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This article offers several practical ideas re: picture books that support vocabulary acquisition skills.

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Author

Vocabulary instruction has always been a challenge for me. I believe strongly that students need to learn vocabulary in context, but I have realized recently that there are concepts related to vocabulary learning that are bigger than meanings of individual words. This awareness of word concepts is crucial for building the skills necessary for students to learn words when they are reading independently.

My big goals for students include understanding word parts, determining word meaning through the context, inferring new ways authors use words, using appropriate vocabulary in writing, and learning content-specific vocabulary. I want my instruction to be as much about helping kids become strategic and independent in their word learning as it is about learning the meanings of new words. Picture books are a powerful tool for helping students see the sophistication of word learning in simple, accessible ways.

Beginning Conversations

I recently discovered the book Gumption! by Elise Broach and shared it with several classes in the library. Readers often take different meanings away from the same book, yet I also know that some books invite certain kinds of conversations. I used the book Gumption! to start a conversation about using context cues to determine the meaning of a word. The word "gumption" is unfamiliar to most children, and is used over and over again without actually being defined. Readers infer the meaning and change their thinking based on new contexts provided. This book helps students at all grade levels think about the ways we learn new words, by attending to different ways they are used over time. This is also a great book to begin conversations about coming across unknown words in reading.

Building Word Understanding

I love to use picture books that focus on one word. There are several books like this in which the word is defined or described on every page. Three of my favorites are Courage by Bernard Waber, Misery Is a Smell In Your Backpack by Harriet Ziefert, and Hope Is an Open Heart by Lauren Thompson. By giving one defining statement per page, these books actually show the word's meaning over and over again in a way that is accessible to kids. Even though readers may not fully understand the word by the end of the book, the many examples help kids begin to understand sophisticated words in a more conceptual way.

Zero Is The Leaves On The Tree by Betsy Franco is another book in this category with a vocabulary and math focus. This book is very similar to those I've listed above, in that it defines the main word zero in a variety of conceptual ways for readers.

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors is a collection of poems and information by Joyce Sidman. The word ubiquitous is one that many children won't know. After reading and rereading the book, students will be able to make a good guess about the word, and how the poems go together as part of the title.

Word Parts

One of the important things we want our kids to understand when it comes to vocabulary is that often words are derived from other words. This is a difficult concept, but one that carries them through a great deal of word learning. If kids can understand how parts of words are often found in unfamiliar words, they have a strategy for tackling many new words as they encounter them. If they understand the concept of word parts as they relate to meaning, then as they learn about Latin roots, prefixes, etc. they will see how some words are formed from other word parts.

I like to use fun light books to introduce this concept because it is a difficult one. Two of my favorites are Animal Soup by Todd Doodler and Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: And Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky. Both books combine known words in humorous ways. Animal Soup is a lift-the-flap book of animal riddles. Each riddle's answer combines the names of two common animals. In Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: And Other Poems, Jack Prelutsky writes poems about nonsense words that he creates combining two words. One example is the Ballpoint Penguin. Both of these books invite rousing discussions on word parts.

Content Specific Vocabulary

We want students to understand that there are certain words that are content-specific. For example, when we study rocks and minerals, I want children to know that there are words they will hear over and over, and that this is true of almost any topic. I introduce the concept of content-specific vocabulary with books like A Is for Astronaut: Exploring Space from A to Z Âby Traci N. Todd. In this book, the author presents many words connected to space.

If I want to start the conversation with a lighter read, I might use LMNO Peas by Keith Baker. This is an alphabet book, but a humorous one. The text is about a community of peas and their jobs. It introduces many words that define the kinds of work people do.

Classics like Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton and newer books like For Good Measure: The Ways We Say How Much, How Far, How Heavy, How Big, How Old by Ken Robbins are texts that introduce words that will support our students' academic vocabulary. These two are especially good for vocabulary that spans grade levels - words that they will hear and use throughout their lives.

Specific and Important Words

Even though Billy and Milly, Short and Silly! by Eve Feldman has no connection to important words, I like to go back to it (after we have enjoyed reading this fun book several times) to discuss important words. This book is a collection of VERY short stories - each told in only 3-4 words. I like to use this book as a way to help students determine which content words in their reading are so important you can't understand the text without them. It's a terrific book for emphasizing that being wordy or producing lots of words as a young writer isn't nearly as important as being precise in choosing only the words you need to make your point.

If I want students to build vocabulary and go beyond the use of ordinary words in their writing, Big, Bigger, Biggest! by Nancy Coffelt works as a wonderful conversation starter. This book uses a simple format with various examples of descriptive words. It's another springboard for talking about choosing a specific word that matches what children are trying to say as writers.

The Unique Use of Words We Know

Another big idea that I want my students to understand is that sometimes words we know can be used in unusual ways. A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes: A Pocket Book by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon is a fine book to introduce this concept. Scanlon takes a look at different objects that are "pockets" for other things. A conversation like this can help open students' minds to the unique ways they use words in their own writing.

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Using Picture Books to Spice Up Vocabulary Instruction (BOOKLIST)

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Author Vocabulary instruction has always been a challenge for me. I believe strongly that students need to learn vocabulary in context, but I have realized recently that there are concepts related to vocabulary learning that are bigger than meanings of individual words.

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from the work of Tim Rasinski

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Don't Read Like a Robot - Learn To Read With Blazer Fresh | Songs For Kids | Sing Along | GoNoodle

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This video provides information about phonological awareness and ideas for providing instruction/intervention at the syllable and onset/rime level.

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Literacy terms

Multisensory instruction: Instruction that engages more than one sense at a time to help students learn. A multisensory activity can include seeing, talking, hearing, moving, and touching.

Onset and rime: The onset is the initial consonant sound or sounds in a syllable that precede the vowel, such as /tr/ in trip, /sk/ in skirt, /b/ in boat, and /shr/ in shrunk. The rime is the part of a syllable that contains the vowel sound and all subsequent sounds in the syllable, such as /ip/ in trip, /irt/ in skirt, /oat/ in boat, and /unk/ in shrunk. Not all words have onsets (e.g. ice, oak, aim, eve, ooze).

Phoneme: The smallest individual sound in a language that changes meaning. For example, the word shock has three phonemes: /sh/, /o/, and /k/. Change the first phoneme from /sh/ to /l/ to get lock; change the middle phoneme from /ŏ/ (short o) to /ā/ (long a) to get shake; and change the last phoneme from /k/ to /p/ to get shop.

Phonemic awareness: The ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. An example of how beginning readers show they have phonemic awareness is combining or blending the separate spoken sounds of a word to say the whole word: /c/ /a/ /t/ = cat. Phonemic awareness is subset of phonological awareness.

Phonological awareness: The ability to recognize and manipulate parts of spoken words. The levels of phonological awareness, from simplest to most complex, are: syllables, onset-rime, and phonemes.

