Alabama Reading Initiative
Foundations for
Beginning Reading:
Modules for Professional Learning
Alabama State Department of Education, Mr. Michael Sentance, State Superintendent of Education
Revised 12/5/16
The Alabama State Board of Education and the Alabama State Department of Education do not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, disability, sex, religion, national origin, or age in its programs, activities, or employment and
provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following person is responsible for
handling inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator, Alabama State Department of
Education, PO Box 302101, Montgomery, AL 36130-2101, telephone (334) 242-8165.
Table of Contents
Section 1: Conceptual Framework: The Foundation for Learning Module…3
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The Goal of Reading Instruction: Skillful Readers
Conceptual Framework Jot Notes Graphic Organizer
What is the Conceptual Framework?
Why? When? How?
Factors that Influence Reading Comprehension
Implications for Learning in All Content Areas
Section 2: Assessment: A Professional Learning Module …………………...11
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What?
Why? When? How?
Four Types of Assessment Graphic Organizer
Characteristics of Formative and Summative Assessments
Optimal Learning Model
Section 3: Intervention: A Professional Learning Module ………………….17
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What? Why?
When? How?
An Instructional Framework for Reading Intervention
Section 4: Phonemic Awareness: A Professional Learning Module ………22
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A Phonological Continuum
Umbrella Graphic
What?
Why? When?
How?
A Phonemic Awareness Lesson
Elkonin Boxes
Two-, Three-, & Four-Phoneme Pictures
Sound Production Cue Cards
Section 5: Phonics: A Professional Learning Module ………………….…..35
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Clock Partners
What?
Why?
When?
How?
An Explicit Phonics Lesson
Section 6: Fluency: A Professional Learning Module ……………………...45
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What?
Why? When?
How?
Reading Connected Text/Retell Fluency Practice
Accuracy Passage
A Fluency Lesson
1
Section 7: Oral Language & Vocabulary: A Professional Learning
Module ……………………………………………………………...57
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What?
Why?
When?
How?
Four Corners
Word Sort
A Direct Vocabulary Lesson and Lesson Extensions
Section 8: Comprehension Instruction: A Professional Learning
Module ……………………………………………………………...67
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What?
Why? When?
How?
Reading Informational Text Anchor Standard 1 Grades K-5
Anticipation Guide
Appendices:
 Appendix A –Vision/Absolutes……………………………………………..77
 Appendix B – Strategy Cards…………………………………………….....78
 Appendix C – Take-Aways and Next Steps……………..…….…………….85
 Appendix D – Four Planning Questions………………….………………....90
 Appendix E –Foundational Skills Standards………………………………..91
 Appendix F – Works Cited……………..…………………………………...95
 Appendix G – Multi-sensory Strategies…………………………………….96
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Alabama Reading Initiative
Conceptual Framework:
The Foundation for Learning
Module
Outcomes:
1. Participants will explain the components of the Conceptual Framework
(systems of meaning, language, and print).
2. Participants will identify the interferences to comprehension and the
implications for instruction.
3. Participants will explain how the three systems support the reading
foundations.
The Conceptual Framework is the work of Dr. Katherine Mitchell based on the research for her doctoral dissertation.
3
The Goal of Reading Instruction:
Skillful Readers
Skillful readers demonstrate . . .
Accuracy
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saying the words correctly
Automaticity
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recognizing words instantaneously
Fluency
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reading connected text with ease and minimal effort
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reading with accuracy and automaticity, as well as appropriate speed, phrasing,
and expression
Active Building of Meaning
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making ongoing efforts to construct meaning from the text
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drawing on all resources (e.g., knowledge, experiences, language) to understand
what they are reading
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using comprehension strategies such as predicting, questioning, and visualizing
to help make sense of text
Self- Regulation
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knowing at all stages of the reading whether or not the text is “making sense”
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addressing problems as they emerge (includes problems at the word and text
level)
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choosing to be actively involved before, during, and after reading
Those who wish to teach reading well
need to understand
just what good reading is.
Michael Pressley
4
5
What?
1. What is the Conceptual Framework for Learning?
 The Conceptual Framework is the foundation for learning.
 It is a graphic that illustrates the processes that are required for learners at every age to make
meaning from spoken or from written language.
 The intent of the framework is to help teachers better understand how to design instruction
that supports each of these processes and how to identify the interferences that can cause
meaning to break down.
2. What are the three systems required for skillful reading?
Skillful reading at any age requires the employment of three systems – the system of meaning,
system of language, and system of print. Recent advances in medical technology allow the
study of how the brain functions during reading. The research (Wren 2000) confirms the
interrelationship of these three systems in the support of comprehension.
3. What is the System of Meaning?
 The system of meaning is conceptual knowledge. It comes first in development.
 It drives all language activity.
 The system of meaning begins to develop within minutes of birth.
 The system of meaning is sometimes referred to as background knowledge, prior
knowledge, or schema.
 It is the sum total of one’s unique cultural/background knowledge and experiences.
 The system of meaning includes knowledge, experiences, emotions, understanding, and
opinions.
 Everything in a person’s system of meaning is constructed.
 We are constantly expanding and refining our meaning based on our life experiences.
This is a life-long endeavor!
4. What is the System of Language?
 As our system of meaning grows, there is a human need to express that meaning.
 There are thousands of spoken languages. Each spoken language has an arbitrary system
of sounds, words, and syntax.
 Like meaning, our language is constantly growing. Expanding and refining our language
is a life-long endeavor.
 The system of language consists of signs, symbols, and gestures used for expression.
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English Language Learners come to us with background experiences and concepts, but
they do not have “our” words for those experiences or concepts. To help these students
make connections to their system of meaning, we have to use the appropriate words and
lots of concrete examples.
People of the world learn to link their system of meaning with the spoken language(s) of
their environment. The System of Language is used to express something and is then
changed to meaning.
When we take the system of meaning and change it to language, it is called speaking.
When the system of language is changed to meaning, it is called comprehending.
Children can comprehend long before they are able to read text; therefore,
comprehension does not belong primarily to reading.
5. What is the System of Print?
 The system of print is different from the systems of meaning and language in that it is a
finite system.
 Written languages are arbitrary systems using arbitrary symbols and arbitrary
directionality (right to left or left to right).
 Generally, linguists agree that there are 26 letters, 44 sounds and about 70 ways to write
those sounds in the English language.
 The reader develops the ability to change spoken language into print (writing) and to
change printed symbols into spoken language (reading). The system of print allows us to
exchange meaning with people to whom we are not speaking directly.
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Why?
Why do teachers need to know and understand the Conceptual Framework: The
Foundation for Learning?
 Teachers need to understand how learning develops.
 Teachers need to understand that all learners follow the same path for learning, though at
different rates.
 If teachers understand how students learn, when and why learning begins to break down
can be recognized no matter what content is being taught.
 An awareness of the interferences to comprehension allows teachers to provide effective
instruction to all students.
Note: Teachers should understand and consider all interferences to learning instead of
assuming that the problem is a student’s lack of attention, lack of motivation, or negative
disposition.
When?
When do teachers use knowledge of the Conceptual Framework: The Foundation for
Learning?
 Teachers need to emphasize expanding students’ system of meaning and system of
language in all classrooms every day.
 Teachers need to expect students to use standard English language in all classrooms
daily.
 Teachers need to provide a variety of experiences and opportunities to read, write, talk,
and listen throughout the day.
How?
How does knowledge of the Conceptual Framework: The Foundation for Learning impact
student learning?
 Teachers should model the systems of language and print by using standard English in
speaking and writing.
 Teachers should provide opportunities for students to build system of meaning through a
variety of activities (e.g., reading a wide variety of texts, activating and/or building
background knowledge, providing hands-on experiences).
 Teachers will assess students to identify interferences for the purpose of differentiating
instruction.
 Teachers need to understand how the Conceptual Framework: The Foundation for
Learning is reflected in the College- and Career-Ready Standards (CCRS).
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Factors that Influence Reading Comprehension
The reader’s system of meaning overlaps sufficiently with the author’s system of meaning.
The reader’s system of language overlaps sufficiently with the author’s system of language.
The reader reads words accurately.
The reader automatically recognizes words.
The reader reads fluently.
The reader engages with the printed material.
Summary of Interferences to Reading Comprehension
Speaking
Writing
Comprehending
Reading
1. The reader’s system of
meaning does not overlap
sufficiently with the
author’s system of
meaning.
2. The reader’s system of
language (i.e.,
vocabulary, syntax,
idioms) does not overlap
sufficiently with the
author’s expression.
3. The reader lacks the
power to say what each
word requires. (Accuracy)
4. The reader is cumbersome
in word recognition and
does not identify words
instantly. (Automaticity)
5. The reader fails to read
with ease, appropriate
speed and phrasing, and,
therefore, is unable to
devote sufficient attention
to building meaning.
(Fluency)
6. The reader does not attend to the degree needed to build meaning.
(Attention/Motivation/Disposition)
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Connecting The Conceptual Framework to
Reading Foundations
Conceptual Framework
Reading Foundations
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Alabama Reading Initiative
Assessment Module:
A Professional Learning Module
Outcomes:
1. Participants will explain the four types of assessments and the purpose
of each.
2. Participants will distinguish the difference between formative and
summative assessment.
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What?
1. What is Assessment?
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Assessment is the process of collecting data for the purpose of improving learning.
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It may be formal or informal and may be collected through a variety of methods.
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A comprehensive assessment system provides a framework that defines which
assessments should be administered, when they should be administered, to whom they
should be administered, and how results will be used.
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Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not goals are
being met.
2. What are the four purposes of a comprehensive assessment system?
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A comprehensive assessment system includes assessments to accomplish four purposes:
1. Screening – determines the initial level of mastery of state-adopted grade level
literacy standards and is administered to all students.
2. Progress monitoring – determines if students are making adequate progress or need
more intervention to master grade-level standards.
3. Diagnostic – provides in-depth information about a student’s strengths and
instructional needs as needed.
4. Outcome – provides a bottom line evaluation of how proficient students are with
literacy expectations.
3. What is the difference between formative and summative assessment?
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Assessments can be formative or summative.
o Formative assessments guide current and ongoing instruction. The results of
formative assessments such as screening, progress monitoring, and diagnostic
measures are used to adjust instruction to meet individual and group needs on a
continuous basis.
o Formative assessments are used frequently throughout the year to determine which
students are experiencing difficulties, which students are making progress toward
desired outcomes, and which should receive additional assessing to determine their
instructional needs.
o Summative assessments are used to measure students’ overall learning of the
curriculum and content standards. Summative assessments are typically administered
at the end of a course or larger unit of instruction. Summative assessments typically
provide information to assist in the evaluation of group instruction and overall
program effectiveness.
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Why?
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Assessment provides feedback to students, educators, parents, policy makers, and the public
about the effectiveness of educational services.
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Asking students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter is critical to their
learning process; it is essential to evaluate whether the education goals and standards of the
lesson are being met.
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Research suggests that formative assessment produces greater increases in students’
achievement than class-size reduction or in teachers’ content knowledge (Williams and
Thompson, 2007).
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Formative assessment provides teachers with the evidence of student learning needed to
make lesson plan adjustments and keep student learning on target and moving forward.
When?
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Assessment and feedback should mirror good instruction, happen continuously as part of
instruction, and provide information about levels of understanding by students. (Bransford, et
al, 2000)
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Assessment is ongoing. It is a fluid process influenced by students and teacher feedback. It is
driven by the learning event.
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Using formative assessment daily enables you to evaluate and assess the quality of the
learning that is taking place in your classroom.
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Assessment is a part of everyday instruction. It’s not an event that happens on Friday, at the
end of the semester, or once a month. The Gradual Release of Responsibility is the
instructional scaffold that allows for in-the-moment formative assessment that informs us
about when to release more responsibility to students or provide MORE instruction. (Pearson
& Gallagher, 1993)
How?
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Providing feedback on specific errors helps students understand that their low performance
can be improved and is not a result of lack of ability (Vispoel & Austin, 1995).
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Studies emphasize that formative assessment is most effective when teachers use it to
provide specific and timely feedback on errors and suggestions for improvement (Wininger,
2005), when students understand the learning objectives and assessment criteria, and when
students have the opportunity to reflect on their work (Ross, 2006; Ruiz-Primo & Furtack,
2006).
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Useful feedback, says author Thomas Guskey (2005), is “both diagnostic and prescriptive. It
reinforces precisely what students were expected to learn, identifies what was learned well,
and describes what needs to be learned better” (p. 6). Whether verbal or written, instructional
feedback should go beyond indicating the degree of right and wrong to include advice on
how the learner can improve next time (“Using Classroom Assessment to Improve
Teaching,” pg. 2).
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Diagnostic
Screening
Outcome
Progress Monitoring
Four Types of Assessment
Characteristics of Formative & Summative Assessment
Formative Assessment
Summative Assessment
(Assessment for Learning)
(Assessment of Learning)
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Alabama Reading Initiative
Intervention Module:
A Professional Learning Module
Outcomes:
1. Participants will explain the characteristics of effective intervention.
2. Participants will describe the connection between formative assessment
and intervention.
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What?
1. What do we do when students are not yet ready for independent practice?
 Teachers must intervene early and often to provide students more opportunities to
practice needed skills and/or strategies so that students will be skillful readers of grade
level materials.
 Teachers must provide instruction that goes beyond the ordinary.
 Teachers must target the knowledge and skills that have the highest impact on learning to
read.
 Teachers must collaborate with all professionals who are responsible for the child’s
education to coordinate high quality materials and literacy experiences.
2. What is reading intervention?
 Intervention is provided to students who may need to receive additional instruction that is
designed to meet their specific needs while at the same time accelerating their growth
toward grade level expectations.
 Intervention is the practice of providing high quality instruction matched to student needs
which is determined by daily, in-the-moment formative assessments.
 Reading intervention is differentiated instructional strategies proven successful through
scientific research in producing high success rates for most students. (Response to
Instruction: Alabama’s Core Support for All Students)
 Intervention is diagnostic and focused instruction on specific academic standards.
Why?
Why do I need to intervene?
 Keith Stanovich, a psychologist who has done extensive research on reading and
language disabilities, coined the term “Matthew Effects”. The “Matthew Effects” refers
to the idea that in reading, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. When children fail
at early reading and writing, they read less than their classmates who are stronger readers.
And when children do not receive adequate intervention, they read less – and learn less
from reading – than skillful readers. As a consequence they do not gain vocabulary,
background knowledge, and information about how reading material is structured. In
short, the word-rich get richer, while the word-poor get poorer. Early success in acquiring
reading skills usually leads to later success in reading as the learner grows, while failing
to learn to read before the 3rd or 4th year of school may be indicative of life-long learning
problems with learning new skills.
 We will never teach all our students to read if we do not teach our students who have the
greatest difficulties to read. Getting to 100% literacy requires going through the bottom
20%. (Reading First Technical Manual: A Quality Brief)
 The Alabama Commission on Higher Education shows that 33% of college-bound high
school graduates in Alabama must take remedial classes when they enroll in in-state
colleges and universities. (October 2013)
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When?
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The goal of intervention is to respond quickly to students who may be at risk of not meeting
standards and get them back on track.
Intervention instruction usually focuses on one or more key areas of literacy development
and is typically provided for a short duration.
Intervention efforts must be coordinated across instructional settings (e.g. during reading,
science, math, history).
Intervention instruction may include an additional scheduled period of time during the
school.
How?
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Teachers provide explicit and systematic instruction in intervention using the Gradual
Release of Responsibility.
o Explicit instruction is teacher directed, clearly stated, distinctly illustrated (not merely
implied or ambiguous), and capable of clarifying key points; teachers
 tell students what they are expected to learn
 model what is expected using clear examples that make sense to students
 provide guidance as students practice: acknowledge successful application, provide
corrective feedback, offer additional examples/explanations, prompt problem solving
and deeper levels of understanding
 promote independent application: gradually withdraw support, monitor use in various
contexts, provide students with tools that serve as reminders (e.g., ABC charts, word
walls, list of word-solving strategies, list of comprehension strategies)
o Systematic instruction is orderly, planned, and gradually builds from basic elements to
more subtle and complex structures.
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Research confirms that small group is the most powerful organization for reading
intervention.
o Struggling readers need more time in small group instruction than their peers.
o Struggling readers need more opportunities to participate in smaller groups (3-5 students)
than their peers.
o Teachers group and regroup students flexibly based on frequent progress monitoring.
o Teachers should make decisions about grouping based on the instructional purposes and
the needs of the learners.
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Highly skilled instruction for struggling readers is extremely focused, concentrated,
energetic, and emotional; teachers are persistent and relentless in adjusting instruction to
assure student success.
o Teachers provide differentiated instruction based on assessment results and adapt
instruction to meet students’ needs.
o Effective teachers recognize that one size doesn’t fit all and are ready to adapt instruction
– both content and method.
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o Teachers provide explicit and systematic instruction with lots of practice – with and
without teacher support and feedback, including cumulative practice over time (students
should not infer what they are supposed to learn).
o Teachers provide opportunities to apply skills and strategies in reading and writing
meaningful text with teacher support. Students need to be taught what to do when they
get to the “hard work”.
o Teachers monitor student progress regularly and reteach as necessary.
(RTI Network Website – Carolyn A. Denton, Children’s Learning Institute, University of Texas Health
Science Center, Houston)
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What about students who need even more? (e.g. students who may be several grade
levels behind in reading, students with characteristics of dyslexia)
o Research indicates that dyslexia may impact between 5% to 20% of the general
population.
o According to the Alabama Administrative Code (20), dyslexia is defined as a specific
learning challenge that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with
accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of
language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision
of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in
reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of
vocabulary and background knowledge.
o According to Judith Birsh, the simultaneous deployment of visual, auditory, kinesthetic,
and tactile sensory modalites (VAKT) used in multisensory instruction has traditionally
been a staple of remedial and preventative intervention for students with learning
disabilities and/or dyslexia.
o For more useful information and valuable resources on supporting students with
characteristics of dyslexia and other students who are struggling in reading, go to the link
below.
http://www.alsde.edu/sec/ari/Dyslexia/Dyslexia%20Resource%20Guide.pdf
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An Instructional Framework for Reading Intervention
Students in need of reading intervention benefit from a comprehensive and balanced classroom
literacy program. These struggling readers also need additional small group time in which they are
provided with instruction that targets knowledge and skills that have the highest impact on learning to
read and that is attuned to their specific reading difficulties.
What instructional components are most critical to include in the additional reading instruction
for struggling readers? Most research-based intervention programs integrate variations of three common
components: rereading familiar text, focusing on words, and guided reading of new text. Teachers can use
these components to plan and implement highly specialized instruction that matches the needs of
individual struggling readers. The needs of the learners should guide the amount of emphasis given to
each component. In appropriate proportions and in the hands of a skillful teacher, this instructional
framework can lead struggling readers to the accuracy, automaticity, fluency, active building of meaning,
and self-regulation that are characteristic of skillful readers.
Rereading Familiar Text
What?
Students reread previously read text.
Why?
Students develop accuracy, automaticity, and fluency; as students reread, they have
opportunities to refine and self-regulate the building of meaning and to develop
confidence and motivation.
Focusing on Words
What?
Teachers use various research-based instructional procedures as they provide
explicit and systematic decoding instruction that matches the needs of the students.
This instruction typically includes reading and writing words and/or sentences. (See
note below.) This component may occur before and/or after Guided Reading of New
Text. Areas of focus include the following:
- phonemic awareness
- letter-sound correspondences
- spelling patterns (e.g., “ight) and syllable patterns (e.g., CV, CVC)
- morphemes (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, base/root words)
- high frequency words
- strategies for figuring out unfamiliar words (includes chunking “big” words)
Why?
Students develop the knowledge, skills, strategies, and self-regulating behaviors
needed to read with accuracy and automaticity and to figure out unfamiliar words
rapidly and efficiently. This component enables students to develop the fluency of
skillful readers so that they can devote their attention to building meaning.
Guided Reading of New Text
What?
Teachers support students in building meaning and solving problems as students
read unfamiliar text at increasingly challenging levels. Support is provided before,
during, and after reading as required by the learner.
Why?
Students become more adept at orchestrating the knowledge, skills, and strategies
necessary to engage in active building of meaning and self-regulation, and they
develop the motivation needed to activate and sustain this process.
Note: Writing is not a specific component of this framework, but it is embedded within
Focusing on Words. Ideally, students apply their evolving knowledge and skills as they engage
in reading and writing across the curriculum.
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Alabama Reading Initiative
Phonemic Awareness
A Professional Learning Module
Outcomes:
1. The participants will identify instruction that focuses on different tasks
that fall on the phonological continuum.
2. The participants will describe the relationship between phonological
awareness and phonemic awareness.
3. The participants will explain how the formative assessment process
affects student learning and apply that learning to instructional
decisions.
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A Phonological Awareness Continuum
Phonological awareness is an awareness of speech sounds, including: words, syllables, onsets,
rimes, and phonemes. Phonological awareness is considered the umbrella under which phonemic
awareness is a part. The following is one example of a phonological awareness continuum and how a
teacher could create appropriate tasks for different purposes. There is no research base to support one
phonological awareness continuum over another; in fact, it is not clear that phonemic awareness does
develop in any specific order.
1. Rhyming – Matching the ending sounds of words.
Song: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”
 Examples: star, are; high, sky
 Additional support: Give clues for words (e.g., something you ride in); supply the initial sound;
say the onset and rime.
2. Alliteration – Producing groups of words that begin with the same initial sound.1
Poem: “Peter Piper”
 Examples: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
 Additional support: Exaggerate the repeated sound, give clues for words (e.g., If you dropped
something, you might have picked it up).
3. Sentence Segmentation – Segmenting sentences (or phrases) into spoken words.
Song: “Three Blind Mice”
 Example: Three blind mice; three blind mice; see how they run…
 Additional support: Show the printed sentence/line and physically cut it into words.
4. Syllables - Combining syllables to say words or segmenting spoken words into syllables.
Song: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
 Examples: Mar – y had a lit – tle lamb, lit – tle lamb, lit – tle lamb
 Additional support: Use fingers, counters, clapping, jumping, or hand under chin to emphasize
the syllables.
5. Onsets and Rimes – Blending and segmenting the initial consonant or consonant cluster (onset) and
the vowel and consonant sounds that follow (rime).
Poem: “Jack and Jill”
 Examples: /j/ /ῐl/ /h/ /ῐl/
 Additional support: Repeat the line that contains the target word(s).
6. Phonemic Awareness – Blending phonemes into words, segmenting words into individual
phonemes, and manipulating the phonemes in words.
 Examples of blending/segmenting: /s/ /ō/ s o
 
