From FreeReading

Unit 1.3 Unit One Week Three Spelling resources, vocabulary resources, writing resources. Please email me with any corrections needed. I work on these late at night and make many mistakes. An abridged version of the play: Video Lessons: Theater 101: Definition of Tragic Hero Michel Foucault on Oedipus Rex Five-Act Structure versus Three-Act Structure: 6.

What to do

1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do, but note that (i) students may find words beginning with continuous sounds easier than stop sounds at first; (ii) students find words with initial blends—such as frog and star—harder than words without; (ii) some teachers like to begin with sounds for which students have already learned the letter-sound correspondence (so that students are comfortable physically producing the sound); (iv) it may help not to use too many different sounds at first; and (v) start with words having three phonemes (eg, sun, fox) and progress to words having more phonemes.
2. First make sure students know the names of the pictures by going through the deck, asking students to name the pictures. If they come up with a name other than the one you are looking for, correct them and put the card in a separate pile. Then go through this pile and repeat until students can name all the pictures correctly.
3. Now bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. He is having trouble speaking today and needs your help. Instead of saying a word like sun it comes out like this: sssuuunnn. Hold each sound for about a second and don't pause between them.
4. Select three picture cards; in this example we’ll assume one of them is fox, but it can be anything you choose. My turn first. I’m going to try to figure out which of these pictures Mico wants. Fffooox. What’s that? Fffooox. Now I point to the picture and say the word: fox, fffooox, fox.
5. Select 3 new cards, or just replace fox. Your turn: can you figure out which of these pictures Mico wants? Mmmooonnn. What’s that? Mmmooonnn. Which picture does Mico want? Say the word. That’s right: moon, mmmooonnn, moon. Can you say it like Mico? Students: mmmooonnn.
6. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn. Make sure they say the blended and segmented word (fox, fffooox) as well as pointing at the picture.
7. If the activity is too difficult for a student, reduce the number of picture cards to 2 until the student can select the correct picture on 3 consecutive tries. You can also try pausing on each sound more briefly—ffoox instead of fffooox—until the student ‘gets it’, but then slow down again.
8. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.
9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

Related activities

• All Phonological Awareness Activities

What to do

1. Write the letter a on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
2. The sound for this letter is /aaa/. (Say the /a/ sound as in hat, holding it for at least a second.) When you say /aaa/, your mouth is open: /aaa/ and your voice box is on: /aaa/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /aaa/. What's the sound?
3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
4. We use the /a/ sound to begin words like animal, answer, ask, apple, am. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /a/?
5. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be a and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to a, such as x and l.
6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not a), point to a and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to a. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities

What to do

1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do. As before, make sure the students know the expected name for each picture by going through the deck, multiple times if necessary.
2. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. He is having trouble speaking today and needs your help. Instead of saying a word like sun it comes out like this: sssuuunnn. Hold each sound for about a second and don't pause between them.
3. Select 3 picture cards; in this example we’ll assume one of them is fox, but it can be anything you choose. My turn first. I’m going to try to figure out which of these pictures Mico wants. Fffooox. What’s that? Fffooox. Now I point to the picture and say the word: fox, fffooox, fox.
4. Select 3 new cards, or just replace fox. Your turn: can you figure out which of these pictures Mico wants? Mmmooonnn. What’s that? Mmmooonnn. Which picture does Mico want? Say the word. That’s right: moon, mmmooonnn, moon. Can you say it like Mico? Students: mmmooonnn.
5. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn. Make sure they say the blended and segmented word (fox, fffooox) as well as pointing at the picture.
6. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.
7. At the same time, begin to include words having more than 3 phonemes, such as hand and family.

