Transcript Reading and Word Attack Strategies

How Can I Help My First
Grader Become A Better
Reader?
Reading and Word Attack
Strategies
Reading and Word
Attack Strategies
• Reading is so much more than just sounding
out words. Good readers use a variety of
strategies to help them understand the
text.
• Reading is a multifaceted process involving
word recognition, comprehension, fluency,
and motivation.
Sometimes you can identify words without being
able to construct much meaning from them. Read
the opening lines of Lewis Carroll's poem,
"Jabberwocky," and you'll see what I mean.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Finally, sometimes you can identify words and comprehend
them, but if the processes don't come together smoothly,
reading will still be a labored process. For example, try
reading the following sentence:
It
isn't
are
if
difficult
understand,
en
as
to
but
make
words,
reading
the
is
identify
the
you
which
words
or
spaces
pause
means
less
betwe
your
fluent.
• Reading in its fullest sense involves
weaving together word recognition
and comprehension in a fluent
manner.
• Hopefully these reading and word
attack strategies will help you guide
your child towards reading success.
Make Predictions
Helping your child make predictions will
encourage active reading and keep
him/her interested.
Retell and Summarize
Retelling the story in his/her own words helps
to build comprehension. It also allows students
to discriminate between main ideas and minor
details.
Making Connections
Connecting the text to your child’s experiences
and knowledge helps them to personalize the
information. It sparks interest and builds
comprehension.
Story Talk
Talking about what you read can help
your child develop language and thinking
skills.
Word Attack Strategies
The strategies help your child to
decode, pronounce, and understand
unfamiliar words.
Use Picture Clues
• Look at the picture.
• Are there people, objects, or actions
in the picture that might make sense
in the sentence?
Sound Out the Word
• Touch each letter moving from left to
right through the word.
• Blend the sounds together and try to say
the word
• Not all words can be “sound it out” words,
some contain special sounds or follow a
different rule.
• Words in motion
Look for Chunks
in the Word
• Look for familiar letter chunks.
(See handout)They may be
sounds/symbols, prefixes, suffixes,
endings, whole words, or base words.
• Read each chunk by itself. Then blend the
chunks together and sound out the word.
Connect To a Word You
Know
• Think of a word that looks like the
unfamiliar word.
• Compare the familiar word to the
unfamiliar word.
• Look for like chunks and apply to the
unfamiliar word.
Reread the Sentence
• Read the sentence more than once.
• Think about what word would make
sense in the sentence.
• Try the word and see if the sentence
makes sense.
Keep Reading
• Read past the unfamiliar word and
look for clues.
• If the word is repeated, compare the
second sentence to the first. What
word makes sense in both?
Use Prior Knowledge
• Think about what you know about the
story. (What has happened, what
might happen next)
• Do you know a word that might make
sense in the sentence? Try it.
Special Sounds to Know
About
Blends
• Blends are two or three consonants
grouped together, with each letter
keeping its own sound. (see handout)
Consonant Digraphs
• A consonant digraph is a combination of
two consonants sounds that together
represent a new sound. Some examples of
consonant digraphs are:
sh--- shop
ch--- chin
wh---- what ck---- duck
qu--- queen ng----sang
th--- thin
ph--- photo
Short Vowel Sounds
“This letter says his short name.”
• When there is a single vowel in a short word or
syllable, the vowel usually makes his short sound.
• These short vowels usually appear at the beginning
of the word or between two consonants.
• Examples of short vowels are found in these
words:
c a t , e n d, p i g, l o g, b u s
• Okie Vowels
Long Vowel Sounds
“This letter says his long name.”
• When a short word or syllable ends with a
vowel/consonant --e combination, the vowel
is usually long and the "e" at the end of
the word is silent (this rule doesn't apply
in all cases).
• Examples of a VCe combination are:
b a k e, r i d e, p o l e, t u n e
Long Vowels
• When a word or syllable has a single
vowel and it appears at the end of
the word or syllable, the vowel
usually makes the long
sound.
• Examples are: no
he
po/ny
Vowel Digraphs
• If two vowels are beside each other in a word or syllable,
the first vowel is usually long while the second vowel
remains silent. Examples of vowel digraphs are:
ai– maid
ee-- sweet
ea--bean
oa---- boat
ay-----tray
• “The first one does the talking, the second one does the
walking.”
• This rule does not apply to diphthongs.
Vowel Diphthongs
• Vowel diphthong refers to the blending of
two vowels sounds, both vowel
sounds are usually heard and they make a
gliding sound.
• Examples of vowel diphthongs include:
oi--- boil
oy----- toy
au---- haul
aw----- saw ew----- new ow---- cow
oo---- moon oo----- look ou--- mouth
R-Controlled Vowels
• When a vowel is followed by the letter "r", the vowel does
not make the long nor short sound but is considered "rcontrolled".
• Examples of "r-controlled" vowels are:
ar--- car
er--- fern
ir--- bird
or---corn
ur--- nurse
R is a bully!!
Helpful Reading
Websites
www.starfall.com
www.pbskids.org
www.readingrockets.org
www.readinglady.com
www.trelease-on-reading.com