I want to implement the idea of the different people at the table doing something different while I listen to one person read. This could easily been transferred to the way I do my small groups. I pull out the Tier 3 students and some have a different need than others. I feel like the program I use already has a scope and sequence with printable readers which we color code and read multiple times.

I loved her reminder about decodable readers being temporary. They are a tool to help students become more accurate, fluent readers. We also need to remember to expose them to rich text.

My reading intervention program comes with printable decodable books. I would love to ask my principal if we have funds to purchase the color copies. There is just something about having a beautiful, colorful book in your hands that you can read!

She mentioned getting a grant. I currently create my own decodables, but maybe I could get some more resources from the library and free online resources.

I was meeting with a 3rd-5th-grade LBS1 teacher recently, as we were planning for phonics and application. She suggested more leveled readers, and I cringed. I promptly told her about the 7 Mighty Moves and copied this chapter for her. There are still so many teachers and practitioners who need to hear this message.

I especially appreciated the attention to Scope and Sequence when selecting decodable texts. It matters so much!! This might be my favorite chapter so far!

As students gain more skills, Lindsay suggests using books where the the percentage of decodable words in decodable books should vary in order to eventually transition students from decodable text to authentic text/trade books.

I am going to start looking closer at decodable books that match the scope and sequence of our core curriculum. Like Lindsay I have always been able find lots of printable decodable passages to support my students but they love to have a book in their hands and say, "I read that book." when they are done. There truly is something to be said for having actual books in the hands of our students and this chapter reignited the importance of making that happen for my students.

I really like how Lindsay laid out a step by step process for using decodable texts. She suggested giving each student a copy, having them highlight the target skill words, reading those words together, then doing a choral read of the whole passage. After that, she recommends asking questions or having students retell the story. It's such a simple but effective routine that keeps students engaged.

I also appreciated her guidelines for knowing when students are ready to transition out of decodables - that's something I don't always think about. I like that she moapped out what to do before, during and after reading.

A lot of these ideas connect to what I'm already doing through UFLI Foundations, but I'll admit I haven't always been consistent about highlighting target word in the decodables. I'm planning to be more intentional about that - taking time to highlight and review those words before reading so students really see the connection between the skill and the text is important.

Some that I felt like were interesting were:

• Text transfer procedure - where students highlight target skill words, read them to a partner, choral read the passage together, and retell it or ask questions about it to a partner.   I like the partner work aspect of this activity. 

• Repurposing predicitable text to teach vocabulary, writing activities, and student interest sounds like a great idea. As a third grade teacher, I did not have many predictable texts in my room, but when I taught in Title we did.   I think we can find value in these books, I appreciated her insight in not to get rid of leveled texts, but to repurpose them.  

• Using whisper tubes - we called them whisper phones.   My third grade students did not like these, but they would record themselves reading on a IPAD.   I’ve been reading about whisper phone duets and fluency pairs, so I think perhaps those might be an option for older students.   Has anyone tried these options?

Areas to implement:

Working on getting better at giving immediate feedback in my groups is a goal for me.   I also love the idea for Book Bag Buddies.   Our local library in Indiana did something like this and I think families would enjoy it.  I’d likely piar the Book Bag Buddies with with opportunities to read with other adults in the building like the counselor, principal, or older students.  I’ve used the word detective strategy in my small groups, but I think I could transition that to independent work in a center using the highlighter method.   

One before reading step I haven’t used is having students look for target words in the text (p. 87)t. I really like this idea because it will help teach the skill of scanning and pre-reading as well as make students aware where the new words we are working on are. I also like this for high frequency words because I know that I can use this to also help reinforce spelling patterns of those for students who know them in isolation and aren’t generalizing to other types of writing. I am going to share with my colleagues the during reading group  visual on page 87. We always have team meetings where they mention how hard it is to work with them all at once and developing a consistent routine of what to do. We only work small groups, so a lot of what is on the small group instruction pages is highly beneficial.

I plan to implement whisper phones more often. Hearing how she said have 1, 3, 5 read and then switch with 2 and 4 was something I really liked and is a way I think I could make whisper phones worked. I've always shyed away from them. I also like the "take home" book system and will try to implement that.

I'm blessed to have access to many decodables through IMSE and OG but I would like to look more at my classroom library - particularly my non-fiction section - and order it more into "expert" bins that might go along with different topics we read about in whole group reading so that I can utilize decodables and my other books in a more coherent way.

I plan on implementing the idea of highlighting words containing a particular sound in a text prior to reading it. This would push my students, fourth graders, to be responsible for sounds, not just letter organization in a word. For my students who really struggled with decoding, I also plan on using the coaching strategy suggested on page 92. I will need to spend more time with my students listening to them read, which can be difficult within our day, but I plan on incorporating these reading times during subjects like science and social studies and not limiting them only to our ELA time.

One idea that I loved from the book was the small group instruction that students rotate reading activities to discourage echoing. I plan to try that this week in my classroom.