Related activities

• All Phonological Awareness Activities

What to do

1. Write the letter a on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
2. Let's review the sound for this letter. Anyone: what's the sound? Good: /aaa/. (Say the /a/ sound as in hat, holding it for at least a second.) Remember, when you say /aaa/, your mouth is open and your voice box is on: /aaa/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /aaa/. What's the sound?
3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
4. We use the /a/ sound to begin words like animal, answer, ask, apple, am. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /a/?
5. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be a and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to a, such as x and l.
6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not a), point to a and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to a. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

1. Assemble a stack of letter cards large enough for the group to see. About half the cards in the stack should show a, and the other half should show letters that students have not yet learned, such as x or o.
2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying either /aa/ or not-/aa/ for each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
3. Next, model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying either /aa/ or not /aa/ quite slowly. Continue through the stack.
4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with the student you think may be slower. Show the first card: /aa/ or not /aa/? If the student is incorrect, correct him; have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encouraging them to go faster.
7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities

What to do

1. Today, we’re going to say words like an alien from planet Paz. On Paz, people speak in a strange way; like we speak, but much more slowly. So instead of saying the word Sam, they say, Sssaaammm, and they touch their arm like this when they talk. Touch your shoulder as you make the first sound; your elbow as you make the second; and your hand as you make the third. Repeat, Sssaaammm. Hold each letter sound for about a second and don't pause between sounds.
2. The first word is sit. I’ll say it like they do on Paz. Listen: sssiiit. Touch your shoulder, elbow, and hand as you say each sound.
3. Now I’ll say the word and you say it like they do on Paz. Ready? Sit. (Students) Sssiiit. Remind students to touch their arm once for each sound.
4. Praise the students who segment correctly. For students who get a sound wrong, or who pause between sounds, don’t touch their arm once for each sound, or don’t do anything at all; model the correct answer and ask them to try on their own. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.
5. Next word: mad. (Students) Mmmaaad. Next word: Sam. (Students) Sssaaammm.

Related activities

• All Phonological Awareness Activities

What to do

1. Write the letter m on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
2. The sound for this letter is /mmm/. (Say the /m/ sound as in mat, holding it for at least a second.) When you say /mmm/, your lips are together and the sound comes out of your nose. What's the sound?
3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
4. We use the /m/ sound to begin words like mountain, men, miss, mile, mother. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /m/?
5. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be m and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to m, such as x and o.
6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not m), point to m and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to m. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

1. Assemble a stack of letter cards large enough for the group to see. About half the cards in the stack should show a, and the other half should show letters that students have not yet learned, such as x or o.
2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying either /aa/ or not-/aa/ for each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
3. Next, model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying either /aa/ or not /aa/ quite slowly. Continue through the stack.
4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with the student you think may be slower. Show the first card: /aa/ or not /aa/? If the student is incorrect, correct him; have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encouraging them to go faster.
7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities

What to do

1. I’m going to pretend to be an alien from planet Paz. On Paz, people speak in a strange way—like we speak, but much more slowly. So instead of saying the word Sam, they say, Sssaaammm, and they touch their arm like this when they talk. Touch your shoulder as you make the first sound; your elbow as you make the second; and your hand as you make the third. Repeat, Sssaaammm. Hold each letter sound for about a second and don't pause between sounds.
2. Now I’ll say the word and you say it like they do on Paz. Ready? Select a word (e.g., those in the list of items above) and say it. (Students segment the word and touch their arm once for each sound.) Good.
3. Continue with the other words. When selecting words, make sure you vary the beginning, middle, and end sounds—if you choose Sam, mad, and am, students may begin to think that all blended words have /a/ in the middle.
4. Once students have mastered segmenting words that begin with continuous sounds, introduce words beginning with stop sounds. When you segment these words, pause only very briefly on the stop sound, just long enough to touch your shoulder. It may help to elongate the vowel following the stop sound: so caaaaannn, not cuhaaannn or c-(pause)aaannn.
5. Later, introduce words with blends (such as trap), and with more sounds (such as pencil, glass). You may need to pay extra attention to blends for students to master them. You can either touch your arm four times for four-sound words, or fade touching your arm once students no longer need it to help them separate sounds.
6. For students who get a sound wrong, or who pause between sounds, or don’t do anything at all, model the correct answer and ask them to try on their own. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

Related activities

• All Phonological Awareness Activities

What to do

1. Write the letter m on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
2. Let's review the sound for this letter. Anyone: what's the sound? Good: /mmm/. (Say the /m/ sound as in mat, holding it for at least a second.) Remember, when you say /mmm/, your lips are together and the sound comes out of your nose. What's the sound?
3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
4. We use the /m/ sound to begin words like mountain, men, miss, mile, mother. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /m/?
5. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be m and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to m, such as x and o.
6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not m), point to m and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to m. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