Transcript

Blending Sounds in Syllables with Autumn, Kindergartner
Linda Farrell: Autumn, I'm so glad you're here for this lesson. We are going to work on syllables ... Autumn: And, and letter sounds. Linda Farrell: ... and some letter sounds. Reading expert Linda Farrell has helped thousands of children across the country. Today she'll be working one-on-one with Autumn, who is in kindergarten at Windy Hill Elementary School in Calvert County, Maryland. Ms. Farrell will be helping Autumn with the pre-reading skills that have to do with sounds, what's known as Linda Farrell: Autumn, I'm gonna give you two parts of a word, and you're gonna tell me what the word is. Watch this: /tay/, /bul/. What's the word? phonological awareness Linda Farrell: You're so good I can't even teach you that. You already know syllables. . Autumn needs to understand that most words are composed of individual sounds - like /c/, /a/, and /t/ - and then she needs to learn how to combine those sounds to form a word, like Linda Farrell: Alright. Let's talk about first sounds. This is a bat. Linda Farrell: /b/ is the first sound. This is a ball. cat. Ms. Farrell starts by seeing if Autumn can blend two or three spoken syllables into words. Ms. Farrell is making sure that Autumn can isolate the first sound in a word, what's called the onset. If Autumn can do that consistently, then she's ready to start blending onset and rime. Linda Farrell: Alright. We are now gonna put together two parts of a word again. I'm gonna see if you can tell me what it is. Autumn: Syllable.
Linda Farrell: You got it. Let's try this one: /com/, /pu/, /ter/.
Linda Farrell: Watch this. This is /s/, /un/. What's this? Linda Farrell: What's this? Linda Farrell: What happens if I put it together? Linda Farrell: /m/ Linda Farrell: /eik/ Linda Farrell: What is it when I put it together? Linda Farrell: /eik/ is this part! Watch me. What's this part? Autumn: /m/, /eik/ Linda Farrell: This is /eik/. Can you say /m/, /eik/? You point to each one. Linda Farrell: This part's /eik/. This part is /eik/. Watch this. /mmmmmmmm-eik/. For a lot of children, blending onset and rime is much harder than blending syllables. And that makes sense, says Ms. Farrell.
Linda Farrell: Autumn was a master at that. She could do that beautifully. The next level is onset/rime. And that means ... can you take the first part of the word, everything before the vowel sound and then take the vowel sound and everything after and put those together and make a word? So that would be /s/, /alt/. What's the word?
Linda Farrell: Okay. You do it! Go /mmmmmm/, /meik/. Autumn: Okay. /mmmmm/, /meik/. Linda Farrell: Okay. So what's this part? Linda Farrell: What's this part? Linda Farrell: What's the word? Linda Farrell: Okay. Let's try this one. /sss/. Got it? Linda Farrell: /ik/ Linda Farrell: Say /ik/. Ms. Farrell uses blank pieces of felt to represent each of the sounds. The felt helps Autumn think about parts of words and how she can blend them together, as she'll need to do once she's reading. Linda Farrell: Okay. Watch me. Let's do this. /ssss/. Touch it. Autumn: /ssss/ Linda Farrell: /ik/ Linda Farrell: Now watch this: /sssssssssss-ik/. Autumn: /ssss-sit/
Linda Farrell: This is hat.
Linda Farrell: Okay. Now what's the word? This is /s/, /ik/. Touch and say. Autumn: /s/, /ik/. /si/, /b/? Linda Farrell: What was the word?
Linda Farrell: Okay, this is mouse.
Linda Farrell: Okay. Let's try this. Go /siiiii/.
Linda Farrell: We just did syllables! We just did syllables! We're gonna do something called onset/rime right now.
It's all part of a process of helping Autumn understand that words are made up of component sounds. Linda Farrell: Let's do this one. Are you ready? Okay. This is /raaaaaa-t/. You do it. Linda Farrell: You got that one so fast! Tell me the parts again. Linda Farrell: Oh, my gosh. Should we try another one? Okay. /shaaaaa-p/.
Linda Farrell: Syllables are very easy to hear. You can feel syllables. They have acoustic clues for you: /com/, /pu/, /ter/. They break cleanly. When I go and I do /sh/, /irt/, I don't really say /sh/, /irt/. I say shirt. It's one acoustic clue. Some people's brains just don't get that automatically: Oh, I can break up a syllable into two parts? And we have to teach them. So the way we teach them is by taking the beginning, onset, and rime, and we ask them to blend it.

Linda Farrell: Can you say ... you're saying sit. Say sick.
Linda Farrell: You got it. Let's try this one. Okay. Got another one. You ready? /maaaaaa-p/. Wait a minute. /maaaaaa-p/. You touch each one and tell me the sounds. Linda Farrell: Get that /p/ at the end. Can you say /p/ at the end? Linda Farrell: Now go /maaaaa/, /p/.
Linda Farrell: Sit would be /s/, /it/. We're gonna try this a different way. We're gonna go like this.
Linda Farrell: What's the word? Linda Farrell: And I'm gonna ask you something. If I show you a picture right here, can you find that? Yes! It's right there. Say the word.
Linda Farrell: Now when we learn that children have trouble blending the first part of a word, onset, with the rest of the word ... we took the small felt that was onset, it would be /s/, /ik/. The big felt was /ik/. I moved those around and I took the big part of the word and blended it with the small part of the word. So instead of /sik/, I tried to do /siiiii/, /k/. We're giving the child a /siiiii/ ... they can blend a continuant sound - a vowel is always continuant - into any consonant. It doesn't matter what consonant it is. So /siiii/, /k/.
Linda Farrell: This is /maaaa/. Autumn: /maaaaaa/, /p/.
Linda Farrell: Strawberry starts with an 's' and shop starts with an 's.' Let's try this again. Okay. Here we go.

Linda Farrell: Autumn, as a pre-reader, is already exhibiting some signs of things we see in readers, and that is she's a guesser. When she doesn't know an answer, she's very quick to just say something. What's /s/, /ik/? Sit. And she just wants to get there real quickly. And sometimes we think, well, is she really guessing or is she, oh, my gosh, is she guessing or is she just really almost there? And then when she went, "Strawberry!" ... that confirmed that she's just saying the first thing that comes to her mind. And she's tired. We've been working on the same skill for a while, and her guesses get less and less close to what the reality is. With many children you'll see guessing happening. And we have to first break the guessing habit, and that's another thing that our routine would say. If you aren't sure of the answer, say, "I need help." Because we want children to be confident of their answers, and if they're not, to ask us for help.
The key, says Ms. Farrell, is to give children the time they need to fully master each skill. That includes having the teacher model the skill and having students repeat what the teacher says. That reinforcement allows students a chance to gradually master a concept that initially might be hard.
Autumn: Okay. /maaaaa/, /p/. Mom! /p/
Linda Farrell: Okay? We're gonna try one more. Are you ready to try one more? Let's do this. Okay. /s/. Linda Farrell: /op/ Linda Farrell: That was so fast. It's time for our lesson to end, so let's go back to class, okay? Autumn: Okay. Linda Farrell: Thank you. We'd like to thank the wonderful students and families at Windy Hill Elementary School in Calvert County, Maryland. We hope that sharing these experiences will help other children who are learning to read. Special thanks also to Kelly Cleland, Julie Donovan, Joanne Harbaugh, and their outstanding colleagues at Windy Hill Elementary ... and to Leanne Meisinger at Calvert County Public Schools. We are deeply grateful to Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, and Nicole Lubar of Readsters for their invaluable contributions to this project.
Linda Farrell: It is. Show me the parts in mop.

