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Supplementary Material

What are the components of learning to read? (Smith,


2009)
Word identification: learning to convert the letters into recognizable words

Includes both words that are recognized and words that are decoded
Has several components:
o Alphabet knowledge: students recognize alphabet letter names and
sounds
o Phonemic awareness: students understand that spoken words are
composed of individual speech sounds
o Phonics: students blend printed letter sounds to identify words
o Structural analysis: students analyze and combine word parts to
identify words
o Sight vocabulary: students automatically recognize high-frequency and
irregular words
o Context: students use meaning to help confirm the identity of words
o Syntax: students use sentence structure to help confirm the identity of
words
Good readers combine these components simultaneously
Developing oral reading fluency: reading quickly, accurately, and with
expression

Comprehension: making sense of what is read

Combine background knowledge with information presented to create


meaning
Precursors:
o Vocabulary and background knowledge: students are familiar with word
meanings and passage concepts
o Text structure: students know how to use the organizational patterns of
narrative, expository, and other texts
Comprehension strategies:
o Predicting: students use background knowledge to predict passage
content
o Clarifying: students identify and then clarify words and passages that
dont make sense
o Questioning: students generate questions about passage content
o Summarizing: students identify and organize important passage
content
o Visualizing: students make mental images of passage content
Levels of Comprehension:

o
o
o

Literal comprehension: students know the basic facts: who, what,


when, where, how, and why (there in black and white)
Inferential comprehension: students use background knowledge to
supplement information provided in the text (read between the lines)
Critical reading: students evaluate the quality of the text

What books will we be reading this year?


We will read books in a variety of contexts to engage the students and improve their
reading. I will be using the following books to introduce topics while incorporating
reading strategies, such as questioning, predicting, summarizing. Interacting with
these texts in meaningful ways will enhance the students reading abilities.
Schools First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson (fictional
picture book):
This book is about a new school who is personified. The school can only speak to the
janitor, who reassures the concerned school that the first day of class will be a good
day. As the book progresses, we see different students and their different attitudes
toward the school and others. We will read this book together at the beginning of
the year and talk about our attitudes toward school. I will help the students to
activate their background knowledge by asking them to think about their past
experiences with school. After I read this book out loud to the class, we will have a
discussion about how we will make this year the best one yet.
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson, illustrated by David Shannon
(non-fictional picture book):
This book is about a man named Hiawatha who is a part of the Iroquois nation. He
loses his family in a terrible battle, and is left in anger and searching for revenge. In
a turn of fate, he meets a man called the Peacemaker who invites Hiawatha to join
him on a quest to unite the nations in peace. Hiawatha embarks on a journey of
healing and growth. As we read this story, we will talk about forgiveness and
cooperation. I will help them to develop their reading comprehension abilities by
picture walking through the book with them before we read it.
The Magic Word by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Elise Parsley (fictional picture book):
The Magic Word is about a little boy who doesnt like to use his manners. He
accidentally discovers a secret power while refusing to use his manners.
Erroneously, he believes that this special power will bring him happiness, but he
later learns an important lesson about friendship and manners. As we read this
book, we will talk about manners and considering others feelings. This will be a
good book for the students to connect to. I will ask the students to think about how
they may have felt the same way as the main character.

A Dog Wearing Shoes by Sangmi Ko (fictional picture book):


I think that many people can relate to finding a lost dog. In this story, a girl finds a
dog wearing shoes and brings the dog home. They quickly become friends. As the
story progresses, the girl comes to realize, with the help of her parents, that a dog
wearing shoes must belong to someone and that that someone must love and miss
his or her dog very much. While we read this book, we will talk about the themes of
attachment and returning things that arent yours. I will read the first few pages and
then have the students practice predicting or inferring how it is going to end.
What Do You Do with a Problem? by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom
(fictional picture book):
Everybody has problems that they come across. The main character in this book has
a problem, and he doesnt want it. He tries to ignore it, but it keeps following him.
Eventually he decided to face his problem, only to find that the result was not what
he expected. This book will lead into a nice discussion about problem solving. After
we have read it together, I will ask the students to practice summarizing what they
have learned.
Adas Violin by Susan Hood, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport (non-fictional picture
book):
Set in Cateura, Paraguay, a small town built on a landfill, this book follows Ada, a
young girl who is determined to be more than her situation is telling her to be. She
helps start an orchestra with instruments made out of trash, and with her orchestra,
touches the lives of many. As a class, we will discuss making something out of
nothing and having a positive attitude: looking for the best in our everyday
situations. This book will provide a great opportunity for students to create mental
images. I will read it to them without showing them the pictures, and I will ask them
to imagine what they think the instruments would look like and what they would
sound like as the book describes how they were made. After reading the book, I will
show them both the illustrations in the book and the pictures of the real-life
orchestra at the end of the book.
OCDaniel by Wesley King (realistic fiction):
Daniel has some obsessive compulsive behaviours, and he worries others will notice
and thing that he is strange. He meets a girl who others see as strange when she
slips him a note saying that she needs his help. This book will lead into a nice
discussion about bullying and accepting others who are different than you. After we
have read this book, we will evaluate it as a class. I will help guide the students
through the process of deciding whether or not the book teaches them an important
message.
Charlottes Web by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams (fiction):

This book explores the adventures of Wilbur, the pig, and his newfound friend
Charlotte, a spider. Charlotte helps Wilbur to avoid his fate as a pig on a farm in a
very creative way. We will tie this book in to science: specifically, with a unit on
spiders. We will practice rereading as we go through this book. Every so often, we
will stop and discuss what we just read, read a page a second time, and then
discuss what we noticed the second time that we hadnt noticed the first time. We
will also practice rereading key sections of the book as we progress through.

Additional Resources:
Here are some links to reading support materials that we will use in the classroom
and that parents can use at home with their children (I have copies if you would like
one):
Guided Reading: Good Readers Statements:
http://buzzingwithmsb.blogspot.ca/2013/01/guided-reading-update-goodreaders.html

This is a two-page support that outlines struggles that students have and
strategies that can help

Comprehension Strategies: http://www.ashleigh-educationjourney.com/readingcomprehension-place-value/

This resource helps students to identify strategies that they used while
reading and specify how they used it

Word Families: http://www.romesreaders.com/tag/word-families/

Students who struggle with word identification would benefit from this
resource, as it breaks down words into families based on their endings

What Can I Work On as a Reader?:


http://www.heinemann.com/readingstrategiesbook/

Teachers can use this two-page handout in conferences with students to


identify where students are strong and where they struggle with reading

I Can Read a Non-Fiction Text!: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/NonFiction-Text-Reponse-Graphic-Organizer-1424679

This handout helps students to break down non-fiction texts, identifying what
the text is talking about, words they dont know, and things they learned

READO: http://twocandoit.blogspot.ca/2012/07/read-oupdated-version_09.html

Parents can use this handout with their children to participate in meaningful
and fun reading activities together

High 5! Bookmark:
https://744interventionsspring13.wikispaces.com/Comprehension

This bookmark lists and gives simple illustrations for the High 5! strategies

References
Dymock, S. & Nicholson, T. (2010). High 5! Strategies to enhance comprehension
of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), pp. 166-178.
Doi:10.1598/RT.64.3.
Smith, J. (2009). What is reading? In Early Literacy Instruction (2nd ed.) (pp. 1-22).
Toronto, ON: Pearson.

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