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Examples of manipulation:
o Add /z/ at the end of the spoken word sky
o Change /ῑ/ in sky to /ē/
o Remove /k/ in sky to make a new word
Additional support: Use words with 2-3 phonemes, target words that begin with continuous
sounds such as /s/ and /m/, and stretch the sounds.
1
In an alliteration task, teachers can prompt students to isolate the beginning sound of the target word, identify other
words that begin with the same sound, and sort or categorize words as they determine whether or not a word begins
with the same sound as the target word. Teachers can increase the challenge by asking students to create a sentence
with words beginning with the same sound (e.g., Simon saw a star in the sky.)
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What?
1. What is a phoneme?
A phoneme
 is the smallest unit of sound in a spoken word.

is represented in a written word by a grapheme, which may consist of one letter or several
letters.
2. What is phonemic awareness?
Phonemic awareness
 is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds--phonemes--in spoken
words.

is a subset of phonological awareness—an awareness of the multiple units of oral
language.
o Children cannot attain full phonemic awareness without understanding that oral
language consists of sentences, sentences consist of words, words consist of syllables,
and syllables consist of sound chunks (e.g., onset/rime).

represents a series of related tasks that vary in difficulty.
o For example, isolating an initial sound is easier than isolating a final sound which is
easier than isolating a medial sound. Blending a continuous sound and a vowel (e.g.,
/sssssss/ /ē/) is easier than blending a stop sound and a vowel (e.g., /b/ /ē/).

develops alongside a growing awareness of print concepts.
o Students’ awareness that spoken sentences consist of words and that these spoken
words consist of sounds intertwined with their awareness that printed sentences
consist of words and that these printed words consist of letters. This relationship
helps explain why teachers need to use letters to link phonemic awareness activities
and print awareness activities.
o The purpose of this instruction is not to systematically teach the letters and their
sounds but to visually show students how words can be broken apart and put back
together.
o Once students are sufficiently aware that spoken words consist of sounds and that
printed words consist of letters, they are ready for explicit and systematic phonics
instruction.
o Teachers must carefully choose when to use and not use letters to facilitate growth in
phonemic awareness instruction. For example, using letters to blend, segment, and
manipulate the phonemes in the word so helps students see how both spoken and
printed words work; attempting the same tasks using letters in the written word high
would create confusion for many students.
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Why?

To read an alphabetic language such as English, students must learn and use the alphabetic
principle--an understanding that phonemes of spoken words are mapped onto the letters of
written words in systematic and predictable ways.
o Before students can grasp the alphabetic principle, they must understand that spoken
words consist of sounds, or phonemes.
o The relationship between phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle explains why
a child’s level of phonemic awareness in kindergarten is considered the best single
predictor of successful reading acquisition.

