Reading Strategies to Help Build Reading Confidence

Reading Strategy Number 3~ Circle It to Show You Know It

If you missed the other reading strategies link directly to it from here. This is a link to my site Teaching Resources for the Classroom.

3. Circle It to Show You Know It! it s fun practical reading strategy that I created to use with readers who need to develop confidence. It can be used with any level of reader. I find that many readers know words but do not have confidence in their ability to read the words when presented with a book or a page full of words. The photo is an example of a passage from a Magic Tree House book that I am using with a student.

I copy a page from a book I know the reader likes for educational purposes. I ask the reader to circle each world that he can read. If you pick the just right text most of the words will be circled. Just right texts are texts that the reader know 94% of the words. Here is poster with the Goldilocks Rule and the Five Finger Rule for picking texts. This is easy to teach to children.

The children love Circle It to Show You Know It!. It is visual reminder of what they do know. I put the percentage here so you could see it. I don't do this on the reader's page. For most of the children just seeing what they know is a huge revelation to them. Their faces light up. This strategy would work for adult education as well. The written page suddenly becomes less scary and more like "Hey I can do this!" I have had children carry these around and show their families and friends. Sometimes I think we should frame their sheet. If you use this strategy in your classroom or home school drop and tell me how it worked for your reader. Do you think this is an effective strategy? I welcome your comments below! 2 more strategies are on the way.

Ten Days of Technology for First Grade Day Four Story Wheel

Everyone loves a good story! This is an amazing app for a classroom. Story Wheel lets kids make up a story and record their voices to go along with the story. The app invites you to create a story. Players can be added and then the fun begins! You can spin the wheel with a sweep of your fingers and be taken to a fantasy land where you are the author of the story. After you spin you are prompted to record your story. There are different characters and settings. Many teachers love this app because even your most reluctant readers will talk to the ipad or ipod. There can be one story teller or several story tellers. Your group or class can make a chain story. The children love to hear their stories and the stories can be saved to listen to later. This is also a great tool for English Language Learners and children who are learning about conversational turn taking. Check out Story Wheel and see what you think. I would love to hear from some readers who are using technology in their classrooms.

Encouragement for you! Free Pumpkin Ten Frames Game! Dice Roll Fun

We are all busy, busy , busy this time of year with teacher conferences and preparing lessons. Once the "newness" wears off and we know our little honeys it is time to get down to work. I'm happy to say many of my little readers are making great progress. They mostly needed encouragement to use the skills they already possessed and to add the new ones we have been learning. I was so thrilled when some of my readers finally committed to tracking words today. What a difference it has made! We celebrated with high fives all the way around and one piece of candy corn for each of them. They loved it. I absolutely love candy corn just the plain old yellow, white and orange variety. I have to share it or I will eat the whole bag myself. It was a little treat that meant a lot. Sometimes that is all each one of us needs is a little treat to say, "Wow! I appreciate your hard work." I appreciate the hard work of teachers everywhere and here is your treat a math center freebie from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. Pumpkin Ten Frames Dice Roll Enjoy!

Harry Potter Contest Me a Celebrity Judge??

I was invited to be a "Celebrity Judge" at a Harry Potter Costume Contest at the local Barnes and Noble.  It was all a great deal of fun! The winner was a child from the school I teach at.  He truly has the best costume with glasses, cape and even a Hedwig!  He answered our questions with a British Accent! The prize was a color Nook.  How cool is that?
I love pink so I had to have this "rockin" pink witches hat from the Target cheapo bin! I can't wait to wear for some story time reading in my class.