OK. This is starting to make more sense. I could see the benefit of doing this with kids who are struggling at this level. However, isn't this a stage in reading development? And could this be a result of too much emphasis on phonics? I guess what I'm trying to say, and this may be obvious, is that if instruction is rich and at the child's level of need then this shouldn't be happening. Or is this too simplistic? And, even in cases where the instruction is appropriate there are still kids who struggle with this idea... Just trying to make sense of these interventions. Thanks, Elisa
Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada Early readers without a sense of word also freely invent, neglecting the print without a means of understanding they are doing it. I have used word counting with kddos like this. I always compliment them on their story (afterall, just getting started with reading the stories in our heads generally beat the ones on the printed page) and ask them to help me count their words first. I put down a block for each word as I say back to the reader what they have just 'read'. We count the blocks. Then we count the words on the page. The mismatch helps them start see the need to use the words on the page. With a second grade student who has a sense of one to one but is at this early stage where he or she may be fingerpointing, not realizing that multi-syllable words get one point can leave them muddled. I taught readers like this to slide that finger under the word to help them see that some words are longer than others. Sorting words by syllables works well, too. Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755
_______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