Students enter school with varying levels of phonemic awareness.
o Some students have a rich background of language experiences that stimulate awareness
of the sounds in the language (e.g., being read to, singing songs, chanting rhymes, and
engaging in word play); other students have a much more limited background of
language experiences.
o A small percentage of students may experience difficulty in developing phonemic
awareness due to weaknesses in phonological processing. Many of these students exhibit
advanced oral language development but do require highly skilled phonemic awareness
instruction. (International Reading Association, 1998).

Some degree of planned phonemic awareness instruction accelerates reading and spelling
development for all beginning readers.
o Spoken words are seamless; the sounds overlap. Language users do not consciously
attend to the sounds in words when speaking and listening (Torgeson & Mathes, 2001).
o Children do not become phonemically aware unless they engage in activities that help
them develop this awareness.
When?

Provide phonemic awareness instruction as needed before the onset of phonics instruction,
but don’t go overboard. Research suggests that most students need no more than 20 hours of
phonemic awareness instruction before beginning explicit and systematic phonics instruction
that integrates blending, segmenting, and manipulation tasks with the teaching of letter-sound
correspondences.
o Spending too much time on oral language activities to stimulate phonemic awareness can
waste valuable instructional time.
o Explicit phonics instruction and invented spelling stimulate continued development of
phonemic awareness (Torgeson & Mathes, 2001).

Incorporate phonemic awareness tasks throughout the day (e.g., during shared reading,
morning message, journal writing, phonics instruction).

Provide phonemic awareness instruction in Kindergarten and additional instruction as needed
to struggling readers beyond Kindergarten. Typically the tasks of blending, segmenting, and
manipulations are included as part of phonics instruction for struggling readers in Grades 1
and above.
26
How?
1. Provide explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness.

Explicit instruction is teacher directed, clearly stated, distinctly illustrated (not merely
implied or ambiguous), and capable of clarifying key points; includes
o telling students what they are expected to learn.
o modeling for students what is expected using clear examples.
o providing guidance as students practice: acknowledge successful application, provide
corrective feedback, offer additional examples/explanations, prompt problem solving
and deeper levels of understanding.
o promoting independent application by providing students with tools that serve as
reminders and enable independent problem solving.

Systematic instruction is orderly, planned, and gradually builds from basic elements to
more subtle and complex structures.
Note: The explicit and systematic phonemic awareness instruction of the most skillful teachers
includes prompting and guiding students to attend to the sounds of words throughout the school
day—not just during the reading block.
2. Apply specific findings from research on effective phonemic awareness instruction.

Emphasize blending and segmenting tasks, the most critical skills for success in
beginning reading.
o Students need to practice blending and segmenting with a wide range of one-syllable
words rather than focus on a specific word family (rime) or specific letter-sound
correspondences.

Make use of letters (printed words) when appropriate.
o The development of phonemic awareness and print awareness represents a reciprocal
relationship. Insights into one stimulate insights into the other.
o Letters and printed words visually show children how sounds can be blended to form
words and how words can be pulled apart into sounds. Teachers can use counters and
fingers when letters would be confusing.
o Students will continue to develop phonemic awareness as they participate in explicit
and systematic phonics instruction.

Use systematic assessment to inform instruction.
27
A Phonemic Awareness Lesson
(Phonemic Awareness Focus: Segmenting and Blending)
Standard(s): See Appendix E
Objective:
Students will be able to segment the sounds in words.
Materials:
picture cards, Elkonin boxes for students and teacher, counters for each person
Tell Students:
Words are made up of sounds. Good readers and writers listen for all the sounds they hear in
words. We can stretch a word to hear all the sounds. We can also say all the sounds we hear.
Model for Students:
 Teacher models stretching a word like stretching bubble gum out of your mouth.
1. Say the word, show the picture card, clarify meaning by using it in a sentence.
2. Stretch the word by slowly saying each sound.
3. Stretch the word and stop after the first sound. What sound did your hear?
4. Stretch the word and listen for the second sound. What sound did you hear at the
end?
 Say the sounds and push a counter into a box for each sound.
 Say the sounds to blend the word, sliding your finger below the boxes from left to right.
Guide Student Practice:
Teacher guides the students to practice stretching the word and saying the sounds they hear.
Students will push the counter into the box for that sound. Students will blend the sounds to say
the word.
1. Say the word, show the picture card, clarify meaning by using it in a sentence.
2. Stretch the word by slowly saying each sound.
3. Say the sounds and push a counter for the first sound into the box. Say the sounds and
push a counter for the last sound into the box.
4. Say the sounds to blend the word, sliding their fingers below the boxes from left to right.
Promote Independent Application:
Have individual students practice saying the sounds, phoneme by phoneme, pushing the counters
into the boxes for each sound. Have students blend the phonemes together to say the word.
Continue individual practice, providing corrective feedback as necessary.
28
29
Two-Phoneme Picture Cards
pie, knee, toe, key, ice, tea
30
Three-Phoneme Picture Cards
bike, pin, nail, fish, leaf, hose
31
Four-Phoneme Picture Cards
spoon, plane, nest, desk, flash, snake
32
Sound Production Cue Card
Letter
Phoneme
a
/ă/
When you say /ă ă ă /, your jaw and tongue are down. Say /ă ă
ă / and feel your jaw and tongue go down.
b
/b/
When you say /b/, your lips start out together. Then they open
and a tiny puff of air comes out of your mouth. Put your lips
together and say /b/. Feel the tiny puff of air. Feel your voice
box on when you say /b/.
c
/k/
When you say /k/, the back of your tongue is humped and in the
back of your mouth. Say /k/ and feel that the back of your
tongue is humped and in the back of your mouth.
d
/d/
When you say /d/, the tip of your tongue touches above your top
teeth. Say /d/ and feel the tip of your tongue touch above your
top teeth. Put your hand on your throat and see if your voice
box is on when you say /d/. Yes, your throat move when you
say /d/ because your voice box is on.
e
/ĕ/
When you say /ĕ ĕ ĕ /, your mouth is open and your tongue is
behind your bottom teeth. Say /ĕ ĕ ĕ /. Did your mouth open?
Yes, your mouth is open and your tongue is behind your bottom
teeth. Say /ĕ ĕ ĕ /.
f
/f/
When you say /fff/, your top teeth touch your bottom lip. Say
/fff/ and feel your top teeth touch your bottom lip.
g
/g/
When you say /g/, your mouth is open and your tongue is
humped at the back of your mouth. Put your hand on your
throat and see if your voice box is on. Yes, your throat moves
when you say /g/ because your voice box is on.
h
/h/
When you say /h/, some air comes out of your mouth. Put your
hand in front of your mouth. Say /h/ and feel the air. Say /h/.
i
/ῐ/
When you say /ῐ ῐ ῐ /, your mouth is open and your tongue is
slightly lowered. Say /ῐ ῐ ῐ /. Is your mouth open and is your
tongue slightly lowered? Yes, your mouth is open and your
tongue is slightly lowered.
j
/j/
When you say /j/, your tongue is up and your lips are open.
Watch, /j/. Open your lips and say /j/.
k
/k/
When you say /k/, the back of your tongue is humped and in the
back of your mouth. Say /k/ and feel that the back of your
tongue is humped and in the back of your mouth.
l
/l/
When you say /lll/, the tip of your tongue touches above your
top teeth and stays there. Say /lll/ and feel the tip of your tongue
touch above your top teeth and stay there.
m
/m/
Teacher Says
When you say /mmm/, your lips come together. Put your lips
together and say /mmm/.
33
n
/n/
When you say /nnn/, your tongue is behind your top teeth and a
little air comes out your nose. Say /nnn/. Was your tongue
behind your top teeth and did a little air come out your nose?
Yes, your tongue was behind your top teeth and a little air came
out of your nose. Say /nnn/.
o
/ŏ/
When you say /ŏ ŏ ŏ /, your mouth is open and your jaw drops.
Put your hand under your chin and say /ŏ ŏ ŏ /. See, your
mouth opened and your jaw dropped.
p
/p/
When you say /p/, your lips start out together. Then they open,
and a puff of air comes out of your mouth. Put your lips
together and say /p/. Feel the puff of air that comes out of your
mouth.
q
/kw/
When you say /kw/, the back of your tongue is humped and in
the back of your mouth. Then your lips make a circle. Say /kw/.
r
/r/
When you say/rrr/, your voice box is turned on and the tip of
your tongue goes up and toward the roof of your mouth. Say
/rrr/ and feel the tip of your tongue go up and toward the roof of
your mouth. Put your hand on your throat and see if your voice
box is on when you say /rrr/; /rrr/. Yes, your voice box is on
when you say /rrr/.
s
/s/
When you say /sss/, the tip of your tongue touches above your
top teeth. It makes a snake sound. Say /sss/ and hear the snake
sound.
t
/t/
When you say /t/, the tip of your tongue touches above your top
teeth. Say /t/ and feel the top of your tongue touch above your
top teeth.
u
/ŭ/
When you say /ŭ ŭ ŭ /, your mouth is open and your tongue is
down. Was your mouth open and tongue down?
v
/v/
When you say /vvv/, your top teeth touch your bottom lip and
your throat moves a little. Say /vvv/ and feel your teeth touch
your bottom lip.
w
/w/
When you say /www/, your lips make a circle. Say /www/ and
feel your lips make a circle.
x
/ks/
When you say/ks/, it begins with the back of your tongue
humped and in the back of your mouth. Then it makes a snake
sound. Say /ks/.
y
/y/
When you say /yyy/, your tongue is behind your lower teeth and
your mouth is open. Say /yyy/ and feel your tongue behind your
lower teeth.
z
/z/
When you say /zzz/, the tip of your tongue touches above your
top teeth and your voice box is on. Put your hand on your throat
and see if your voice box is on when you say /zzz/; /zzz/. Yes,
your voice box is on when you say /zzz/.
34
Alabama Reading Initiative
Phonics:
A Professional Learning Module
Outcomes:
1. Participants will explain the goal of phonics instruction.
2. Participants will practice blending sounds into words and discuss the
importance of a blending routine.
3. Participants will discuss the importance of having a phonics progression
aligned with decodable text.
4. Participants will list the components of an explicit phonics lesson.
5. Participants will explain how the formative assessment process affects
student learning and apply that learning to instructional decisions.
35
Clock Partners
12:00
9:00
3:00
6:00
36
What?
1. What is phonics instruction?
Phonics instruction focuses on teaching the relationships between sounds (phonemes) and
letters (graphemes). Effective phonics instruction
o helps students use these relationships to read and write words.
o includes blending, segmenting, and manipulating tasks as students practice using the taught
letter-sound correspondences in their reading and spelling.
o includes letter recognition activities as needed.
2. What is the alphabetic principle?
Acquisition of the alphabetic principle is the goal of phonics instruction. This principle reflects
an understanding that the phonemes of spoken words are mapped onto the letters of written
words in systematic and predictable ways.
3. What is a phonics progression?
A phonics progression is a logical ordering of letter-sound correspondences from simple to
more complex. Research has not identified a single, most effective phonics progression.
Many progressions begin with a few consonants and a vowel. After introducing the common
letter sound relationships for consonants and short vowels, progressions typically move to
consonant blends, consonant digraphs, and vowel combinations.
4. What do skillful readers do to figure out unrecognized words?
Skillful readers at times encounter unrecognized words (i.e., words that are in their oral
vocabulary but that they do not immediately recognize in print). They use all they know to
address the problem. They look at the entire word carefully, and they think about what makes
sense. They try out different pronunciations until they find a word that matches the spelling
and fits the context. In contrast, less skillful readers tend to look at only part of the word (e.g.,
the beginning sound) then guess.
5. What are the different “levels” used to process information within words?
Letter-sound correspondences – This level focuses on sound-by-sound processing. For
example, to decode the word “chill,” a young reader could blend the three phonemegrapheme correspondences (ch-i-ll).
o Some scholars indicate that successive blending (e.g., ch, chi, chill) is easier than saying
all of the sounds then blending them together (Beck & Juel, 2001).
Spelling patterns/chunks – This level moves beyond sound-by-sound processing and makes
use of larger “chunks” of words. For example, a young reader could decode the word “chill”
as two chunks (ch-ill) rather than three. Examples of instruction in spelling patterns and word
chunks include the following:
o The final e marker for long vowels – A silent and final e in many words signals a long
vowel (e.g., made, rice).
o Common rimes – A rime consists of the vowel and everything that follows within a syllable
(e.g., hill, back). Students can use the rimes in familiar words to figure out other words
(e.g., use “hill” to read “chill”). Multisyllabic words have a rime in each syllable (e.g.,
ho/tel).
o Syllable patterns – A syllable consists of the rime and its onset. (An onset is the information
that comes before the vowel.) Students learn to recognize common syllable patterns (e.g.,
37
a CVC pattern typically has a short vowel sound; a CV pattern typically has a long vowel
sound; le as in little and table is pronounced /ul/).
Morphemes – This level focuses on groups of letters that represent meaningful word parts—
morphemes. Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning within a word; morphemes include
prefixes (e.g., undo), suffixes (e.g., sadly), and root words (e.g., undoing). Morphemic analysis
is sometimes referred to as structural analysis.
6. What are the guidelines for dealing with multi-syllable words?
The ability to decode multisyllable words does not rely on the ability to apply rules as much
as it does the ability to identify vowel sounds in a word. Each syllable contains one vowel
sound. Consequently, the location of vowels enables students to take two important steps: (1)
identify the chunks (usually syllables) and (2) identify the vowel phoneme, the main carrier
of the sound of a chunk. Usually, the decoding of multisyllable words will be accomplished
through three steps described below.
Step 1: Identify recognizable chunks.
Chunks are usually syllables, a single vowel sound accompanied by a consonant or
consonants. As students read more, they learn to recognize chunks like pre, in, ing and
tion automatically. Chunks found at the ending of words (e.g., ed, s, ly) are found
easily and can be read first.
Step 2: Identify the appropriate vowel phoneme.
First, use spelling cues, and try the most common sounds for the vowel or the vowel
combination (ai, ow, ou, oo). As students read more, they learn to recognize how
chunks resemble other words or chunks that occur in known words. (Example: the
word finish contains a chunk that looks like pin and a chunk that looks like dish.)
Step 3: Blend the chunks together and recognize the word.
Don’t worry if the pronunciation is not quite right the first time. Usually a similar
pronunciation is enough to trigger a known word, especially when the word is found in
context. (Wagon may be read as “wag” “on” initially, but that pronunciation sounds
close enough to the word wagon that it is usually recognized, especially in the context
of a sentence or story.) As students read more, they learn how to deal with stressed and
unstressed syllables.
Note: Phonics is not an exact science. The goal of decoding is to generate a pronunciation that
comes close. If phonics were a game of golf, decoding would get you on the green. Context and
knowledge of the language will sink the putt. For example, if a reader makes guillotine rhyme
with pine, that would be close enough to recognize the word in context, so long as the word
being read is within the student’s spoken/listening vocabulary.
38
7. What different types of texts support beginning and struggling readers as they learn how
to figure out unrecognized words?
Decodable and transitional texts are the two most common types of texts used to help beginning
and struggling readers learn how to use all they know to figure out unrecognized words.
Decodable texts consist primarily of words containing previously taught letter-sound
correspondences. These texts provide students with opportunities to apply the alphabetic
principle and help them become accurate and automatic at processing all the information found
within words. Any irregular words (e.g., said, of, ache, knee, ocean) are introduced and taught
before reading. Whether or not a text qualifies as decodable depends on a reader’s cumulative
knowledge of letter-sound correspondences and irregular words.
Transitional texts feature less controlled vocabulary than decodable texts. Although these texts
feature many words consisting of taught letter-sound correspondences and representing taught
irregular words (e.g., said, of, ache, knee, ocean), they also contain
o some untaught, irregular words
o some words with regular but not yet taught letter-sound correspondences (e.g., “mouth”).
These texts encourage students to practice processing all the information within a word as
completely as possible but also to think about what makes sense as they try out different
pronunciations and use context clues for verification. Some examples of transitional text
include Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant and Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.
Note: Research has not established a percentage of decodability best suited for beginning and
struggling readers. Many experts recommend that teachers offer their beginning and/or
struggling readers a balanced “diet” of decodable and transitional text. Some of these scholars
suggest, however, that all texts contain at least 70% fully decodable words (Beck & Juel, 2001;
Brown, 2000; Hiebert, 1999).
Why?