Linda Farrell: Autumn was obviously still learning this. Sometimes she could to do it, and sometimes she can't. We want to make sure that Autumn has mastered all the pre-reading skills before we ever ask her to read, before we ask her to blend letter sounds ... /s/, /i/, /t/ into "sit."

Linda Farrell: If I'd had more time with her, I would have done about five words with her: "This is /mooo-n/. Do what I do." ... and try to get her brain just to feel what it feels like. What I do know is that Autumn will master onset rhyme. When she has that, because she will know beginning sounds and ending sounds and she understands that you can break a syllable apart, blending phonemes will not be difficult for her at all.

Linda Farrell: In working with students like Autumn who are so good at one level with a skill and then at the next skill level need a lot of practice, it's important to remember that we're working incrementally, we don't go from what they know to what they don't know to what they don't know, to what they don't know, to what they don't know. We're always trying to stay in teaching on the verge between what they do know and what they don't know. We want to keep their brains open to learning, which means I can learn, which is why I would go back to syllables, maybe start every lesson with blending a few syllables, just making them harder, more than two syllables. Maybe three and four. She's really good at those. And then move to something that's easy for her in onset/rime and then get a little more difficult. So it's incremental. Autumn will be a reader.

Produced by Noel Gunther
For more information about teaching reading, please visit www.ReadingRockets.org
Edited by Christian Lindstrom

Graphic Design: Tina Chovanec

Camera: Richard Chisolm

Audio: Dwayne Dell

Reading Rockets is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C.

© 2019, WETA, Washington, D.C.

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Blending Sounds in Syllables with Autumn, Kindergartner

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This episode focuses on phonological awareness. Reading expert Linda Farrell helps kindergartener Autumn learn to blend two parts of a syllable (onset and rime). Watch how Ms. Farrell gives Autumn explicit practice with onset and rime - a core phonological awareness skill that helps kids recognize and blend sound chunks within syllables.

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Overview of suggested restructuring

Teach 10-15 "sight words" before phonics instruction begins

Flash Words and Heart Words defined

Flash Words with advanced vowels to teach with early phonics instruction

Flash Words with two and three syllables

Implementing the new model

You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words

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Integrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words.

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You are able to create games and enter the sight words you student(s) are specifically working on. Great resource!

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This collection of sight words games gives children opportunities to practice their sight words and build toward mastery while also keeping them engaged and having fun. In general, we recommend using a mix of recently introduced words and some older words for review. The games include:

A sight words variation on a classic game. Read words correctly to put down X or O markers and get three in a row.
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This collection of sight words games gives children opportunities to practice their sight words and build toward mastery while also keeping them engaged and having fun. In general, we recommend using a mix of recently introduced words and some older words for review. The games include: A sight words variation on a classic game.

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A simple technique to build students' vocabulary

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A simple way to 'harvest' words from read alouds.

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A fun interactive way to build students vocabulary

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Speed Drawing

Speed Drawing is based on an activity shared by Linda Barry in her book Syllabus. This activity can be used for Tier 2 vocabulary pulled from read aloud books or from spelling lists.

Students love this activity but time must be taken to teach the structure of the activity, as well as the activity itself. The first few times, students may struggle with passing their papers the correct way. Once you have a passing system in place, it is all about the vocabulary words.
Preparing the Paper:
In this activity, choose 4-8 vocabulary words that you would like your students to learn.

Fold a sheet of paper into the corresponding number of squares.

For 4 words, fold an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper into quarters (hotdog fold, hamburger fold)

For 6 words, fold an 8 1/2″ x 11″ or 8 1/2″ x 14 into sixths (hotdog fold, then fold into thirds - this will take some guess work - using the hamburger direction)

For 8 words, fold an 8 1/2 x 14″ sheet of paper into eighths (hotdog, hamburger, hamburger)

Once folded, open the sheet and lay it flat.

Teacher created pages: Add a place for students to write their name. Write one word at the top of each box. Photocopy one per students.

Student created pages: Ask students to write a vocabulary word in each box and put their name on the back of the paper.
The Activity:

1. Review the meaning of the words on their papers. The first few times you do this activity, you may need to talk about ideas for how each word could be drawn. Once students are familiar with the activity, they rarely need support with this. Nouns and verbs are the easiest to draw.

2. Decide which way students will be passing their paper.

3. Provide an appropriate amount of time for students to draw. For students grades 3 and up, 30 seconds seems to be an appropriate length of time. You want to choose a time span that is long enough that students can get their ideas down onto paper without being stressed, but not so long that they get caught up in their drawing and are erasing and making it "precious."

4. When the timer rings, have students pass their papers to the next person.

5. If students are stuck, they can pass without drawing but this rarely happens.

6. Continue drawing and passing until the papers are filled.

7. Once all of the boxes are filled, have students return the paper they currently have to its rightful owner.

8. Once papers are delivered, have students take the time to look at the drawings on papers around the room.

9. Once students are seated, discuss which words were the hardest and which were the easiest. Talk about any homonyms or interesting ideas sparked by any of the words.

Why this activity is powerful!

It's a lot of fun and creates a positive buzz in the classroom

There is a reason why students "need" to know what a word mean.

Students who struggle can look at words drawn by other students and use those ideas in their own drawings.

Students who struggle can draw the same picture more than once, providing opportunities for success.

We know that students have a greater probability of storing words if they have seen it in print, have heard it spoken and know what it means.

Power Words Using Trade Books

Vocabulary Building with Technology Tools
OrbitNotes
Highlight and Vocabulary: Example and Tip Sheets
Read & Write
Highlighting and Vocabulary: Examples and Tip Sheets
Immersive Reader
Picture Dictionary and parts of speech: Examples and Tip Sheets

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Speed Drawing is based on an activity shared by Linda Barry in her book Syllabus. This activity can be used for Tier 2 vocabulary pulled from read aloud books or from spelling lists. Students love this activity but time must be taken to teach the structure of the activity, as well as the activity itself.

