Reading Strategies Book Study: Goal 3 Reflection

Welcome back to The Reading Strategies Book Study hosted by the wonderful Kelly at An Apple for the Teacher. Join us each Thursday as we reflect on our takeaways of this text and share strategies that will help you out in your reading block. If you missed my previous posts you can find them here: Goal 1 ~~ Goal 2 ~~

Let's get started with Goal 3: Supporting Print Work

Here's a peek at the strategies, levels, genres, and skills covered in this section. It was very difficult to choose just three strategies to write about knowing my kiddos all come at different levels and I need to definitely remember all of these!!!

This goal is vital to reading success because students have to be able to read correctly to accurately understand the meaning of a text. According to Serravallo, reading "takes coordination, mental effort, and strategic action. That said, children can be taught to be more aware and to use strategies to help them figure out the print as they read." Keeping this goal in mind, I have chosen to focus on three strategies which include:

• Be a Coach to Your Partner
• Think (While You Read the Words)
• Juggle All Three Balls

3.5 Be a Coach to Your Partner

I am loving this strategy because students will be able to support each other in their reading achievement. This strategy teaches students to NOT just tell their partner the word their stuck on or the answer. This strategy teaches the student to be a COACH and suggest tips to their partner so they can be successful. How many times has it happened in your small group: a student gets stuck on a word, another student tells them the word and we move on? I've been guilty of this in some occasions and need to be more purposeful about partners COACHING each other vs. telling the answer. 

Prompts to ask when teaching this skill would be:

• Don't give your partner the word, tell them a tip.
• Looks like your partner is stuck, try to help.
• That was a helpful tip!

 Anchor Chart taken from 3.5 Be a Coach To Your Partner, page 84

3.8 Think (While You Read the Words)

Do your students focus more on reading the word accurately than on the meaning of what they are reading? In student's attempts to master fluency, sometimes kiddos just want to read correctly BUT do not comprehend what they are reading. This strategy is great because the teacher models stopping and monitoring comprehension. Students assume a "reading pose" and a "thinking pose." I think this is a great visual way to make sure students are stopping to monitor their reading. In the thinking pose, students put the book down, look up, and point to their forehead. What a great reminder to stop and think while reading.

Prompts to ask when teaching this skill would be:

• Check yourself - Did you understand what you just read?
• You're reading the words . . . check that you're understanding, too.
• Read the words, then tell me what you're thinking.

Anchor Chart taken from 3.8 Think (While You Read the Words), page 87

3.10 Juggle All Three Balls

This strategy is definitely ongoing! It is one of my favorite strategies because it teaches students to multi-task and "juggle" their thinking as they read and get "stuck" on a tricky word:

1. think about what makes sense
2. think about how a book sounds
3. think about what looks right

Prompts to ask when teaching this skill would be:

• Think about what's happening.
• Look at the letters. What could it be?
• Yes, that made sense, looked right, and sounded right.

Plus, isn't this anchor chart just the cutest reminder! Students can keep these in a journal or center to remind them of juggling all three balls.

Anchor Chart taken from 3.10 Juggling All Three Balls, page 89

That's it for today friends! If you are reading along with us ... I'd love to know which Goal 3 strategy are you looking forward to using with your readers this year? Make sure to come back next week as we discuss Goal 4: Teaching Fluency!