Skillful readers have a firm grasp of the alphabetic principle—an understanding that enables
them to read words accurately and automatically.

One of the most pervasive characteristics of struggling readers is difficulty in reading words
accurately and automatically.

Skillful readers process all the information within a word (e.g., letter-sound correspondences,
spelling patterns/chunks, and morphemes) and use context clues for verification. Struggling
readers are more apt to use only partial information within a word (e.g., beginning sounds) and
depend more heavily on context clues than their more skillful peers.
39
When?

In kindergarten, begin teaching a phonics progression that includes common letter-sound
correspondences. Start the progression after students have developed a sufficient level of
phonemic awareness.
Research has not identified an optimal point in phonemic awareness development to begin
phonics instruction; however, research has clearly shown that phonemic awareness continues to
develop as students participate in explicit phonics instruction in which they are reading and
spelling words (Torgeson & Mathes, 2001).

Continue to teach the progression of common letter-sound correspondences until students have
demonstrated mastery in using these correspondences to read and spell words. Speed up or slow
down the progression as needed to stay in step with the instructional needs of the students.
Approximately two years of instruction in letter-sound correspondences is sufficient for most
students.

As a complement to a progression of letter-sound correspondences, provide instruction in gradeappropriate spelling patterns/chunks (e.g., -ill, -le) and morphemes (e.g., celebration, illegal,
biologist). Also include instruction in how to figure out unrecognized words (i.e., fully process
information within the word and think about what makes sense). This form of instruction extends
throughout high school as students are faced with challenging multisyllabic words in the
literature they read and in the content areas.
Prompt and assist students in applying what they know about letter-sound correspondences,
spelling patterns/chunk, and morphemes as they read and write during and beyond the block of
time set aside for reading instruction.
40
How?
1. Provide explicit and systematic phonics instruction.

Explicit instruction is teacher directed, clearly stated, distinctly illustrated (not merely
implied or ambiguous), and capable of clarifying key points; includes
o
o
o
telling students what they are expected to learn
modeling for students what is expected using clear examples
providing guidance as students practice: acknowledge successful application, provide
corrective feedback, offer additional examples/explanations, prompt problem solving
and deeper levels of understanding
o promoting independent application by providing students with tools that serve as
reminders and enable independent problem solving (e.g., ABC charts, word walls, list
of word-solving strategies, list of comprehension strategies)

Systematic instruction is orderly, planned, and gradually builds from basic elements to
more subtle and complex structures
Note: The explicit and systematic phonics instruction of the most skillful teachers includes
prompting and guiding students to use their phonics knowledge throughout the school day—not
just during the reading block.
2. Apply specific findings from research on effective phonics instruction.

Include blending, segmenting, and manipulating tasks as letter-sound correspondences
are taught.

The average child needs between 4 and 14 exposures to a new word to recognize it
automatically. However, children with reading difficulties need 40 or more exposures to
a new word. Therefore, it’s critical that students get a great deal of practice reading
stories at their independent reading level to develop automaticity. (Beck & Juel, 1995;
Samuels, Schermer, & Reinking, 1992).
o Include opportunities for students to apply what they have been taught as they
read and write words; when appropriate, encourage students to spell words like
they sound (invented spelling).
o Provide sufficient practice so that students can become automatic and fluent in
what is being taught.
o Allow students to productively struggle toward effortless application.

The most effective instruction in phonics, spelling, and vocabulary links word study to
the texts being read, provides a systematic scope and sequence of word-level skills, and
provides multiple opportunities for hands-on practice and application. (Words Their Way)

Use daily formative assessment to inform instruction.
Research points taken from National Reading Panel (2001) unless otherwise noted.
41
An Explicit Phonics Lesson
In this demonstration lesson, a teacher implements the components of an explicit
phonics lesson with a small group of students. The reading practice is with text that is closely
aligned with the phonics progression (i.e., decodable text).
1. Begin the lesson with a short phonemic awareness warm-up activity.
2. Focus on the new correspondence by stating, explaining, and modeling how to decode and
spell words.
3. Have children practice blending words using the correspondence that is being studied that
day.
4. Have children practice spelling words using the correspondence that is being studied that
day.
5. Have children practice using the new correspondence through connected writing activities
(e.g., dictation and composition).
6. Give opportunities to apply the day’s lesson by reading decodable text.
42
Pseudoword Reading Test
Pseudoword Reading Test: Pretest version
Materials: Print the pseudowords below on plain cards or on a sheet of paper.
Write the response on the line; you may have to invent a spelling. Do not help the
reader decode the word in any way.
Directions: I’m going to show you some made up words. They aren’t really words,
but some people can read them anyway. Can you?
Interpretation: The ability to decode even one pseudoword shows that the reader
knows how to sound and blend to recognize words. Successes in the first column
show the ability to blend simple short vowel words. Successes in the second
column show the ability to decode more complex long vowels signaled by digraphs
or silent e. Successes in the third column show decoding mastery by recognition of
sight chunks or analogizing. Miscue analysis will reveal missing correspondences.
fim _______________
yain _______________ snitting __________________
sep _______________
bire _______________ bathtail __________________
lat ________________
nool _______________ inteakness ________________
dob _______________
pote _______________ overtodded _______________
huz _______________
jeek _______________ rebenderable ______________
43
A Phonics Lesson
Students in need of reading intervention benefit from a comprehensive and balanced classroom
literacy program. These struggling readers need additional small group time in which they are provided
with instruction that targets knowledge and skills, that have the highest impact on learning to read, and
that is attuned to their specific reading difficulties.
What instructional components are most critical to include in the additional reading instruction
for struggling readers? Most research-based intervention programs integrate variations of three common
components: rereading familiar text, focusing on words, and guided reading of new text. Teachers can use
these components to plan and implement highly specialized instruction that matches the needs of
individual struggling readers. The needs of the learners should guide the amount of emphasis given to
each component as determined by daily formative assessments. In appropriate proportions and in the
hands of a skillful teacher, this instructional framework can lead struggling readers to the accuracy,
automaticity, fluency, active building of meaning, and self-regulation that are characteristic of skillful
readers.
1. What were students able to do?
2. What evidence do you have?
3. Which students need additional instruction?
4. How will the next lesson be adjusted to meet their needs?
Rereading familiar text
Focusing on words
Explain and model how skillful readers figure out unrecognized words. As needed, refer to
“What” section #s 4-6.
Guided reading
In this portion of the lesson, use a scaffold that includes asking students to identify “problem”
words and to share how they figured them out (e.g., What word problems did you have? How did
you solve that problem?).
44
Alabama Reading Initiative
Fluency:
A Professional Learning Module
Outcomes:
1. Participants will define fluent reading.
2. Participants will explain the relationship between fluency and
comprehension.
3. Participants will consider how to effectively embed fluency instruction
across the curriculum.
4. Participants will explain how the formative assessment process affects
student learning and apply that learning to instructional decisions.
45
What?
1. What is reading fluency?
Reading fluency is the ability to read text easily, quickly, and with expression. It includes the
following:
 accurate and automatic word recognition
 grouping words into meaningful phrases
 expressive oral reading
 comprehension (i.e., actively building and self regulating meaning)
Fluent reading is often quick paced, but not always. Fluent readers slow down and process
challenging text more deliberately. They adjust their reading rates according to the purpose
of the reading and the challenges posed by the text.
2. What is reading rate and how is it related to reading fluency?
 Reading rate indicates how accurately and automatically a reader reads connected text.
Reading rate is measured in words per minute (WPM).
 Rate indicates ease of reading allowing the reader to focus more on phrasing and
expression.
 Reading rate is one important and easily measured component of reading fluency.
 Grade-level norms enable teachers to determine how a student’s reading rate compares to
the rates of grade-level peers.
 A simple way to determine reading rate is to ask a student to read a passage for one
minute then calculate the number of words read accurately (subtract word errors from
total words attempted).
3. What types of information need to be noted as teachers monitor reading fluency?
 Reading Rate
 Word Errors (sometimes referred to as reading miscues)
o Substitutions – The reader says a word other than the printed word.
o Omissions – The reader skips a word.
 Other deviations from the printed words (not considered errors)
o Insertions – The reader adds a word.
o Repetitions – The reader repeats a word or phrase.
o Self-corrections – The reader substitutes a word and then says the word accurately.
 Comments related to expression
o Does the reader read smoothly and with ease?
o Does the reader make use of punctuation marks?
o Does the reader group words into meaningful phrases?
o Does the reader emphasize the most important words?
Teachers use various procedures to record this information including marking the information on
a copy of the text or creating a running record (making a check for each correct word and noting
each error).
46
4. What is the relationship between reading fluency and comprehension?
 A close relationship exists between reading fluency and comprehension. One-minute
measures of oral reading fluency are highly predictive and strongly correlated with
reading scores on standardized tests.2
 “Since the average individual can hold only seven to ten bits of information in short term
memory, the disfluent reader expends cognitive energy primarily on figuring out words
and pronunciations. This leaves little memory capacity to focus on comprehending the
information.” (Block, Collins, Pressley. Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based
Practices)
5. What is the goal of fluency instruction?
The goal of fluency instruction is to make the reading of words and sentences effortless so
that students can attend to what the text means.
2
Davidson, M., & Myhre, O. (2000). Measuring reading at grade level. Educational Leadership, 57(5), 25-28.
47
Why?

