Literacy Leap

A master chef mixes and blends a variety of ingredients to create a culinary delight. As a teacher I blend a variety of literacy components and techniques in order to create strong, passionate readers and writers. Our balanced literacy program includes word work (working with letters and sounds), guided reading, shared reading, opportunities for fluency development, and workshops. We use songs, poems, stories, read alouds, group discussions, and many other techniques to immerse ourselves in language.
Below you will find information on a variety of literacy activities used in our classroom. For more information on the structure of our reading workshop and the Fabulous Four check out the Reader's Workshop link on the left.

Mrs. Munch and her little Munchettes are favorite members of our classroom community. Mrs. Munch is an unusual frog with a very healthy appetite. She loves to eat and eat and eat... and eat! She gets pretty cranky when she's hungery. We feed her word cards daily to keep her happy. The problem is that she is a bit fussy; actually she is very, very picky about what she eats. One day she may only want words with brave vowel (long vowels) sounds. The next day she may only want words with suffixes. The kids and I offer her word cards and try to figure out what it is she wants to eat each day. We feed the little munchettes during our literacy work station time each day.

Gogo is a friendly, but odd bird who often visits our pond. Gogo has a hefty appetite much like Mrs. Munch. However, Gogo eats very unusual things. He often has a belly ache when he visits because of the things he's eaten for breakfast. He seldom makes healthy choices. Gogo has even been know to try to eat the principal's car! All the things that Gogo eats each day have something in common. Gogo whispers clues about the things he ate and the kids must guess what he ate based on the clues. Once we have guessed all the items on his menu for the day we discuss what they have in common. Then we give Gogo some healthy suggestions that fit his rule of the day.

Reading Strategies

* Look for word chunks

* Say the beginning sound

* Stretch the word out

* Check for meaning: Does that make sense?

* Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence then Reread

* Do the sounds fit the letters?

* Use picture clues.

Comprehension strategies

* Activate schema: think about the things you know and have experienced that relate to what you are reading.

* Predict: thinking about what you think might happen.

* Picture walks: flip through the pages and look at the pictures.

* Use picture clues to confirm information

* Question: What did you learn? What do you wonder about?

* Make connections: this reminds me of...

* Infer: thinking that helps you understand the story; based on clues the author gives. (Differs from prediction because it cannot be confirmed.)

* Draw conclusions

I'm so glad you asked. =) Read, read, read, read! Read to your child, read with your child. Make reading fun. Enjoy reading. Model reading. Make reading a regular and fun part of life. Fill your child's life with books. Children who love books will want to read.

Listen to your child read often, share the text with them. Alternate reading turns.

When your child comes to an unknown word give them think time to look at the word and attempt it on their own. If they need help suggest some strategies they can use to figure out the word. Work with them to figure out the word together.