1. Put a mix of letter cards in a hat or bag that students will pass around the classroom; draw a card from it, and say the sound. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted towards the most recently learned letters. You will need at least one bag for every eight or so students in the group, else students will quickly become distracted.
2. (You can also do this activity with half the cards showing the single most recently learned letter, m, and the other half showing letters the students have not yet learned, such as x. In that version of the activity, you ask students to say /m/ or not /m/, depending on what letter they draw.)
3. Now let’s play a game. We’re going to take turns to pull a card from this bag and say the sound of the letter. My turn first.
4. Draw a card; pause; show the letter to the students, then say its sound.
5. Then, I put the card back in the bag and pass it to my neighbor. Pass the bag to a student who is likely to get the answer correctly. Make sure they show the card to the other students. Remind them to put the card back, shake the bag, and then pass it to the next student.
6. As soon as it's clear that students get the idea, you can introduce the other bags to speed things up. Each time, draw the first card yourself. Circulate around the group making sure everyone is performing the activity correctly.
7. If a student doesn’t know a card, say it for him; then ask him to say it. Have him draw another card and try again. If he continues to have trouble, make a note in an Activity Log and move on. Try to make sure the last letter he draws before passing the bag on is one he names correctly and praise him strongly.
8. Keep going until everyone has had at least one turn.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities

What to do

1. I'm going to name some letters and I want you to write them. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seats pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
2. Ready? The first letter is: name a letter the students know how to write. Start with a relatively easy letter.
3. When everyone has finished writing, say: Hold up your paper so I can see what's your letter. If students have trouble writing the letter, model how to write it on the board; then, repeat that letter for the whole group.
4. Continue with other letters. Mix recently introduced letters with earlier letters, repeating recent letters more frequently. For example, if students know how to write a, m, s and you just taught them t, you might ask them to write: m, t, a, t, s, m, t.
5. If multiple students are struggling, go back to simpler letters and build back to the ones they are struggling with. You may need to model a difficult letter or go back to the Introduce writing a letter activity for that letter.
6. If students are able to write each letter you name confidently, try dictating multiple letters before asking them to show their work.
7. As a variation on this activity, write all the letters that students know on the board, and invite a student to choose what letter everyone should write.

Related activities

What to do

1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do. As before, make sure the students know the expected name for each picture by going through the deck, multiple times if necessary.
2. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. He is having trouble speaking today and needs your help. Instead of saying a word like sun it comes out like this: sssuuunnn. Hold each sound for about a second and don't pause between them.
3. Select 3 picture cards; in this example we’ll assume one of them is fox, but it can be anything you choose. My turn first. I’m going to try to figure out which of these pictures Mico wants. Fffooox. What’s that? Fffooox. Now I point to the picture and say the word: fox, fffooox, fox.
4. Select 3 new cards, or just replace fox. Your turn: can you figure out which of these pictures Mico wants? Mmmooonnn. What’s that? Mmmooonnn. Which picture does Mico want? Say the word. That’s right: moon, mmmooonnn, moon. Can you say it like Mico? Students: mmmooonnn.
5. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn. Make sure they say the blended and segmented word (fox, fffooox) as well as pointing at the picture.
6. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.
7. At the same time, begin to include words having more than 3 phonemes, such as hand and family.

Related activities

• All Phonological Awareness Activities

What to do

1. Write the letter s on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
2. The sound for this letter is /sss/. (Say the /s/ sound as in sat, holding it for at least a second.) When you say /sss/, you hiss like a snake: /sss/. What's the sound?
3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
4. We use the /s/ sound to begin words like sea, sing, state, stop, school. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /s/?
5. Erase s. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be s and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to s, such as x and o.
6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not s), point to s and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to s. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

1. Assemble a stack of letter cards large enough for the group to see. About half the cards in the stack should show m, and the other half should show letters that students have not yet learned, such as x or o.
2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying either /mm/ or not-/mm/ for each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
3. Next, model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying either /mm/ or not /mm/ quite slowly. Continue through the stack.
4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with the student you think may be slower. Show the first card: /mm/ or not /mm/? If the student is incorrect, correct him; have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encouraging them to go faster.
7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.

Related activities

• All Letter Sound Activities

What to do

Guided Readers

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Week Three Reflection Guided Reading 101 Reading

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Guided Reflection Examples