Working with early readers can be so rewarding. They are so proud when they are able to recognize letters or produce correct sounds. Some students need a little more practice and time working with letters and letter sounds before they develop a solid understanding. I have read, during my time researching best guided reading practices, that consistently rehearsing the alphabet with early readers can produce meaningful results. With that in mind I developed a resource for my Kindergarten intervention students this year. You can find it in my TPT store here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Simply-Primary
Let's talk a little about how I use this simple and effective resource with my students.
I use this book for choral reading (everyone reads aloud together). It is helpful because the students don't know all of the letters, sounds or pictures BUT I do. They can hear me and hear each other. This strengthens their understanding and associations as we practice the book at each meeting.
I cue the group when to start and prompt them to point as they read. My call is "fingers ready.....begin". Yes, I say that at the start of every page in the beginning. Eventually I can just say begin and then by the end of the year we are all reading with the same pace so I only need to cue the first page. It's predicable so the students can focus on the book and it's content.
We would read our Alphabet Books as our first order of business every day. It became quite powerful. I was not expecting how much it boosted my students' self-confidence. They started asking to do the alphabet books after we stopped doing them every day and moved to once or twice a week. They liked the books because it made them feel good and that's important!
The pages are simple and easy to follow. I deliberately kept everything as basic and plain as possible. I did not want any distractions from the task at hand, making connections with letters and sounds. The product is designed to be cut in half and then assembled. The pages look like this.....
Let's talk a little about how I use this simple and effective resource with my students.
I use this book for choral reading (everyone reads aloud together). It is helpful because the students don't know all of the letters, sounds or pictures BUT I do. They can hear me and hear each other. This strengthens their understanding and associations as we practice the book at each meeting.
I cue the group when to start and prompt them to point as they read. My call is "fingers ready.....begin". Yes, I say that at the start of every page in the beginning. Eventually I can just say begin and then by the end of the year we are all reading with the same pace so I only need to cue the first page. It's predicable so the students can focus on the book and it's content.
We would read our Alphabet Books as our first order of business every day. It became quite powerful. I was not expecting how much it boosted my students' self-confidence. They started asking to do the alphabet books after we stopped doing them every day and moved to once or twice a week. They liked the books because it made them feel good and that's important!
The pages are simple and easy to follow. I deliberately kept everything as basic and plain as possible. I did not want any distractions from the task at hand, making connections with letters and sounds. The product is designed to be cut in half and then assembled. The pages look like this.....
The kiddos read as follows...
"B, b, bat, /b/" as they point to each letter/picture/word/sound.
That's it!! It's so simple but so effective. This was one of the activities that I used this year that really showed results. At the end of the year I copied the book and made "take-home" copies for each student to use throughout the summer. I simply copied and stapled them, no color, no laminating or binding! The kiddos loved having their own copy. The ones I made for school I will use again this year. Those I printed in color, laminated and bound with a school binding machine with binding combs. I only had to make 4 copies at each school! I use them in a small group no larger than 4, so there was no need to make more. It was very little effort for an effective resource I can use for years to come!
Stop by my TPT store... https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Simply-Primary
and check it out! $2!!!! That's right! If you purchase, please leave me a comment or send some pictures of how you are using this great tool.
Thanks!
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