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We had fun decoding words today and getting some movement in since we had an indoor recess this afternoon.  @LeslieFrostPS @tldsb_literacy

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We had fun decoding words today and getting some movement in since we had an indoor recess this afternoon.  @LeslieFrostPS @tldsb_literacy https://t.co/jQhlIPIF8z

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We had fun decoding words today and getting some movement in since we had an indoor recess this afternoon. @LeslieFrostPS @tldsb_literacy pic.twitter.com/jQhlIPIF8z
— Lauren Addison (Milne) (@Mrs_L_Addison) January 19, 2023

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We had fun decoding words today and getting some movement in since we had an indoor recess this afternoon.  @LeslieFrostPS @tldsb_literacy https://t.co/jQhlIPIF8z

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We had fun decoding words today and getting some movement in since we had an indoor recess this afternoon.  @LeslieFrostPS @tldsb_literacy https://t.co/jQhlIPIF8z

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We had fun decoding words today and getting some movement in since we had an indoor recess this afternoon.  @LeslieFrostPS @tldsb_literacy

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During our @heggertypa lesson today we used our snowballs to practice phoneme blending. We tapped out the individual phonemes (sounds) then rolled the snowball as we said the word. These #snowballs can be used countless ways in your classroom! #twitter #earlyliteracy

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During our @heggertypa lesson today we used our snowballs to practice phoneme blending. We tapped out the individual phonemes (sounds) then rolled the snowball as we said the word. These #snowballs can be used countless ways in your classroom! #twitter #earlyliteracy https://t.co/4n9nZLcjFy

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During our @heggertypa lesson today we used our snowballs to practice phoneme blending. We tapped out the individual phonemes (sounds) then rolled the snowball as we said the word. These #snowballs can be used countless ways in your classroom! #twitter #earlyliteracy pic.twitter.com/4n9nZLcjFy
— Sharyn Kish (@KinderKish) January 23, 2023

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During our @heggertypa lesson today we used our snowballs to practice phoneme blending. We tapped out the individual phonemes (sounds) then rolled the snowball as we said the word. These #snowballs can be used countless ways in your classroom! #twitter #earlyliteracy https://t.co/4n9nZLcjFy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
During our @heggertypa lesson today we used our snowballs to practice phoneme blending. We tapped out the individual phonemes (sounds) then rolled the snowball as we said the word. These #snowballs can be used countless ways in your classroom! #twitter #earlyliteracy https://t.co/4n9nZLcjFy

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During our @heggertypa lesson today we used our snowballs to practice phoneme blending. We tapped out the individual phonemes (sounds) then rolled the snowball as we said the word. These #snowballs can be used countless ways in your classroom! #twitter #earlyliteracy

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https://twitter.com/KinderKish/status/1615388667278663684?s=20&t=cbZGqe8j64Qyfi-yT7twmg

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Musical sentences for #fluency practice! Each day during Morning Meeting I write a new sentence using as many of our “sight words” as possible. I keep those sentences to use for games and activities in our phonics skill groups. 
#kindergarten #phonics @IMSEOG

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Musical sentences for #fluency practice! Each day during Morning Meeting I write a new sentence using as many of our “sight words” as possible. I keep those sentences to use for games and activities in our phonics skill groups. 
#kindergarten #phonics @IMSEOG https://t.co/IRWklaQfgo

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Musical sentences for #fluency practice! Each day during Morning Meeting I write a new sentence using as many of our “sight words” as possible. I keep those sentences to use for games and activities in our phonics skill groups. #kindergarten #phonics @IMSEOG pic.twitter.com/IRWklaQfgo
— Sharyn Kish (@KinderKish) January 17, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Musical sentences for #fluency practice! Each day during Morning Meeting I write a new sentence using as many of our “sight words” as possible. I keep those sentences to use for games and activities in our phonics skill groups. 
#kindergarten #phonics @IMSEOG https://t.co/IRWklaQfgo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Musical sentences for #fluency practice! Each day during Morning Meeting I write a new sentence using as many of our “sight words” as possible. I keep those sentences to use for games and activities in our phonics skill groups. 
#kindergarten #phonics @IMSEOG https://t.co/IRWklaQfgo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Musical sentences for #fluency practice! Each day during Morning Meeting I write a new sentence using as many of our “sight words” as possible. I keep those sentences to use for games and activities in our phonics skill groups. 
#kindergarten #phonics @IMSEOG

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See how some of our very own teachers are providing explicit introduction and practice of the alphabet!

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Introduced open and closed syllable patterns this week. Folding gym mats show how consonants can close in a vowel.  A slinky shows how the vowel sound is short or long depending on whether the syllable is open or closed.

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Introduced open and closed syllable patterns this week. Folding gym mats show how consonants can close in a vowel.  A slinky shows how the vowel sound is short or long depending on whether the syllable is open or closed. https://t.co/QgF0NmrR3L

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Introduced open and closed syllable patterns this week. Folding gym mats show how consonants can close in a vowel. A slinky shows how the vowel sound is short or long depending on whether the syllable is open or closed. pic.twitter.com/QgF0NmrR3L
— Sheri Ainslie (@sheri_ainslie) December 3, 2022

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Introduced open and closed syllable patterns this week. Folding gym mats show how consonants can close in a vowel.  A slinky shows how the vowel sound is short or long depending on whether the syllable is open or closed. https://t.co/QgF0NmrR3L

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Introduced open and closed syllable patterns this week. Folding gym mats show how consonants can close in a vowel.  A slinky shows how the vowel sound is short or long depending on whether the syllable is open or closed. https://t.co/QgF0NmrR3L

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Introduced open and closed syllable patterns this week. Folding gym mats show how consonants can close in a vowel.  A slinky shows how the vowel sound is short or long depending on whether the syllable is open or closed.

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Could be played in a whole group or small group setting.

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Can be easily replicated with other letter sounds as the target sound.

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A YouTube channel with videos that support phonics strategy and skill instruction.

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nessy dyslexia "reading and spelling" "learn to read" "learn to spell" "spelling strategies" phonics abc

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Nessy - Learning happens when it's fun! You've found the Land of Ness. The place for learning to read, write, spell and do math the fun way. Our family owned company, led by educational experts creates products and award winning teaching videos based upon the Science of Reading.

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Video about teaching multisyllabic word decoding

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Video about teaching multisyllabic word decoding

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A step by step progression to teaching multisyllabic words.

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Reading Multisyllable Words with Xavier, Third Grader

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Step by step strategy for reading multi-syllable words

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This is an activity that builds fluency at the word level too.

