Reading Strategies for Under-Resourced Students

Objective I  Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic Segmentation

Strategy:  Rubber Band Stretch

1.  Using a large rubberband, the teacher will model how to hear indivdual sounds by stretching out a word.

     Example:  /ttttt-/ooooo-/yyyyy/

2.  The teacher will then allow the rubber band to relax and resume its normal shape while pronouncing the word quickly:  /toy/

3.  Students will then follow along with the teacher as they pretend to stretch rubber bands and sound out additional words.

Rhyming Words

Strategy:  "I Say, You Say"

1.  The teacher will model the rhyming game alone first

     Example:  "I say mop, you say top.  I say drop, you say stop."

2.  The students will then play along with the teacher.

     Example:  "I say dog, you say log.  I say cat, you say rat"

3.  Student should then complete the rhyme began by the teacher.

     Example:  "I say tall, you say______________.  I say down, you say ____________"

4.  The teacher should then allow the students to take over the game and move to the role of facilitator.

Objective 2  Phonics Instruction

Strategy:  Tic-Tac-Toe

1.   The teacher should create traditional tic-tac-toe boards with a current vocabulary word in each square.

2.  The students should be placed in partner groups.

3.  They will need objects to mark the squares.  This might be buttons of two distict types, colored squares, or traditional X's and O's.

4.  The students should proceed traditional play with one exception.  They must pronounce the word correctly before marking the square.

Objective 3  Fluency

Strategy:  Echo Reading

1.  The teacher should divide the reading into small chunks.  This may be a sentence, a paragraph or a page depending upon the text.

2.  The teacher should model the correct pronunciation and inflection.

3.  The students will then echo the reading of the teacher.

Note:  This must be varied and ongoing to be effective.  Fluency is built over time and is a developed skill.

Objective 4:  Vocabulary Instruction

Strategy:  Thinking Tree

1. Using a top/down organizer like the one in the text, students should categorize vocabulary terms using hierarchial relationships.

2.  The teacher will choose the literary text and provide a list of topics.

3.  The terms should be arranged on the tree to show superordinate, subordinate or coordinate relationships.

4.  The class should discuss placement strategies and be allowed to justify their arrangements.

Objective 5:  Comprehension

Strategy:  Visualizing the Text Through Drawing

1.  The teacher should choose and read a text to the class.

2.  While listening, students should close their eyes and attept to create a mental picture of the text.

3.  After the reading is complete, the students should be instructed to draw what they visualized. 

4.  A justification of the connection between the drawing and the text should be provided, either written or orally by the student.

In addition to the excellent additional strategies you will find in Chapter 1 of All Children Can Learn, I wanted to give you some more ideas you might find helpful in strengthening your students reading skills.  Each of these is directly related to the findings of the National Reading Panel Findings and consideration was taken to ensure each will meet the needs of under-resouced students.

Try any or all of these in your own classroom and leave feedback accordingly.