August 10. 2017
No matter how well you plan and structure learning tasks, it’s the one-on-one interactions that inform the power and effectiveness in your teaching.
August 9. 2017
It is the observation and analysis of the students’ reading behaviors that informs your next teaching moves.
August 8. 2017
While the best measure of students’ ability is to observe them while reading continuous text, you can also learn much about their word-solving strategies by having them read individual words. Certainly students should be able to recognize frequently encountered words automatically and unconsciously. You can create your own informal assessments to detect whether students can recognize and/or pronounce words in isolation.
You can also create inventories that will provide information about their knowledge of vocabulary. To begin:
- Create a list of words. Use a graded list, take words from a basal series, or pull words from content areas.
- Ask the student to read each word, use it in a sentence, explain the meaning, or provide a synonym or antonym. For a written test, you can have them match words with meanings, synonyms, or antonyms or provide multiple-choice answers.
- Look at the results. What do students know about words? What kinds of connections do they make? What can you learn from partially correct responses? The answers will help you plan your word study program and inform your work with students in guided and independent reading.
Keep in mind that there are many ways of knowing words, and any test of words in isolation can only provide limited information.
From Guiding Readers & Writers by
Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Copyright (c) 2001 by Irene C. Fountas and
Gay Su Pinnell. Published by Heinemann.
August 7. 2017
Responsive teaching are those moment-to-moment decisions that teachers make as they observe and analyze their students’ behaviors.
August 4. 2017
Guided Reading provides a context for responsive teaching, which is grounded in the teacher's knowledge and respect for each student.
August 3. 2017
Responsive teaching meets each students where they are and brings them forward with intention and precision.
August 2. 2017
Interactive read-aloud allows students to be exposed to complex language patterns while developing deep comprehension.
August 1. 2017
Every teacher needs tools to support their instruction. In shared reading, the following key tools will be helpful to support your lesson
as you read and teach from an enlarged text on an easel. You may wish to store
these materials nearby for easy access.
- Plain pointer: A
thin dowel rod with the tip painted red or with a pencil eraser on the end
works well for drawing children’s eyes to the print and features that you are
discussing.
- Wikki Stix®:
These sticky plastic sticks can be formed into letters or used to underline or
circle words or letters. They adhere to the pages of a book, are easily
removed, and can be reused.
- Highlighter tape:
You may wish to have several colors of tape to help readers identify various
elements of print. For example, you may wish to use different colors to draw
attention to various spelling patterns or types of punctuation.
- Masking card:
Available in Online Resources in various sizes, masking cards bring sharp
attention to words within continuous text. The mask places a frame around a
word so that children can isolate and concentrate on it.
For a complete list of tools you may wish to have on hand, see
page 26 in the Fountas & Pinnell Classroom System Guide (available Fall 2017) or pages 65–66 in Guided Reading: Responsive
Teaching Across the Grades.
From Fountas &
Pinnell Classroom System Guide by
Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Copyright (c) 2018 by Irene C. Fountas and
Gay Su Pinnell. Published by Heinemann.