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Roll the die. Grab a wand of your choice. Read the words in that row. This one is a hit! #LiteracyCentres #StructuredLiteracy #SoR @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY

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Roll the die. Grab a wand of your choice. Read the words in that row. This one is a hit! #LiteracyCentres #StructuredLiteracy #SoR @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY https://t.co/yccxtSpNbL

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Roll the die. Grab a wand of your choice. Read the words in that row. This one is a hit! #LiteracyCentres #StructuredLiteracy #SoR @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY pic.twitter.com/yccxtSpNbL
— Lauren Addison (@Mrs_L_Addison) October 24, 2022

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Roll the die. Grab a wand of your choice. Read the words in that row. This one is a hit! #LiteracyCentres #StructuredLiteracy #SoR @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY https://t.co/yccxtSpNbL

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Roll the die. Grab a wand of your choice. Read the words in that row. This one is a hit! #LiteracyCentres #StructuredLiteracy #SoR @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY https://t.co/yccxtSpNbL

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Roll the die. Grab a wand of your choice. Read the words in that row. This one is a hit! #LiteracyCentres #StructuredLiteracy #SoR @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY

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There is research that supports the benefit of using letter/image graphics when teaching the alphabet. The graphic helps to anchor the letter sound for students. Here's is a set of lowercase letter/graphic cards.

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You will find a variety of resources that visually support students to retell a story - 5 Finger Retell, Anchor Charts, Retelling Rope

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Vowel elevator is a great way to increase fluency when blending two codes together! “Take the vowel for a ride!”Great work E!

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Vowel elevator is a great way to increase fluency when blending two codes together! “Take the vowel for a ride!”Great work E! https://t.co/6pB6gYgmX0

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Vowel elevator is a great way to increase fluency when blending two codes together! “Take the vowel for a ride!”Great work E! pic.twitter.com/6pB6gYgmX0
— Julia Watson (@MrsJuliaWatson) October 5, 2022

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Vowel elevator is a great way to increase fluency when blending two codes together! “Take the vowel for a ride!”Great work E! https://t.co/6pB6gYgmX0

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Vowel elevator is a great way to increase fluency when blending two codes together! “Take the vowel for a ride!”Great work E! https://t.co/6pB6gYgmX0

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Vowel elevator is a great way to increase fluency when blending two codes together! “Take the vowel for a ride!”Great work E!

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In this Jack Harman video students see the letter, say it, and then learn how it is made in sign language.

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See It, Say It, Sign It | Letter Sounds | ASL Alphabet | Jack Hartmann

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Decoding 2 phonemes. 
The precursor to additive blending (successive blending, continuous phonation) with 3 sounds! Love this scaffold for emerging decoders. Don’t forget to discuss word meanings! #decoding @SoRclassroom #SoR #structuredliteracy #LETRS

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Decoding 2 phonemes. 
The precursor to additive blending (successive blending, continuous phonation) with 3 sounds! Love this scaffold for emerging decoders. Don’t forget to discuss word meanings! #decoding @SoRclassroom #SoR #structuredliteracy #LETRS https://t.co/XguTleDRB4

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Decoding 2 phonemes.
The precursor to additive blending (successive blending, continuous phonation) with 3 sounds! Love this scaffold for emerging decoders. Don’t forget to discuss word meanings! #decoding @SoRclassroom #SoR #structuredliteracy #LETRS pic.twitter.com/XguTleDRB4
— Mrs. Pallone (@MrsPallone) November 11, 2022

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Decoding 2 phonemes. 
The precursor to additive blending (successive blending, continuous phonation) with 3 sounds! Love this scaffold for emerging decoders. Don’t forget to discuss word meanings! #decoding @SoRclassroom #SoR #structuredliteracy #LETRS https://t.co/XguTleDRB4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Decoding 2 phonemes. 
The precursor to additive blending (successive blending, continuous phonation) with 3 sounds! Love this scaffold for emerging decoders. Don’t forget to discuss word meanings! #decoding @SoRclassroom #SoR #structuredliteracy #LETRS https://t.co/XguTleDRB4

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Decoding 2 phonemes. 
The precursor to additive blending (successive blending, continuous phonation) with 3 sounds! Love this scaffold for emerging decoders. Don’t forget to discuss word meanings! #decoding @SoRclassroom #SoR #structuredliteracy #LETRS

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Short but effective review of letter names and sounds

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Daily Letter/Sound warm-up. Quick, short and effective. ⁦@SoRclassroom⁩ #SOR #structuredliteracy

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Daily Letter/Sound warm-up. Quick, short and effective. ⁦@SoRclassroom⁩ #SOR #structuredliteracy https://t.co/05coKBeCEw

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Daily Letter/Sound warm-up. Quick, short and effective. ⁦@SoRclassroom⁩ #SOR #structuredliteracy pic.twitter.com/05coKBeCEw
— Mrs. Pallone (@MrsPallone) November 17, 2022

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Daily Letter/Sound warm-up. Quick, short and effective. ⁦@SoRclassroom⁩ #SOR #structuredliteracy https://t.co/05coKBeCEw

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Daily Letter/Sound warm-up. Quick, short and effective. ⁦@SoRclassroom⁩ #SOR #structuredliteracy https://t.co/05coKBeCEw

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Daily Letter/Sound warm-up. Quick, short and effective. ⁦@SoRclassroom⁩ #SOR #structuredliteracy

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"Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read." @ReadingRockets Simple fun activity...this is not what we only do. Following a scope and sequence and we do many activities for repetitions.

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"Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read." @ReadingRockets Simple fun activity...this is not what we only do. Following a scope and sequence and we do many activities for repetitions. https://t.co/MgtlFebKB9

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"Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read." @ReadingRockets Simple fun activity...this is not what we only do. Following a scope and sequence and we do many activities for repetitions. pic.twitter.com/MgtlFebKB9
— Melanie Brethour (@melbrethour) October 25, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
"Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read." @ReadingRockets Simple fun activity...this is not what we only do. Following a scope and sequence and we do many activities for repetitions. https://t.co/MgtlFebKB9

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
"Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read." @ReadingRockets Simple fun activity...this is not what we only do. Following a scope and sequence and we do many activities for repetitions. https://t.co/MgtlFebKB9

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"Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read." @ReadingRockets Simple fun activity...this is not what we only do. Following a scope and sequence and we do many activities for repetitions.

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This blog post provides 7 strategies that will help your students learn to accurately read multisyllabic words (Note: there are links to paid resources).

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Looking to help your struggling readers make the jump to reading multi-syllabic words? Here are the 7 best strategies and activities for helping kids learn to decode multisyllabic words without getting overwhelmed!

It is SO exciting when blending simple cvc words starts to click for students. Once they learn how to use phonics to decode words, they make rapid progress and you're thinking:
"Great! We made it! We got this in the bag!"
But then... progress plateaus!