Sufficient amounts of reading and rereading texts in an instructional-independent level is the
best way to help students develop automaticity and reading ease so that they can focus on
building meaning. For fluency practice to be effective, students need to be certain of the
words. Their initial readings may be at an instructional level (90-94% word accuracy), but
their rereadings need to be at an independent level (95-100% word accuracy).

More skillful readers spend a lot of time independently reading texts that are easy for them;
less skillful readers spend a lot less time reading independently and most of what they read is
at a frustrational level.
Note: Too often teachers fail to ensure that students stay with any text long enough to achieve
automaticity and reading ease.

A slow reading rate is a concern even if comprehension is satisfactory. Students who read
more fluently read more. Vocabulary acquisition and fluent reading are interconnected
components of successful reading.

Children who read slowly, without enjoyment and suffer from inadequate vocabularies will
read less, resulting in slower vocabulary knowledge development and inhibited reading
growth. (Stanovich, 1986)
Note: Students with similar levels of comprehension may have expended different levels of
energy. A slow reading rate signals that a student has to work much harder to achieve the same
results than peers with grade-appropriate reading rates. Unless issues of fluency are addressed,
students with slow reading rates will experience more and more frustration as expectations for
amount of reading increase and texts become more challenging.

Effective fluency instruction improves the reading ability of all students throughout the
elementary school years and of struggling readers at higher grade levels.

Fluency is considered the most neglected reading skill.
When?

At the onset of schooling, model fluent reading during read alouds. Also encourage young
children to “read” with expression when “chiming in” as teachers read and when they “read”
familiar text on their own.

When students can read unfamiliar connected text with about 90% word accuracy or better,
engage students in more explicit and systematic fluency instruction.

Plan for fluency practice during specifically designated times.

Address fluency throughout the school day as students engage in various reading tasks (e.g.,
during teacher-directed reading instruction, when reading word problems in math class).

Target fluency when reading varied types of texts (e.g., narrative, expository, poetry).

Continue providing fluency instruction as needed through high school (particularly with
struggling readers).
48
How?
1. Provide explicit and systematic instruction in fluency.
 Explicit instruction is teacher directed, clearly stated, distinctly illustrated (not merely
implied or ambiguous), and capable of clarifying key points. Includes:
o
o
o
o
telling students what they are expected to learn
modeling for students what is expected using clear examples
providing guidance as students practice: acknowledge successful application
provide corrective feedback, offer additional examples/explanations, prompt problem
solving and deeper levels of understanding
o promoting independent application by providing students with tools that serve as
reminders and enable independent problem solving (e.g., a list of fluency reminders
such as read smoothly and with ease, use punctuation marks, group words into
meaningful phrases, and emphasize the important words)

Systematic instruction is orderly, planned, and gradually builds from basic elements to
more subtle and complex structures.
Note: The explicit and systematic fluency instruction of the most skillful teachers includes
prompting and guiding students to attend to fluency throughout the school day—not just during
the reading block.
2. Apply specific findings from research on effective fluency instruction.

Model fluent reading and remind students of its features.

Provide practice in repeated oral reading (commonly called “rereading”).

Monitor rereading practice and provide feedback.

Ensure that students spend ample time reading and rereading texts that are at their
independent levels.

Allocating instructional time for independent reading does not reliably lead to greater
fluency but is an important supplement to teacher-directed reading instruction.

Independent reading is valuable as one component of a rotation that also includes teacherdirected small group instruction.

Teachers need to monitor independent reading to ensure that students actually read during
the allotted time and that the texts they read are at their independent levels. If texts are
beyond the independent level, additional support can be provided through partner reading,
computer software, and/or tape-assisted readings.

Use systematic assessment to inform instruction.
Note: Systematic fluency assessment takes various forms. Two of the most common forms
follow:
o Students read unfamiliar, grade-level text for one minute (e.g., DIBELS oral reading
fluency measure). Data are used to monitor progress toward achieving grade-level
benchmarks. Although this form is an efficient and powerful assessment tool, it is not an
instructional procedure.
49
o Students read and reread texts that fall within an instructional-independent range. They
chart their progress as they reread these texts. They may chart correct words read in one
minute or the time required to read a targeted selection. Feedback is provided. This form
of assessment has a strong instructional component.
The following procedures are research-based options for rereading practice and
feedback.

Whisper Reading – All students whisper read the text independently. The teacher listens
to the students read individually in order-- to provide support and feedback.

Choral reading – The students read in unison. The teacher fades in and out as needed. The
students may assess their reading using a fluency reminder list. Sometimes choral reading
is implemented as computer-based or tape-assisted reading as students read along with a
recorded voice.

Cloze Reading – Students read along silently while the teacher does most of the reading
orally. Once or twice every few sentences, the teacher omits an important vocabulary or
content word, not a simple sight word, and the students’ job is to read the word aloud as a
class.

Partner reading – Students take turns reading the selection or alternate reading portions of
the selection. The teacher may ask the students to provide their partners with feedback
regarding one or more features of fluent reading (e.g., use punctuation marks). Partner
reading may occur within class or across grades.

Echo reading – Students “echo” the teacher who reads short portions of text (e.g., a
sentence, a paragraph). Feedback is provided as needed. Sometimes echo reading is
implemented as computer-based or tape-assisted reading.

Readers Theatre – Students read a text repeatedly as they rehearse and then perform the
text. Feedback is provided as needed.

One-minute timed readings – Students read a familiar text for one minute then record on
a chart the number of words read. Students reread the same text several more times, each
time recording on the same chart the number of words read. When appropriate, the
teacher discusses troublesome words and/or highlights items from a fluency reminder list.
Note: Alternatively, students can reread all of a short passage several times and chart the total
time required for each rereading. Students can be taught to time each other during partner
reading.
50
51
52
53
54
He did not read the ______, or he would have
known that ______ was brewing, not only for
himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of
muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget
Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in
the ______ darkness, had found a yellow
_______ and because steamship and
transportation companies were ______ the find,
thousands of men were ______ into the
______. These men wanted dogs, and the
dogs they wanted were _______ dogs, with
strong muscles by which to toil, and ______
coats to protect them from the ______. He
lived at a
55
A Fluency Lesson
This demonstration illustrates three basic features of research-based fluency instruction:
modeling, rereading, and feedback. Although the demonstrated procedures can be used as one
component of an intervention lesson (i.e., rereading familiar text), their use is also appropriate in
a comprehensive reading program for all students.
1. Modeled Reading
The teacher . . .
 Selects a short text or portion of a text to read aloud.
 Reminds the students of what it means to read fluently using a fluency reminder list.3
 Reads aloud then invites students to comment on how the text was read.
Note: Sometimes the teacher intentionally chooses to demonstrate disfluent reading so that
the students have opportunities to identify what fluent reading is not.
2. Rereading Practice With Feedback
Students practice rereading the text that the teacher read. The teacher and/or other students
provide feedback. All of the procedures described below can be adapted for use in whole
group, small group, and one-on-one settings.4

Choral reading – The students read in unison. The teacher fades in and out as needed. The
students may assess their reading using a fluency reminder list.

Partner reading –Students take turns reading the selection or alternate reading portions of
the selection. The teacher may ask the students to provide their partners with feedback
regarding one or more features of fluent reading (e.g., use punctuation marks).

One-minute timed readings – Students read a familiar text for one minute then record on
a chart the number of words read. Students reread the same text several more times, each
time recording on the same chart the number of words read. When appropriate, the
teacher discusses troublesome words and/or highlights items from a fluency reminder list.
Note: Alternatively, students can reread all of a short passage several times and chart the
total time required for each rereading. Students can be taught to time each other during
partner reading.
3
A fluency reminder list includes items such as read smoothly, use the punctuation marks, group words into
meaningful phrases, and emphasize the most important words. Teachers and students develop fluency reminder lists
as they listen to and describe fluent reading.
4
For the demonstration lesson, consider implementing choral and partner reading in a small group setting and oneminute timed readings in a one-on-one setting.
56
Alabama Reading Initiative
Oral Language &
Vocabulary:
A Professional Learning Module
Outcomes:
1. Participants will explain the connection among the conceptual
framework, oral language, and vocabulary.
2. Participants will explain the three tiers of vocabulary words and choose
appropriate words for vocabulary instruction.
3. Participants will describe why direct vocabulary instruction and indirect
vocabulary learning are necessary and when to provide these
opportunities.
4. Participants will identify instructional strategies to support all learners in
vocabulary acquisition.
5. Participants will explain how the formative assessment process affects
student learning and apply that learning to instructional decisions.
57
What?
1. What is vocabulary?
Vocabulary refers to the words that we know. Vocabulary can be sorted into four categories:
 Listening – words we recognize and understand in oral language
 Speaking – words we use in our speech
 Reading – words we recognize and understand in written texts
 Writing – words we use in our writing
2. What types of learning lead to vocabulary growth?
 Direct vocabulary learning – students learn vocabulary when teachers provide explicit
instruction in specific words and word-learning strategies.
 Indirect vocabulary learning – Students learn most words through incidental and
multiple encounters.
3. What does it mean to know a word?
Words are known to varying degrees:
 unknown – no knowledge of the word’s meaning
 acquainted – limited knowledge of the word’s meaning and little, if any, use of the
word in speaking and writing
 established – in-depth knowledge of the word’s meaning and frequent use of the word
in speaking and writing
4. What words are most important to target for vocabulary instruction?
Teachers need to consider three different “tiers” of words (Beck, McKeown, and Kucan,
Bringing Words to Life, 2002):
 Tier One – The first tier represents basic words such as milk, smile, and jump. Words
in this tier rarely require instructional attention.
 Tier Two – The second tier includes words that appear frequently in a wide variety of
texts and provide mature language users with precise ways to refer to familiar ideas.
Words such as darting, exceptional, and ru+mmage are examples of such words.
Children’s literature is the most powerful source for Tier Two words. This resource has
50% more “rare” words than the conversations of college graduates. Tier Two words
represent the bulk of vocabulary instruction. These words need to be posted and kept in
circulation so that students practice applying them in varied contexts over an extended
period of time.
 Tier Three – The third tier contains words such as inlet, quadrilateral, and isotope.
Words in this tier appear infrequently and are associated with specific topics. Tier
Three words and concepts are typically emphasized as a part of thematic or content area
instruction. Posting these words on a theme or topic wall encourages their use when
discussing or writing about specific topics.
5. What different types of word learning tasks expand vocabulary?
 Learn a new word for a known concept – Students learn that spud is another word for a
potato.
 Develop deeper understandings of a known word – Students better understand stream as
they realize how the word can be used to refer not only to water but also to light, words,
58
and traffic. They become more aware of the different kinds of laughing as they
distinguish snickers, giggles, and chuckles.
 Learn a new meaning for a known word – Students learn that bat not only refers to what
you hit a ball with, but also to a mammal that flies.
 Learn a new word that represents a new concept – Students learn the word photosynthesis
and the process that it names.
Note: The first three tasks are usually linked to Tier Two words and represent the major
focus for vocabulary instruction. The fourth task typically targets Tier Three words and
represents the major focus of content area instruction.
6. What is academic vocabulary and what is its role in comprehension?
 Academic vocabulary words are defined as the words that are traditionally used in
academic dialogue and text. Specifically, it refers to words that are not necessarily
common or that children would encounter in conversation. (www.learninga-z.com)
 Academic vocabulary words are also words that help students understand oral directions
and classroom instructional dialogue. They help students comprehend text across different
content areas – including math, science, and social studies/history. (www.learningaz.com)
59
Why?
Specific word knowledge instruction
 Effective direct instruction in specific word knowledge increases students’ vocabulary.
 Students who receive direct instruction on specific words are more likely and better able
to discern meanings of untaught words (i.e., engage in indirect vocabulary learning).
Instruction in word learning strategies
 Students who know and independently apply word learning strategies benefit more from
indirect learning opportunities than students who do not know and/or do not use these
strategies.
Opportunities for indirect vocabulary learning
 Most words must be learned incidentally. Research suggests that on average students
learn 2,000-3,000 words per year. There is simply not enough instructional time to teach
all of these words.
 Promote incidental word learning through listening, reading, discussion, and writing
(Graves, 2006).
Word consciousness in reading, writing, and discussion
 People with robust vocabularies have developed a word consciousness—a curiosity about
words, their meanings, and their power. This curiosity attracts them to “rare” words used
by others, motivates them to think about how and when these words are used, and entices
them to try out the words in their own speaking and writing. (Beck, 2001) (Graves, 2006)
 “Students who are word conscious are aware of the words around them. This awareness
involves an appreciation of the power of words, an understanding of why certain words
are used in place of others, a sense of the words that could be used in place of those
selected by a writer or speaker, and cognizance of first encounters with words”. (Graves
& Watts, 2002)
 Word consciousness increases the power of both direct and indirect learning.
 Students who have an interest in words benefit more from direct and indirect learning
opportunities than students who have little interest in words. This is done through specific
approaches to foster word consciousness – promoting word play, providing rich and
expressive instruction in which students are immersed in situations in which rich, precise,
interesting, and inventive use of words is valued, and involving students in original
investigations of vocabulary found in text, speeches, and interviews.
 Being curious about words is the hallmark of those who develop large vocabularies.
A teacher who has developed a word
consciousness and shares a curiosity
about interesting words with students
is the most important element of
effective vocabulary instruction.
60
When?

