Teach them to use a personal white board as they read!
If your readers keep a small personal white board at their side while reading, they can jot down any word they're struggling with. Teach them to "operate on" the word. Many long words can be demystified simply by looking at them to see what readers already know.
Write It Out
For example, if a reader is stuck on the word "impressive," writing it out shows us this:
The middle of the word has a smaller word we can recognize - "press." The beginning of the word has a word part we know - "im." The end of the word has a word part we know - "ive."
Instead of ten letters to sound out, the reader now just needs to sequence three parts - im, press, ive. Voila!
Support Tips
I make sure my readers know all the parts they'll need to recognize (like "im" and "ive") in order for them to identify the parts when they see them in words.
I teach these parts as I would sight words. I use the same methods and strategies as I would to teach sight words - games, activities, flashcards, printables.
To teach the "sight parts", you can make up flashcards, bingo games, or tic tac toe and more! If you'd like premade activities, flashcards, games and printables, plus student progress trackers and other assessments created to save you time, you can find them HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
I teach these parts as I would sight words. I use the same methods and strategies as I would to teach sight words - games, activities, flashcards, printables.
To teach the "sight parts", you can make up flashcards, bingo games, or tic tac toe and more! If you'd like premade activities, flashcards, games and printables, plus student progress trackers and other assessments created to save you time, you can find them HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
DIY White Boards
If you don't have personal white boards for each of your readers - laminate pages, half pages or bookmark-sized strips! Or place white paper in page protectors and use dry erase markers. HERE is a FREE set of student mats you can laminate for your readers.
Your readers will LOVE the feeling of independence they get from decoding their own words as they read!
Your readers will LOVE the feeling of independence they get from decoding their own words as they read!
But wait! There's more!
Kerry Tracy of Feel-Good Teaching says, "Take the time to reconnect with your calling to get you through the rough patches!"
Kathie Yonemura of Tried & True Teaching Tools says, “Find your teacher tribe!”
Tammy of Tarheelstate Teacher says, "At the end of the school year, reflect on your favorite lessons and experiences. Consciously plan to take what worked into the upcoming school year."
Brittany Hege of Mix and Math says, “Incorporate call and response chants as part of your classroom management...It will work for you and is fun for students!”
Jeanine Schneider of Think Grow Giggle says, “The time spent building student relationships is the best time you will spend all year!”