Their reading level seems stuck at those simple level words and they just can't make the jump up to grade level.
You know what it probably is? Struggling readers often cannot seem to get past those daunting mutli syllabic words.
They see them, their heart rate starts to rise, and then they freeze.

Sound familiar?

It can be so hard as a teacher to watch all of their hard work and progress not be enough to get them caught up.
Do not give up!
Here are some simple (but effective!) strategies and activities you can do to help your students close that gap into reading multi-syllabic words.

Those kids are often so much closer than they realize to reading those big words. They just need to build their confidence and put some tools in their tool belt for what to do when they see those scary words!

*Heads-up, you'll definitely want to grab this FREE Reading Intervention Cheat Sheet for more tips and activity ideas to help your struggling readers, plus find identifying characteristics to help you pinpoint exactly which areas of reading your students need help in!

1. Teach the 6 Syllable Types

One way to help your kiddos tackle these longer multi-syllabic words is by teaching them the 6 syllable types.

Most syllables fall into one of these 6 types of syllables:

When children encounter words with multiple syllables, it can be overwhelming and challenging to read them. However, understanding the different syllable types and their patterns can make decoding multisyllabic words much easier.

By teaching kids the six syllable types, they will have a better understanding of how to break down and read longer words.
**You will want to start by having them read single syllables for each syllable type first, to make sure they master their phonics skills before trying to apply it to multi-syllabic words. Then when they move on to reading multi-syllabic words, they will be able to pick out and read each syllable type much easier! How to Read Words Syllable by Syllable:
2. Read Multi-Syllabic Words Syllable by Syllable
Here are some activity ideas for reading words syllable by syllable:
Once students have a solid foundation in the 6 syllable types, the next step is to put those syllables together to read multi-syllabic words!

The easiest way to jump into decoding multisyllabic words is to break it down syllable by syllable. Students already know how to read each syllable, now they just need to read them in order and put them together!

1. Display syllables separately in order, then the whole word next to them.

2. Have students read the syllables individually, in order.

3. Then have them read the whole word.

4. Optional: add "swooping lines" under each syllable to encourage fluency in blending, and an arrow under the whole word to promote smoothly reading the whole word. These also add a tactile, multi-sensory element which is crucial for struggling readers! (see my Ultimate List of Reading Intervention Activities for more multisensory ideas!)

Write each syllable spaced out on a paper and then have the whole word written together next to them.

Write each syllable on a note card or sticky note and hang them on a whiteboard. Then write the whole word next to the syllables.

Show each syllable separated by a box to draw focus to the individual syllables (prevents overwhelm!) and show the word next to it, like I do in my Multisyllabic Words Intervention Binder.

As students progress, you can show the whole word and have "swooping lines" under each syllable in the whole word.

For example, the ladder for the word "calculator" would look like this:
3. Multi-Syllabic Word Ladder

Word ladders are another fun version of reading multi syllabic words syllable by syllable, like above.

This activity involves creating a ladder of syllables, with each rung of the ladder representing a different syllable. Students can then use these ladders to practice reading and spelling multi-syllabic words.

cal cu la tor

calculator
Ideas for Implementing Word Ladders:
This is a great way to prevent that common overwhelm and anxiety that comes with big words. Just presenting one syllable at a time helps students take it step by step without getting overwhelmed.

This is a great activity for building confidence in reading multi syllabic words!

It is so fun to see them realize that they already know and can read each syllable separately-and then see their pride when they can put them all together and read that final word with confidence!

Write the parts of the word ladder written out on a piece of paper.

Write the syllables on index cards cut into small pieces, then write the whole word on a whole index card.

Use small sticky notes for each syllable and stick them in a pyramid shape, with the whole word on an index card at the bottom.

If you want some syllable ladders already made for you, these Syllable Ladder Cards & Worksheets are so convenient and SO effective!

4. Multisyllabic Nonsense Words

Reading made-up nonsense words may seem counterintuitive, but stick with me on this one and give it a chance!
Start with 1-syllable nonsense words for each of the six syllable types, and gradually move on to 2 and 3-syllable words.
What are nonsense words?

Nonsense words are made-up words that follow the rules of language, but don't have any actual meaning.

It might sound silly, but it really works!

1. One-Syllable nonsense words
To start, you'll want to focus on nonsense words with for each of the six syllable types1-syllable (closed, open, silent e, vowel team, r-controlled, and consonant + le)

2. Multisyllabic Nonsense Words

Once they can easily read 1 syllable nonsense words, you'll want to introduce multisyllabic nonsense words.

Have your kiddos sound out each syllable according to the 6 syllable types they just learned, and then blend them together to read a multisyllabic nonsense word.

a two-syllable word with closed syllables could be "bixlet"

a three-syllable word with closed and r-controlled syllables could be "mivtenor"

Keep encouraging them to sound out each syllable and blend them together to read the whole word.

Reading nonsense words can seem weird, but it's a super helpful way for children to practice decoding unfamiliar words and really solidify their phonics skills.

Think about it... when they encounter really large, unfamiliar academic words in college textbooks-those are basically nonsense words to them! They do not know what they mean yet, and will have to sound those words out chunk by chunk.
We call this syllable division.
Practicing nonsense words prepares them for how to tackle longer words that they have never seen before and helps them read multi-syllabic words with confidence!

5. Syllable Division for Multi-Syllabic Words
Syllable Division Process:
Once students are confident in reading individual syllables and putting them together, the next step is to go the - start with the whole word and break it into syllables.
Here's an easy key for labeling syllables:
Syllable division gives students a tool to use when they see a new multi-syllabic word. They start fresh with the whole word and it teaches them how to break it down into easier-to-read syllables.

To teach syllable division, you'll want to follow the following process.

1. Teach students that there is only one vowel sound for each syllable.

2. Practice ORALLY counting the syllables you hear in words.

1. Only out loud-just listen to a word and say or count the syllables you hear.

2. One trick for teaching this is to have students hold their hand under their chin. Say the word slowly, and each time their chin goes down and hits their hand, that is a syllable.

3. Go on a "syllable search" by circling certain syllable types in written words.

4. Draw lines to divide written words into syllables

5. After dividing the word into syllables, label each syllable!

c = closed o = open e = silent e v = vowel team r = r-controlled vowels le= consonant + le

6. Chunking Multi-Syllabic Words

Chunking is a more informal strategy that students can use while they are reading multi syllabic words in real-life contexts (aka: while they are reading books that they cannot mark up).

1. When students come across a big word they don't recognize, have them use a notecard (or their hand!) to physically cover up all of the word except the first "chunk" of the word.

2. Then slowly uncover one chunk at a time to read until they read the whole word.

This is a great way to avoid that deer in a headlight "freeze" when they come across new, big words. And they always have their hand with them, so they can use it at any time!

I talk more about this strategy in my 13 Phonics Strategies You Need to Try blog post, along with some other VERY essential phonics tips.