Provide vocabulary instruction as needed before reading, during reading, and/or after
reading.

Provide vocabulary instruction when students read varied genres (e.g., narrative, expository,
poetry).

Provide direct vocabulary instruction when reading aloud to students, when guiding or
assisting students as they read and write, and when engaging students in informal
conversations.

Provide vocabulary instruction across the curriculum and throughout the school day.

Begin vocabulary instruction at the onset of schooling and continue through high school.
(Michael Graves, 2006)
61
How?
1. Provide systematic and explicit vocabulary instruction.

Explicit instruction is teacher directed, clearly stated, distinctly illustrated (not merely
implied or ambiguous), and capable of clarifying key points; includes
o telling students what they are expected to learn.
o modeling for students what is expected using clear examples.
o providing guidance as students practice: acknowledge successful application, provide
corrective feedback, offer additional examples/explanations, prompt problem solving
and deeper levels of understanding.
o promoting independent application by providing students with tools that serve as
reminders and enable independent problem solving (e.g., vocabulary walls, list of
word-solving strategies, list of meanings of prefixes and suffixes).

Systematic instruction is orderly, planned, and gradually builds from basic elements to
more subtle and complex structures.
2. Apply specific findings from research on effective direct vocabulary instruction and
indirect vocabulary learning.

Provide direct vocabulary instruction using a variety of active and engaging approaches
that take these key points into consideration.
o Importance and utility: Select words that are characteristic of mature language
users and appear frequently across a variety of domains (e.g., observe vs. look).
(Isabel Beck 2002)
o Instructional potential: Select words that can be worked with in a variety of ways
so that students can build rich representations of them and of their connections to
other words and concepts (e.g., gloomy, essential, attractive). (Isabel Beck 2002)
o Conceptual understanding: Select words for which students understand the general
concept but provide precision and specificity in describing the concept. (Isabel Beck
2002)
o Academic Vocabulary: Select words that help students comprehend text across
different content areas (e.g., discuss, apply, describe, determine, identify).
(www.learninga-z.com)

Draw attention to target words over an extended period of time (multiple exposures).

Front load vocabulary - before teaching content or having students read text, front-load
select vocabulary to increase comprehension.

Nonlinguistic representations – have students create pictographs, mental images, or
pantomimes when learning new words.

Provide ample opportunities for indirect vocabulary learning to occur.
o Engage students in structured conversation as well as spontaneous conversation that
include discussion, listening, reading, and writing.
o Read aloud to students. In the early grades, the books that teachers read to
students—not the books that they read—are the primary source for vocabulary
expansion. Once students are reading at about a third grade level, their independent
reading becomes a primary source for vocabulary expansion.
62
o Ensure that students have access to appropriate texts and read extensively on their
own. The earlier students develop reading independency, the sooner they begin
increasing their vocabulary through independent reading.

Provide explicit instruction in word learning strategies (e.g., using information from
context, analyzing meaningful word parts (prefixes, suffixes and base words/word roots)
and morphemes, and consulting reference materials such as dictionaries. (Graves, The
Vocabulary Book, 2006)

Engage students in speaking, listening, reading, and writing with new vocabulary.

Teach individual words
o Pronounce the word
o Explain in kid-friendly terms
o Encourage elaborations through personal examples
o Assess informally and formally

Engage students in activities that foster word consciousness and routines that invite them
to notice interesting words.
63
Four Corners
“Oral language development precedes and is the foundation for
written language development; in other words, oral language is
primary and written language builds on it.”
Catts, Adolf, Weismer, 2006; Hart & Risley, 1995; Hoover, Gough, 1990; Snow, Burns, & Griffin,
1998
“Children’s oral language competence is strongly predictive of their
facility to learn to read and write: listening and speaking vocabulary
and even mastery of syntax set boundaries as to what children can
read and understand no matter how well they can decode.”
Catts, Adolf, Weismer, 2006; Hart & Risley, 1995; Hoover, Gough, 1990; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998
“Key to students’ vocabulary development is building rich and
flexible word knowledge. Students need plentiful opportunities to use
and respond to the words they learn through playful informal talk,
discussion, reading or being read to, and responding to what is read.
Although direct study of language is essential to student progress,
most word learning occurs indirectly and unconsciously through
normal reading, writing, listening, and speaking.”
Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008
“It is now well accepted that the chief cause of the achievement gap
between socio-economic groups is a language gap.”
E. D. Hirsch, 2003
64
65
A Direct Vocabulary Lesson
1. Choose a few words from the text.
 Select words that provide students with more precise and mature ways to refer to
familiar ideas and concepts. These words may be new words for known concepts
and/or known words with the potential for deeper understandings.
 Select words that can be used frequently in varied contexts.
2. Create student-friendly explanations for the target words.
 Use everyday language to offer a definition and to describe different contexts for
using the word. (Consult a dictionary if needed.)
 Think about how to explain why you use this word rather than similar words (e.g.,
darted rather than ran or dashed).
3. Design opportunities for students to interact with the target words.
 Determine how you will find out if the students understand the sentences containing
the target words. (Ask what the sentence means, not the word.) If necessary, provide a
brief explanation of the target word.
 Use a word map to mentally prepare for an “after reading” conversation about each
target word and to facilitate the actual conversation with students. A word map
consists of questions such as the following: How was the word used in the story?
What is it? What is it not? What are some examples? The conversation needs to help
students develop definitional and contextual understandings of the target words.
 Prepare challenges for “after reading” that require students to use the target words in
varied contexts.
o Use the word dart in a sentence to describe something that you might see at a
football game.
o Complete the sentence: The squirrel darted . . .
o Create a sentence that tells about something on your face that can dart.
Circulation Routines
1. Post target words and develop routines that keep target words in circulation.
 Ask students to use posted words to say something about “new” texts.
 Ask students to use posted words to say something during planned sharing times such
as show and tell (sharing an object) or author’s chair (sharing written work).
 At the end of the day, ask students to use the posted words to describe something that
happened during the day or to share when they used, read, or heard one of the posted
words.
 “Retire” or “archive” posted words as needed to make space for new target words.
2. Implement routines that invite students to identify interesting words.
 Ask students to identify one interesting word in their assigned reading and to share it
during small group discussions. (This routine is similar to the word wizard role used
in some literature circles.)
 Ask students to identify interesting words in the writing of their peers.
66
Alabama Reading Initiative
Comprehension Instruction
Outcomes:
1. Participants will explain the purpose of comprehension instruction.
2. Participants will identify some strategies readers use as they attempt to make sense of
text.
3. Participants will describe instruction that classroom teachers use to help their students
interact thoughtfully with text.
4. Participants will explain how the formative assessment process affects student learning
and apply that learning to instructional decisions.
67
What?
1. What is comprehension?
Comprehension is an active and purposeful process that leads to understanding and
remembering what was read.
 active – interacting with text; using experiences and knowledge of the world, knowledge
of vocabulary and language structure, and knowledge of comprehension strategies to
make sense of what is being read; recognizing problems when they occur and how to
resolve them.
 purposeful – having a reason for reading; reading to learn, to locate information, or for
entertainment; adjusting rate of reading and mental effort accordingly
 process - comprehension is not an absolute ability. Students’ abilities to comprehend text
vary as texts vary. For example, the texts that students read differ in the demands
presented by content, vocabulary, length, sentence patterns, text structures, and literary
devices.
2. What is comprehension instruction?
 The goals of comprehension instruction are to ensure that children engage with, deeply
reflect on, and learn from what they read. (Owocki, 2003)
 It refers to anything that classroom teachers do to help students interact thoughtfully
with text. The teacher carefully selects a text which is appropriate for the readers. The
teacher then examines the text to determine potential obstacles for the readers and
possibilities for instruction.
 Here are some ideas for supporting students as they read.
o Creating a learning environment that fosters dispositions for comprehension
o Teacher modeling and thinking aloud about strategy use
o Providing time for independent, partner, and guided reading
o Scaffolding children’s use of reading strategies
o Supporting varied forms of literature response
o Observing, documenting, and evaluating children’s reading and listening capabilities
(Owocki, 2003)
 Over time, effective comprehension instruction will result in the reader being able to
flexibly and independently use appropriate strategies as they interact with text.
3. What are comprehension strategies?
 Comprehension strategies are specific actions that readers use as they attempt to make
sense of text. They can be thought of as thinking strategies – ways of thinking about what
has been read or is being read that help readers go beyond understanding the surface
meaning of the text.
 A synthesis of the research has identified some effective comprehension strategies that
can be used in any content area.
o Predicting - Drawing on prior knowledge to make hypotheses (or predictions) and
assumptions (or inferences) on what they are about to read. (What might I learn from
the text? What does this probably mean?) (Owocki, 2003)
o Inferring –Confirming and revising hypotheses and inferences drawing on
prior/background knowledge and text. An assumption or supplying of information
that is not explicitly stated in the text – reading between the lines. (Was my inference
confirmed? What in the text supports my inference?) (Owocki, 2003)
68
o Retelling – Showing that learners can organize thoughts sequentially and put them
into their own words. (What was this text mainly about? What have I learned?)
(Harvey & Daniels, 2005)
o Questioning - Posing questions allows us to seek information, solve problems, and
extend our understanding. Authentic questions are questions that are asked by the
reader; some of the questions may or may not be answered; the unanswered questions
are often the most interesting. They are the ones we keep thinking about after we’ve
finished reading. Whatever the reason, we need to remember that all of the reader’s
questions matter and help us understand and think more deeply about the information
in the text. (What questions do I have as I read the text? Where will I find the
answers?) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2005)
o Monitoring Comprehension – When readers monitor their comprehension, they
keep track of their thinking. They notice when the text makes sense and when it
doesn’t. We teach readers to “fix-up” their comprehension by using a variety of
strategies, including stopping to refocus thinking, rereading, and reading on. (What
have I just read about? Which parts are confusing? What fix-up strategies could I
use?) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2005)
o Visualizing – Mentally representing book ideas using all of the senses. What pictures,
smells, sounds, tastes, and touches come to mind as I read this ? (Owocki, 2003).
Mental pictures are the cinema unfolding in your mind that makes reading
3-dimensional. It helps readers engage with the text in ways that make it personable
and memorable. (Mosaic of Thought, Strategies That Work, and Reading with
Meaning.) Mental imagery anchors language. Mental imagery allows the processing
of oral and written language. The more elaborate the imagery, the more in-depth the
comprehension. (Allan Paivio, 2007) The most productive application of visualizing
is when a teacher asks students to draw or picture a scene in order to clear up what is
confusing about it. (Doug Lemov, 2010)
o Activate and Connect – We simply can’t understand what we read without thinking
about what we already know about the topic. Readers must connect the new to the
known. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2005)
o Summarizing and Synthesizing – Merging new information with what they already
know and construct meaning as they go; as readers encounter new information, their
thinking evolves. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2005)
o Determining Importance is based on our purpose for reading. We need to focus on
important information and merge it with what we already know to expand our
understanding of a topic (Harvey and Goudvis, 2005).
o Evaluating – Making thoughtful, evidence-based judgments about the selected ideas
and information. (What do I think about this text? Do I agree or have a different
view? What is my view based on? How can I use this information?)
69
Why?





Comprehension is the reason for reading. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
Children are routinely asked questions after reading but are infrequently provided with
demonstrations of the comprehension strategies needed to answer the questions posed. In
short, too often assigning and asking are confused with teaching. (Cunningham, 1998)
Comprehension improves when teachers provide explicit instruction in the use of
comprehension strategies. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
Many students will not learn to read actively and purposefully without explicit instruction
in comprehension strategies. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
As is true for phonemic awareness and word recognition skills, students do not seem to
discover sophisticated comprehension strategies through immersion in reading alone.
(Pressley, 1998)
When?

