main ideas in their own passage. The students read through a short 2-6 paragraph text. The students find the main idea of each paragraph of the text and fill out the graphic organizer. Then the students find additional key facts that support the main idea. An example main idea graphic organizer is shown below. A video is also shown below demonstrating how to use the main idea strategy. |
Writing
Writing is a critical skill to have as an individual. Students learn to write in the early stages of their education career. As students progress through school they must be able to use these writing skills to write papers, complete projects, answer written responses, etc. Writing is a life-long skill to have as an individual in today's world.
Writing Strategy: RACE
How to access: RACE is a great strategy found on sharemylesson.com. RACE is a strategy to answer open-ended response questions. In order to access the lesson plan you must create a FREE account. The button to the right labeled "RACE Strategy" will lead you to the RACE lesson plan. The lesson plan includes a PowerPoint Presentation, a handout, a PDF of the RACE strategy, and a RACE poster. Once you create an account then you can access the tools below the picture.
I have provided the PowerPoint below from the website. I did not create this PowerPoint. All rights are reserved to sharemylesson.com. The picture below describes what RACE stands for. The video explains the RACE writing strategy further. RACE Strategy: R: Restate the question A: Answer the question C: Cite the source E: Explain your response |
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Writing Strategy: Paragraph Hamburger
How to access: Reading Rockets provided a hamburger paragraph strategy that can be found by clicking the button to the right labeled "Hamburger Paragraph Strategy."
The paragraph hamburger strategy helps students organize their writing. The hamburger writing organizer visually outlines the key components of a paragraph. A visual of the paragraph organizer can be seen below. I also provided two hamburger paragraph templates from Reading Rockets. The teacher will discuss the three main componants of a paragraph, or story (depending on the students' writing level.)
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