Also, these Multisyllabic Chunking Cards are perfect for some no-prep practice chunking big words!

7. Root Words and Word Parts in Multi Syllabic Words
How to Teach Root Words and Word Parts:
The last strategy for reading multi syllabic words is to teach students root words and word parts.

They call this strategy the "word analysis" approach as opposed to the " syllable division" approach. It is a little more advanced but is a great strategy to use as students start recognizing familiar word parts and the meaning of various common root words.

Here is my suggested teaching method for word parts and root words.

Suffixes: Start with simple word endings! Teach the word ending, then have them read easier words they know with the new ending added on.

Prefixes: Use the same process as above. Teach the prefix, and then add it to the base words they already know.
At this point you can also practice words with both prefixes and suffixes!

Latin and Greek Root Words: Last, teach common Latin and Greek root words and their meanings.
There are so many "hidden" root words in common words! Learning to recognize the roots will make it so much easier to quickly pick them out in multi-syllabic words.

behind root words (or any word part!) is super important for these 2 reasons:

1. It helps boost vocabulary as they will be able to figure out the meaning of words by their word parts (here is a blog post with 7 Helpful Vocabulary Strategies if you want some more vocab ideas!)

2. It also helps with orthographic mapping! One of the steps to orthographic mapping is learning the meaning of the word-it will help them remember and turn that word into a sight word so much faster! (wondering "what is orthographic mapping?" This blog post explains it in simple terms!)

Multi-Syllabic Words Reading Intervention

If you have students who are struggling to read multi syllabic words, this intervention binder will help so much! Not only does it break decoding multisyllabic words down into easy-to-master baby steps (great for building confidence!) but it makes planning lessons and activities that you KNOW will work so much easier!

👉 You can check it out by clicking here: Multisyllabic Words Intervention Binder

⭐ To see reading activities in action, check out my YouTube page (@katelynslearningstudio), and subscribe if you find the videos helpful!

⭐ To find done-for-you reading resources, visit my TPT Store (Katelyn's Learning Studio)!

There you have it! My top 7 ways for how to teach multisyllabic words to new or struggling readers. All of these activities focus on building a strong phonics foundation (remember those 6 syllable types!), and tackling multi syllabic words one little syllable a time. This is SO much less intimidating for your readers, and you will have SO much fun watching their confidence soar as they decode multi syllabic words without the anxiety!

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The 7 Best Ways to Teach Multi-Syllabic Words to Struggling Readers

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Looking to help your struggling readers make the jump to reading multi-syllabic words? Here are 7 ways to teach how to decode multisyllabic...

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Students were working on reading & writing cvc words & had to decide if it was a real word or nonsense word. I made notes as to which students had a hard time decoding nonsense words. Students were engaged and worked with a partner. Another great activity from @TX_Reads #sor https://t.co/TgfWRWCeLh

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Students were working on reading & writing cvc words & had to decide if it was a real word or nonsense word. I made notes as to which students had a hard time decoding nonsense words. Students were engaged and worked with a partner. Another great activity from @TX_Reads #sor https://t.co/TgfWRWCeLh https://t.co/XcyZVK4DBh

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Students were working on reading & writing cvc words & had to decide if it was a real word or nonsense word. I made notes as to which students had a hard time decoding nonsense words. Students were engaged and worked with a partner. Another great activity from @TX_Reads #sor pic.twitter.com/XcyZVK4DBh
— Melanie Brethour (@melbrethour) November 4, 2022

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Students were working on reading & writing cvc words & had to decide if it was a real word or nonsense word. I made notes as to which students had a hard time decoding nonsense words. Students were engaged and worked with a partner. Another great activity from @TX_Reads #sor https://t.co/TgfWRWCeLh https://t.co/XcyZVK4DBh

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Students were working on reading & writing cvc words & had to decide if it was a real word or nonsense word. I made notes as to which students had a hard time decoding nonsense words. Students were engaged and worked with a partner. Another great activity from @TX_Reads #sor https://t.co/TgfWRWCeLh https://t.co/XcyZVK4DBh

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Students were working on reading & writing cvc words & had to decide if it was a real word or nonsense word. I made notes as to which students had a hard time decoding nonsense words. Students were engaged and worked with a partner. Another great activity from @TX_Reads #sor https://t.co/TgfWRWCeLh

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Another day, another group’s literacy centre to share. For this one, students flip the timer and then say the sound that represents each letter. @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY #structuredliteracy #SoR #LiteracyCentres

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Another day, another group’s literacy centre to share. For this one, students flip the timer and then say the sound that represents each letter. @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY #structuredliteracy #SoR #LiteracyCentres https://t.co/T6axnVqhxi

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Another day, another group’s literacy centre to share. For this one, students flip the timer and then say the sound that represents each letter. @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY #structuredliteracy #SoR #LiteracyCentres pic.twitter.com/T6axnVqhxi
— Lauren Addison (@Mrs_L_Addison) October 25, 2022

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Another day, another group’s literacy centre to share. For this one, students flip the timer and then say the sound that represents each letter. @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY #structuredliteracy #SoR #LiteracyCentres https://t.co/T6axnVqhxi

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Another day, another group’s literacy centre to share. For this one, students flip the timer and then say the sound that represents each letter. @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY #structuredliteracy #SoR #LiteracyCentres https://t.co/T6axnVqhxi

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Another day, another group’s literacy centre to share. For this one, students flip the timer and then say the sound that represents each letter. @LeslieFrostPS @TLDSB @TLDSB_EY #structuredliteracy #SoR #LiteracyCentres

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How to Teach Heart Words in K-2 // Tips for teaching high frequency or sight words

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Clap It Out - Learn Syllables | Songs For Kids | Dance Along | GoNoodle

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This teacher goes through providing explicit instruction and practice in phonemic awareness skills. Warning: she does mention her TPT store and encourages the purchasing of her products. Her instruction and practice ideas do not necessarily require the purchasing of her products.

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How to Teach Phonemic Awareness in Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd Grade | Phonemic Awareness Activities

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Author

The past year has been a steep learning curve for Kate. After nine years in a fourth-grade classroom, she moved to a literacy interventionist position, in which she pulls struggling readers who are at least two reading levels below the grade-level benchmark to provide daily reading support. The groups range in size from one student to four, and include first, second, and third graders. Most of the groups meet for 20 minutes, and two meet for 30 minutes. The groups follow a guided reading structure.

Although working with struggling readers isn't new to us, the population (more than 85 percent Hispanic, and the majority of that ELLs) is new, and so presents new challenges. Across the reading levels and grade levels, the students seem to lack confidence in talking about their reading-both literally and inferentially-and sometimes not even sure how to start telling what they just read.