Provide comprehension strategy instruction before, during, and after reading.
o Before reading strategies might include extending prior knowledge, building key
concepts, teaching vocabulary, setting a purpose for reading, providing motivating
questions that will engage learners, relating text to the students’ lives and teaching
text features and how to use them.
o During reading strategies might include think alouds, monitoring understanding,
recognizing when students are having difficulties with words, generating questions
as students read that help them draw inferences from the text.
o After reading strategies might include helping students summarize the main idea of
a text or paragraph, having students confirm or disconfirm predictions, answering
questions generated prior to reading. (Vaughn and Linan-Thompson, 2004)

Provide comprehension strategy instruction when students read varied genres (e.g.,
narrative, informational text, poetry). Genre is used to help and meet purposes for
reading. (Owocki, 2003)

Provide comprehension instruction when reading aloud to students, guiding or assisting
students as they read, and supporting students as they interact with various forms of
multimedia.

Provide comprehension instruction across the curriculum, throughout the school day,
and throughout the year. (Harvey & Goodvis, 2007)

Begin comprehension strategy instruction at the onset of schooling (e.g., interactive think
alouds while reading aloud) and continue through high school (e.g., discussion of
content area texts). See strategies listed under #2 in the What section.
70
How?
1. Select text that is appropriate for readers. Consider the three components of text
complexity: qualitative, quantitative, and reader and task.
2.

Qualitative: levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and
knowledge demands
o Text Structure: When deciding what is important in stories, young children learn to
draw from their familiarity with typical story features (e.g, beginning, middle, ending,
plot, characters). Thinking about text structure in deciding what is important with
nonfiction, readers use different structures. Nonfiction is often organized in terms of
descriptions, cause/effect, time order or problem resolution. (Owocki, 2003)
o Coherence: Consider the extent to which events and concepts are logically and
clearly connected and explained. (Fisher, Frey, Lapp, 2012)
o Unity: Consider the extent to which the text retains focus and does not include
irrelevant or distracting information. (Fisher, Frey, Lapp, 2012)

Quantitative: readability measures and other scores of text complexity (such as lexiles,
Flesch-Kincaid). (Fisher, Frey, Lapp, 2012)

Reader and Task: reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge and experiences) and
task variables (such as purpose and the complexity of the task, and questions posed)
o Readers Interest and Background: Text that taps into students’ interests or for which
readers already have some background knowledge tend to be easier to read.
Familiarity with a topic and vocabulary helps readers make sense of the text they
encounter. Similarly, texts that match students’ interests are likely to be more
motivating, thus increasing the chance of successful and satisfying reading
experience. (Rasinski and Paddock, 2014)
Select a balance of text types.
 The recommendation for grades K-5 is 50% literary text and 50% informational text. This
balance changes in 6th grade to 45% literary text and 55% informational text. In 9th-12th
grades the proportions change to 30% literary text and 70% informational text. (National
Assessment of Educational Progress, 2009)

This balance of text occurs across the content areas and throughout the school day.
3. Anticipate problems readers may encounter with comprehending the text and
predetermine ways to help readers solve these problems. Scaffolding is the action
teachers take to prepare students to better understand how to access complex text. These
temporary support structures are put in place to assist students in accomplishing a task they
might otherwise not reach. Some examples are
o using learning targets to help students understand the purpose for reading.
o encouraging students to annotate the text by providing sticky notes or plastic sleeves
for them to write on.
o highlighting key words.
o providing graphic organizers for students who need them.
o providing a rubric that allows students to compare their work to the expectations.
o provide a teacher think aloud about how he/she came to conclusions. (Expeditionary
Learning, 2012)
71
4. Provide explicit and systematic comprehension instruction.

Explicit instruction is teacher directed, clearly stated, distinctly illustrated (not merely
implied or ambiguous), and capable of clarifying key points; includes
o telling students what they are expected to learn.
o modeling for students what is expected using clear examples.
o providing guidance as students practice: acknowledge successful application, provide
corrective feedback, offer additional examples/explanations, prompt problem solving
and deeper levels of understanding.
o promoting independent application by providing students with tools that serve as
reminders and enable independent problem solving (e.g., a list of word-solving
strategies, a list of comprehension strategies).

Systematic instruction is orderly, planned, and gradually builds from basic elements to
more subtle and complex structures.
5. Apply specific findings from research on effective comprehension instruction.
Research-based comprehension instruction features:
 Build background knowledge.
o “Students who have a great deal of background knowledge in a given subject are
likely to learn new information readily and quite well. The converse is also true.”
(Marzano, 2004)
o …”Background knowledge is essential to reading comprehension.” (Hirsh, 2006)
 Explicit instruction that promotes the reader’s use of comprehension strategies.
 Explicit instruction that teaches readers to use several of these strategies flexibly and in
combination as they interact with texts.
 Model your reading/thinking process.
o Owoki suggests…teachers must model how and why they are using strategies. “If
our goal is to help students become strategic and thoughtful readers, then we must
make it clear to students what skillful readers do.”(Villaume & Brabham, 2002) For
example, if children are expected to retell a story, it helps to show them and talk
them through how it is done. If children are expected to apply information from
informational texts, it helps to demonstrate the process and make explicit the kinds
of strategies that you use to do so.

Incorporate active application of processes and strategies in small groups and
individually. We need to teach kids how to process text and how to reason strategically as
they interpret, analyze, and appreciate what they read. (Routman, 2003)

Make connections.
o Encourage students to make connections among and between texts around the big
ideas, themes, and essential questions that emerge from the anchor (main) text.
(Stephanie Harvey, 2013)
 Use writing to help students recall key points.
o The reading/writing connection is a powerful one. Young students often write before
they read. In kindergarten classrooms, children’s written texts often become their first
reading text. (Routman, 2003)

Interact with peers to increase comprehension and enjoyment.
72
o During these turn-and-talks, children have an opportunity to process, try out, and
strengthen their thinking with their peers, then come together and use their partner
talk to build a whole group conversation . . . (Maria Nichols, 2006)
o … it is clear that both student enjoyment and students’ test scores were higher for the
students that participated in the cooperative learning classes as compared to the
students who were in the classes using the traditional style of teaching. (Richard H.
Phillips, 2007)

Have students reflect on how strategies deepened their understanding of a text.

Text should be appropriate for the readers – readers should be both accurate and
automatic with the text being used, freeing the reader to concentrate on comprehension.

For struggling readers, text should lend itself to an appropriate strategy lesson – the
teacher should give careful attention to selecting strategies based on the needs of the
students (e.g. if the reader has difficulty visualizing, then the teacher would need to
choose a text which spurs strong visual images).
73
Anticipation Guide
Before
Agree
Statement
Disagree
After
Agree
Comprehension is an absolute ability.
Justification:
Comprehension is the reason for reading.
Justification:
Provide comprehension strategy instruction
before and after reading.
Justification:
Comprehension is an active and purposeful
process that leads to understanding and
remembering what was read.
Justification:
Anticipate problems readers may encounter
with comprehending the text and
predetermine ways to help readers solve those
problems.
Justification:
If comprehension strategies are taught well at
the onset of schooling, there will not be a
need for stragey instruction junior high and
high school.
Justification:
Many students will not learn to read actively
and purposefully without explicit instruction
in comprehension.
Justification:
74
Disagree
75
www.alex.state.al.us/ccrs/
Appendices
76
Our Vision
Every Child a Graduate – Every Graduate Prepared
for
College/Work/Adulthood in the 21st Century
The Absolutes
Teach to the standards for each of the required subjects (Alabama
College- and Career-Ready Standards - Courses of Study)
Through a clearly articulated and locally aligned K-12 curriculum
(Sample curricula found on ALEX and Alabama Insight)
Supported by aligned resources, support, and professional
development (Sample lesson plans and supporting resources found
on ALEX, differentiated support through ALSDE Regional
Support Teams and ALSDE Initiatives, etc.)
Monitored regularly through formative, interim/benchmark assessments
to inform the effectiveness of the instruction and continued
learning needs of individuals and groups of students
(GlobalScholar, QualityCore Benchmarks, and other locally
determined assessments)
With a goal that each student graduates from high school with the
knowledge and skills to succeed in post-high school education and
the workforce without the need for remediation as evidenced by
multiple measures achieved through multiple pathways to meet the
graduation requirements set for students in Alabama. (Alabama
High School Graduation Requirements/Diploma)
Appendix A
77
QUICK WRITE
 A Quick Write helps engage you in thinking about a topic.
 It is not necessary to organize the writing too much or worry about
grammar, but rather to write down whatever comes to mind.
 Respond in 2 – 10 minutes to an open-ended question or prompt posed by
the facilitator/teacher.
 This can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a lesson.
 Write in journals, on note cards, post-its, or the bottom of an assignment.
 The facilitator/teacher can decide if
participants will share their responses or if
the responses will be collected.
Strategy #1
SORT


Facilitator/teacher provides terms/concepts/ideas from reading material.
Participants work with a partner to place terms/concepts/ideas into
specific categories.
 Discuss the categories used and why certain items were placed in specific
locations.
 Students may work in pairs, groups, or independently.
Strategy #2
Appendix B
78
JOT NOTES



Participants are asked to respond in 2 – 10 minutes to an open-ended
question or prompt posed by the facilitator/teacher.
The facilitator/teacher can decide if participants will share their responses
or if the responses will be collected.
When students use writing to learn, they clarify their thinking, learn
deeper content knowledge, improve thinking skills, and commit content to
short- and long-term memory.
Strategy #3
RESPONSE CARDS
 Participants are instructed to read a passage/scenario.
 Once reading has been completed, participants are provided with response
cards that correspond with the answer options.
 Participants are allowed time to think and select a card.
 Facilitator will ask for all participants to respond at the same time by
holding up the card.
 Discuss the answer and why it is the correct response.
 Answers must be written on the front and back of the card. That way the
student is looking at the answer they are showing.
Strategy #4
Appendix B
79
FOUR SQUARE
 Participants will fold a sheet of paper in half, both horizontally
(hamburger) and vertically (hot dog).
 Open paper and label each of the 4 sections as directed by the facilitator.
 Participants will read a text and take notes in the appropriate square.
 Participants will elaborate on notes taken through discussion.
 Participants will add to their notes as they listen for new and different
information.
label
label
label
label
Strategy #5
STAND UP- HAND UP-PAIR UP
• Participants stand up and put one hand up.
• Keep one hand in the air until he/she find the closest partner, but
not the same person they were sitting next to, and they high five
each other’s hands.
• Facilitator gives the
assignment/task to be
completed.
• Partners complete the
assignment/task.
Strategy #6
Appendix B
80
GIVE ONE – GET ONE
• Fold paper in half lengthwise. At the top of the left column, write “GIVE
ONE.” At the top of the right column, write, “GET ONE.”
• Read the specified chunk of text.
• In the “GIVE ONE” column, note important information. When finished,
Stand Up – Hand Up – Pair Up.
• Partner 1 gives a piece of important information to Partner 2. If Partner 2
has that information already, he/she checks it off.
If it is new information, he/she adds it to the “GET
ONE” column. Repeat the process with Partner 2.
• When both partners have shared, Hand Up – Pair
Up with someone else who is finished.
• Continue until told to stop.
Strategy #7
MARGINATING
 In order to increase comprehension and expand understanding of text, one
must interact with the text.
 There is nothing more important than your thinking when you read
because that is where you construct meaning as you read.
 As you read the text, stop and react to what you
have read.
 You may record questions, connections,
visualizations, inferences, new information, or
other thoughts in the margin.
 You can underline important information in the
text, but it won’t help you remember or deepen
your understanding unless you write your
thinking in the margin next to it.
Strategy #8
Appendix B
81
CLOCK PARTNERS

Clock Partners is meant to be a quick and easy way to create pairs for
partnered activities while avoiding the problem of always having the same
partners.
 It begins with a clock face, with slots for 4 names at the 3 o’clock, 6
o’clock, 9 o’clock, and 12 o’clock positions.
 Each student has his own Clock Partners sheet. Students circulate to get
names of 4 classmates with whom they don’t
regularly work. If Mike goes to Joe, Joe signs
Mike’s clock at 3 o’clock and Mike signs Joe’s
clock at 3 o’clock.
 When it is time for a partner activity, the teacher
will tell students which time partner with whom
to work.
Strategy #9
CODE THE TEXT







Coding text is one way skillful readers monitor their own comprehension by using
symbols to keep track of what they are thinking as they read.
Text coding can be useful for discussion of text.
Model when to use each code in a text making your thinking visible.
Students will draw the symbols at the point where his/her thinking fits one of the
codes.
If students cannot write on the text, sticky notes can be used and placed at the
appropriate location in the text.
A variety of codes can be used.
Here is one example of a code you may use.
√ = This confirms my thinking.
* = This is new learning for me.
↔ = I’m making a connection.
Strategy #10
Appendix B
82
EXPERT GROUP JIGSAW





