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Strategies and Lessons for Improving Basic Early Literacy Skills
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Strategies and Lessons for Improving Basic Early Literacy Skills



March 2008 | 232 pages | Corwin

"The lessons build on one another and are clearly sequenced from teacher-led instruction to group instruction to independent practice. Readers will find suggested accountability and differentiated instruction ideas right at their fingertips. It is hard to find books targeted to the early grades, and this one covers many areas important to the K–3 educator."
—Tanya Phaturos, Reading Specialist
Park Elementary School, Holbrook, AZ

"Emphasizes practical activities presented in a consistent format that can be used with students to enhance their literacy development."
—Wanda Mangum, Language Arts Instructional Coach
Gwinnett County Public Schools, GA

Research-proven strategies to foster early literacy success!

Building strong literacy skills is the basis for helping all children read by the end of third grade. This hands-on guide shows teachers how to use research-based strategies and structured lessons to teach essential skills for literacy success in Grades K–3. The activities are designed by literacy specialists and teachers to build proficiency in four key areas: recognizing and naming letters, hearing and manipulating sounds in words, associating sounds with letters and using them to form words, and reading words in connected text effortlessly.

Addressing the needs of a diverse classroom, this book offers:

  • Assessment guidelines and tools that inform instruction and help adjust teaching to support individual learning needs
  • An array of ready-to-use strategies, tips, and reproducibles
  • Research on teaching early literacy skills to all students

This book is designed for educators and other professionals who teach children of any proficiency level, but is equally appropriate for teaching students who experience difficulty in learning to read.


 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
1. Introduction
Organizational Framework

 
Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

 
Incorporating Basic Early Literacy Skills (BELS) Into the Literacy Block

 
Teaching Effectively

 
Early Literacy Instruction in Perspective

 
Building Early Literacy Skills

 
 
2. Letter Naming Fluency
Activity 1: Distinguishing Between Letters and Non-Letters

 
Activity 2a: Distinguishing Letter Forms (Tall Letters)

 
Activity 2b: Distinguishing Letter Forms (Short Circular Letters)

 
Activity 2c: Distinguishing Letter Forms (Short Stick Letters)

 
Activity 2d: Distinguishing Letter Forms (Short Hump Letters)

 
Activity 2e: Distinguishing Letter Forms (Hanging Letters)

 
Activity 3: Distinguishing Same and Different Letters

 
Activity 4a: Distinguishing Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

 
Activity 4b: Distinguishing Uppercase and Lowercase Letters (Using American Sign Language)

 
Activity 4c: Distinguishing Uppercase and Lowercase Letters (Using Sense of Touch)

 
Activity 5: Distinguishing Letters/Sounds (Using Sense of Touch)

 
 
3. Initial Sound Fluency
Activity 6a: Silly Sentence s—Part 1

 
Activity 6b: Silly Sentences—Part 2

 
Activity 7: Picture/Sound Charts

 
Activity 8a: Letter/Sound Books—Part 1

 
Activity 8b: Letter/Sound Books—Part 2

 
Activity 9: Sound Collages

 
Activity 10: Sound Identification Game

 
Activity 11: Picture/Sound Identification Game

 
 
4. Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
Activity 12: “Stretching” Sounds in Words

 
Activity 13a: Elkonin Boxes—Identifying Sounds with Fingers

 
Activity 13b: Elkonin Boxes—Pushing Sounds

 
Activity 13c: Elkonin Boxes—Sound Boxes

 
Activity 13d: Elkonin Boxes—Transition Boxes

 
Activity 13e: Elkonin Boxes—Letter Boxes

 
 
5. Nonsense Word Fluency
Activity 14: Distinguishing Letters/Sounds (Using Sense of Touch)

 
Activity 15a: Sound/Letter BINGO

 
Activity 15b: Letter/Sound BINGO

 
Activity 16: Sound Identification Game

 
Activity 17: Making and Breaking using Magnetic Letters

 
Activity 18a: Blending (VC)

 
Activity 18b: Blending (CVC)

 
Activity 19: Sorting Beginning Consonant Sounds

 
Activity 20: Sound Line

 
Activity 21: Word Wheels

 
Activity 22: Flip Books

 
Activity 23: Slide-a-Word

 
Activity 24: Word Scramble

 
Activity 25: Word Maker

 
Activity 26: Roll The Dice

 
Activity 27: Match!

 
Activity 28: Ringo!

 
Activity 29: Go Fish

 
 
6. Oral Reading Fluency
Activity 30a: Reading Punctuation

 
Activity 30b: Reading Punctuation: Period, Exclamation Point, Question Mark

 
Activity 31: Reading Text in Phrases to Promote Fluency

 
Activity 32: Reading Fine and Bold Printed Text as Author Intended

 
Activity 3: Reading fine and bold printed text as author intended

 
Activity 33: Reading Dialogue

 
 
References and Resources
 
Index

"The lessons build on one another and are clearly sequenced from teacher-led instruction to group instruction to independent practice. This is a great resource for schools that use DIBELS as their assessment, because it is so closely aligned with the same targeted skills. Readers will find suggested accountability and differentiated instruction ideas right at their fingertips. It is hard to find books targeted to the early grades, and this one covers many areas important to the K-3 educator."

Tanya Phaturos, Reading Specialist
Park Elementary School, Holbrook, AZ

"Emphasizes practical activities presented in a consistent format that can be used with students to enhance their literacy development."

Wanda Mangum, Language Arts Instructional Coach
Gwinnett County Public Schools, GA

"A teacher could pick up this book and immediately use the activities to help children improve. There is differentiation for each activity, ensuring that this book can be used successfully in the classroom."

Jessie Fries-Kraemer, Literacy Teacher
Eubank Elementary School, Albuquerque, NM
Key features
  • Practical, ready-to-use strategies and lessons for teaching early reading skills
  • Designed for use with students with any type of reading difficulty, including students with learning disabilities
  • Developed to address skill deficits identified by the widely used DIBELS measurements
  • Grounded in extensive research in teaching reading to students with learning difficulties
  • Includes tips for use in a variety of settings and reproducibles for all lessons

Sample Materials & Chapters

Introduction


For instructors

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