If we were in the classroom, we would use daily read alouds to model and support talking and thinking about texts. The way my groups are structured doesn't allow for daily read aloud, though, because the students need to have books in their hands and be reading for most of our time together.

We've settled on a weekly goal for each group, allowing the goal to spill into the following week or two if necessary, based on how students are doing. That way, we focus on one strategy to support their talking about reading multiple times across the week so that, ideally, there's improvement in their talk and familiarity with the strategy by the end of the week. These are some of the goals we set for groups:

Literal retelling. (We started with fiction because we thought that was more familiar to students, and then introduced retelling an informational text by teaching what you learned.)

Talking about ideas

Supporting ideas about character feelings with evidence. (The type of evidence varied, depending on the reading levels of each group. For levels K and below, we focused on both words and pictures as supportive of our ideas. For levels L and above, pictures were less supportive, and the evidence had to be found in the words of the text.)

Supporting ideas about character traits with evidence

Identifying lessons in texts

Retelling Events with Hands

Rehearse across the week- We began with a chart with a hand and phrases to start talking about the literal events of a story on each finger. We modeled retelling a story that was familiar to the students, holding up another finger as we retold five important events across the story so that by the end of my retell, all five fingers were up.

Students held their fingers up as we modeled. After the modeling, students practiced in pairs or alternating with the teacher, using the story that we had read that day or the day before. We repeated this across the week until they seemed comfortable with the literal retelling of a story.

Build in more components: characters, setting, problem, lesson. Once the students were comfortable with telling events of the story in order, I added some components to help lift the level of their retelling. The components we focused on were using character names, and adding the setting, the problem, and the lesson. We added one at a time, gradually, across a few weeks. I added them to the chart in the middle of the hand on sticky notes (some are pictured above) so I could point to them and remind students to use them during their retell.

Scaffolds for Thinking, Talking, and Writing

Phrases for literal retelling on a ring. For a student who struggled with retelling during a running record, we made a ring with phrases for her to use anytime she talks about her books. During the running record, she answered questions accurately, but wasn't able to get herself started talking independently about her reading. It was clear she had an understanding of the text, because she could answer questions with significant detail, but she was having difficulty retrieving what she had read.

The phrases we made on note cards are similar to phrases on the retelling-across-our-hands charts, except they don't set the student up to retell a story sequentially. Rather, they're more open-ended phrases so the student can flip through and choose which ones are appropriate for her reading. There was almost immediate improvement in her talking independently about her reading once she started using the phrases. On a running record only a week later, she independently took the phrases out and confidently flipped through them, using them to talk about what she had read.

We commented on how some of the phrases were ones she had already memorized, and that she can use them anytime she's thinking, talking, or writing about her reading.

Phrases for talking about ideas- A chart with some sentence starters that all lead students from talking about events to ideas has been helpful to refer to during conferences or discussions as a group. When a student retells an important event from the story, we might say, "What does that make you think? Choose a phrase," and point to the chart. Similarly, we might just answer a student's retell of an event with one of the phrases from the chart, prompting them to repeat the phrase and then try to finish it with an idea.

Once we began this work in fiction, we tried it in information texts, using some similar phrases:

Vocabulary for feelings and traits with pictures- Anytime a student mentioned an idea about a character feeling, I'd give him a sticky note and help him write the feeling down. The student would add a picture to show the feeling and then stick it to a chart. The sticky notes became a resource for students to use when they were talking about their ideas about character feelings. Students later worked to sort the feelings into three columns on the chart, marked with a +, +/-, and -, to show feelings that were positive, negative, and neither positive nor negative or either, depending on the circumstances. Interacting with the vocabulary and organizing it in this way provided an additional support for students and an opportunity to think and talk around the words.

As we read through stories and talked about character traits, we also made word cards with the traits in the middle and synonyms in the corner. Students helped illustrate the trait on the back, and we'd refer to them as we talked and wrote about our ideas about characters.

Also on the chart were phrases to help them name an idea with evidence. We tried two different versions of the phrases-some starting with the evidence and others starting with the idea-so that students found one that they were successful with using.

Ring with lessons, messages, and themes- As students read stories and discussed lessons and messages from the stories, we wrote them down on sentence strips and added them to a ring. Since many lessons are true across different texts, students struggling with naming a lesson from the story could flip through the sentence strips on the ring and talk about which lessons fit with the new story we had read and why.

In this way, the ring became a collection of lessons we've seen and discussed in texts, but also a resource to support students in thinking and talking about lessons in new books.

The reality is that many of these goals were revisited over and over again across more than two weeks, and it didn't work as neatly as focusing on one goal each week. Reading requires many skills at once, after all, and so rather than having one as a singular focus for each week, we often ended up doing work across these goals. For students like the ones we're working with-struggling with reading or learning to read while at the same time learning the language-our ideas about what we'll accomplish may have been overly ambitious.

We're learning that repeated exposure to and use of academic language is an essential part of language development. After spending a few weeks on retelling using the phrases, students were more comfortable and confident when they talked about their reading. The phrases also became more internalized, which allows for the scaffolds that the charts provide to be removed so that students begin to feel what it's like to talk about their reading more independently.

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Author The past year has been a steep learning curve for Kate. After nine years in a fourth-grade classroom, she moved to a literacy interventionist position, in which she pulls struggling readers who are at least two reading levels below the grade-level benchmark to provide daily reading support.

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Let's take learning outside!

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Pinwheel #phonics fun! I used painter’s tape for the onsets that could easily be changed. I added the rime card to the center and attached a plastic arrow spinner. 
#kindergarten #phonics  #SoR  @IMSEOG

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
Pinwheel #phonics fun! I used painter’s tape for the onsets that could easily be changed. I added the rime card to the center and attached a plastic arrow spinner. 
#kindergarten #phonics  #SoR  @IMSEOG https://t.co/DXCql9OHcz

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Pinwheel #phonics fun! I used painter’s tape for the onsets that could easily be changed. I added the rime card to the center and attached a plastic arrow spinner. #kindergarten #phonics #SoR @IMSEOG pic.twitter.com/DXCql9OHcz
— Sharyn Kish (@KinderKish) May 12, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Pinwheel #phonics fun! I used painter’s tape for the onsets that could easily be changed. I added the rime card to the center and attached a plastic arrow spinner. 
#kindergarten #phonics  #SoR  @IMSEOG https://t.co/DXCql9OHcz

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Pinwheel #phonics fun! I used painter’s tape for the onsets that could easily be changed. I added the rime card to the center and attached a plastic arrow spinner. 
#kindergarten #phonics  #SoR  @IMSEOG https://t.co/DXCql9OHcz

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Pinwheel #phonics fun! I used painter’s tape for the onsets that could easily be changed. I added the rime card to the center and attached a plastic arrow spinner. 
#kindergarten #phonics  #SoR  @IMSEOG