Form home teams. The number of members of a home team varies based
on the number of portions/aspects of a text or topic to be studied.
Each member of the home team meets in an “expert” group with members
from other home teams.
The “expert” group masters the portion/aspect of the text or topic being
studied.
The “experts” all return to their home teams to present their learning in
the best possible way.
This is an effective protocol for shared learning when
a lot of learning needs to happen in a short
time. It is effective for adults and students.
Strategy #11
THINK-WRITE-PAIR-SHARE
This activity is carried out in 4 parts.
1. Think – Participants think about a posed statement or
question.
2. Write – Participants capture their thoughts by writing them
about it.
3. Pair – Participants partner to talk about their ideas, comparing
their notes, identifying best answers, etc.
4. Share – Pairs share their thinking with the rest of the group.
Strategy #12
Appendix B
83
SNOWBALL FIGHT
 This strategy can be used to predict, summarize, justify, and think






critically.
The teacher poses a topic or question.
Each student responds on a white sheet of paper. Once they have
completed their responses, the crumple their paper into a “snowball.”
When signaled, participants make eye contact with someone across the
room and “throw” (toss) their snowball to a classmate.
Each participants opens the “snowball” and reads the response. He may
then respond to the previous
response or adds to the initial
prompt.
Repeat the process 2-4 times
depending on the class chemistry
and/or topic.
Teacher collects and reads responses
as a formative assessment.
Strategy #14
Appendix B
84
Take-Aways &
Next Steps
Appendix C
85
Conceptual Framework: A Foundation for Learning
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as you
implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Assessment
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Appendix C
86
Intervention
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Phonemic Awareness
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Appendix C
87
Phonics
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Fluency
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Appendix C
88
Oral Language and Vocabulary
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Comprehension
What is it that you need to remember and
take-away from this module?
What challenges might you encounter as
you implement this?
What additional professional learning would you like to pursue regarding this topic?
Appendix C
89
Four Planning Questions
1. What are my standards for this lesson? What are my daily
outcomes?
2. How will I know if my students have met the daily outcome?
3. What steps will I take to get them there?
4. What will I do if my students meet the daily outcome? What
will I do if my students do not meet the daily outcomes?
Appendix D
90
Alabama READING STANDARDS: FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS K – 5 ELA
ELA K-5
Print Concepts
Grade K
RF.K.20.
Demonstrate
understanding of
the organization
and basic features
of print. [RF.K.1]
a. Follow words
from left to right,
top to bottom, and
page by page.
[RF.K.1a]
b. Recognize that
spoken words are
represented in
written language by
specific sequences
of letters. [RF.K.1b]
c. Understand that
words are
separated by
spaces in print.
[RF.K.1c]
d. Recognize and
name all upperand lowercase
letters of the
alphabet. [RF.K.1d]
Grade 1
RF.K.20.
Demonstrate
understanding of
the organization
and basic features
of print. [RF.1.1]
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
a. Recognize the
distinguishing
features of a
sentence (e.g., first
word, capitalization,
ending
punctuation).
[RF.1.1a]
Appendix E
91
Alabama READING STANDARDS: FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS K – 5 ELA
Phonological Awareness
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
ELA K-5
Grade K
Grade 1
Grade 2
RF.K.21. Demonstrate
RF.1.21. Demonstrate
understanding of spoken understanding of spoken
words, syllables, and
words, syllables, and
sounds (phonemes).
sounds (phonemes).
[RF.K.2]
[RF.1.2]
a. Recognize and
a. Distinguish long from
produce rhyming words. short vowel sounds in
[RF.K.2a]
spoken single-syllable
b. Count, pronounce,
words. [RF.1.2]
blend, and segment
b. Orally produce singlesyllables in spoken
syllable words by
words. [RF.K.2b]
blending sounds
c. Blend and segment
(phonemes), including
onsets and rimes of
consonant blends.
single-syllable spoken
[RF.1.2b]
words. [RF.K.2c]
c. Isolate and pronounce
d. Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and
the initial, medial vowel, final sounds (phonemes)
and final sounds
in spoken single-syllable
(phonemes)
words. [RF.1.2c]
in three-phoneme
d. Segment spoken
(consonant-vowelsingle-syllable words into
consonant, or CVC)
their complete sequence
words.* (This does
of individual sounds
not include CVCs ending (phonemes). [RF.1.2d]
with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
[RF.K.2d]
e. Add or substitute
individual sounds
(phonemes) in simple,
one-syllable words to
make
new words.
Alabama
READING
STANDARDS: FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS K – 5 ELA
[RF.K.2e]
92
Appendix E
ELA K-5
Phonics and Word Recognition
Grade K
RF.K.22. Know and apply
grade-level phonics and
word analysis skills in
decoding words. [RF.K.3]
a. Demonstrate basic
knowledge of one-to-one
letter-sound
correspondences by
producing the primary or
many of the most
frequent sounds for each
consonant. [RF.K.3a]
b. Associate the long and
short sounds with
common spellings
(graphemes) for the five
major vowels. [RF.K.3b]
c. Read common highfrequency words by sight
(e.g., the, of, to, you, she,
my, is, are, do, does).
[RF.K.3c]
d. Distinguish between
similarly spelled words by
identifying the sounds of
the letters that
differ.[RF.K.3d]
Grade 1
RF.1.22. Know and apply gradelevel phonics and word analysis
skills in decoding words. [RF.1.3]
a. Know the spelling-sound
correspondences for common
consonant digraphs. [RF.1.3a]
b. Decode regularly spelled onesyllable words. [RF.1.3b]
c. Know final -e and common
vowel team conventions for
representing long vowel sounds.
[RF.1.3c]
d. Use knowledge that every
syllable must have a vowel
sound to determine the number
of syllables in a printed word.
[RF.1.3d]
e. Decode two-syllable words
following basic patterns by
breaking the words into syllables.
[RF.1.3e]
f. Read words with inflectional
endings. [RF.1.3f]
g. Recognize and read gradeappropriate irregularly spelled
words. [RF.1.3g]
Grade 2
RF.2.20. Know and apply
grade-level phonics and
word analysis skills in
decoding words. [RF.2.3]
a. Distinguish long and short
vowels when reading
regularly spelled onesyllable words. [RF.2.3a]
b. Know spelling-sound
correspondences for
additional common vowel
teams. [RF.2.3b]
c. Decode regularly spelled
two-syllable words with long
vowels. [RF.2.3c]
d. Decode words with
common prefixes and
suffixes. [RF.2.3d]
e. Identify words with
inconsistent but common
spelling-sound
correspondences. [RF.2.3e]
f. Recognize and read
grade-appropriate irregularly
spelled words. [RF.2.3f]
Grade 3
RF.3.20. Know
and apply gradelevel phonics and
word analysis
skills in decoding
words. [RF.3.3]
a. Identify and
know the
meaning of the
most common
prefixes and
derivational
suffixes.
[RF.3.3a]
b. Decode words
with common
Latin suffixes.
[RF.3.3b]
c. Decode multisyllable words.
[RF.3.3c]
d. Read gradeappropriate
irregularly spelled
words. [RF.3.3d]
Grade 4
RF.4.20. Know
and apply gradelevel phonics
and word
analysis skills in
decoding
words.[RF.4.3]
a. Use combined
knowledge of all
letter-sound
correspondence,
syllabication
patterns, and
morphology
(e.g., roots and
affixes) to read
accurately
unfamiliar
multisyllabic
words in context
and out of
context.
[RF.4.3a]
Grade 5
RF.5.20. Know and
apply grade-level
phonics and word
analysis skills in
decoding words.
[RF.5.3]
a. Use combined
knowledge of all
letter-sound
correspondences,
syllabication
patterns, and
morphology (e.g.,
roots and affixes) to
read accurately
unfamiliar
multisyllabic words in
context and out of
context. [RF.5.3a]
Appendix E
93
Alabama READING STANDARDS: FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS K – 5 ELA
Fluency
Grade K
ELA K-5
RF.K.23. Read
emergentreader texts
with purpose
and
understanding.
[RF.K.4]
Grade 1
RF.1.23. Read
with sufficient
accuracy and
fluency to support
comprehension.
[RF.1.4]
a. Read on-level
text with purpose
and
understanding.
[RF.1.4a]
b. Read on-level
text orally with
accuracy,
appropriate rate,
and expression on
successive
readings.
[RF.1.4b]
c. Use context to
confirm or selfcorrect word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary.
[RF.1.4c]
Grade 2
RF.2.21. Read with
sufficient accuracy
and fluency to
support
comprehension.
[RF.2.4]
a. Read on-level text
with purpose and
understanding.
[RF.2.4a]
b. Read on-level text
orally with accuracy,
appropriate rate, and
expression on
successive readings.
[RF.2.4b]
c. Use context to
confirm or selfcorrect word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary. [RF.2.4c]
Grade 3
RF.3.21. Read with
sufficient accuracy
and fluency to
support
comprehension.
[RF.3.4]
a. Read on-level text
with purpose and
understanding.
[RF.3.4]
b. Read on-level
prose and poetry
orally with accuracy,
appropriate rate, and
expression on
successive readings.
[RF.3.4b]
c. Use context to
confirm or selfcorrect word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary. [RF.3.4c]
94
Grade 4
RF.4.21. Read with
sufficient accuracy
and fluency to
Support
comprehension.
[RF.4.4]
a. Read on-level text
with purpose and
understanding.
[RF.4.4a]
b. Read on-level
prose and poetry
orally with accuracy,
appropriate rate, and
expression on
successive readings.
[RF.4.4b]
c. Use context to
confirm or selfcorrect word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary. [RF.4.4c]
Grade 5
RF.5.21. Read with
sufficient accuracy
and fluency to
support
comprehension.
[RF.5.4]
a. Read on-level text
with purpose and
understanding.
[RF.5.4a]
b. Read on-level
prose and poetry
orally with
accuracy,
appropriate rate, and
expression on
successive readings.
[RF.5.4b]
c. Use context to
confirm or selfcorrect word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary. [RF.5.4c]
Works Cited
Alabama Department of Education. Alabama’s Action Plan for Literacy: Birth through Grade 12.
Montgomery AL, 2012. Print.
Alabama Department of Education. Response to Instruction (RtI): Alabama’s Support for ALL
Students, 2009. Print.
Beck, Isabel L., Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan. Bringing Words to Life: Robust
Vocabulary Instruction. New York: Guilford, 2002. Print.
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DE: International Reading Association. Print.
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2006. Print.
Harvey, Stephanie, and Anne Goudvis. Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for
Understanding and Engagement. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse, 2007. Print.
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*Mitchell, Katherine. Conceptual Framework. (This research was the basis for her doctoral thesis.)
Appendix F
Multi-sensory Strategies
Phonemic Awareness:
1. Phoneme segmentation-move beads on a pipe cleaner each time you say the
sounds in a wordhttp://blog.heidisongs.com/Free_Downloads/assets/Multisensory_Tips_PhonA
w-CVC.pdf
2. “Pound syllables”-http://thisreadingmama.com/day-2-auditory-activities-forteaching-reading/
3. Phonological awareness activities can be found athttp://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/pdf/GK-1/Archive/PA_Final_Part3.pdf
Phonics/spelling:
1. Introduction of new correspondence-tactile letter tracing-as you trace the
letter, say the sound it makes
2. Phonics word spelling-segment down your arm as you say each sound, bat/b/-/a/-/t/
3. Spelling with LEGO letters- thisreadingmama.com
4. Spell words using magnetic letters, shaving cream, play-dough, stamps,
puffy paint etc.
5. Phonics activities can be found at--http://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/pdf/GK1/P_Final_Part2.pdf
High Frequency words:
1. Air Writing
2. Side walk chalk sight words game-thisreadingmama.com
3. Sight word hopscotch- thisreadingmama.com
Appendix G
Vocabulary:
1. Show pictures or video clips that demonstrate the meaning of a word
2. Play vocabulary charades
3. More activities can be found athttp://www.readingrockets.org/article/multisensory-vocabulary-instructionguidelines-and-activities
Fluency:
1. Whisper reading/sub-vocalization-whisper read until the teacher taps in front of
you and then read louder
2. Using facial expressions to re-read
3. Use audio-assisted readings
Comprehension:
1. Paragraph manipulativeshttp://www.landmarkoutreach.org/sites/default/files/spotlight/2L%20Multisens
ory%20LA.pdf
2. Comprehension ball-questions are written on a beach ball, when tossed to the
child he answers the question he is touching
3. Use puppets to re-enact the story or scene
Appendix G