Parts of a Lesson

• Fluent Writing Practice--2 or 3 words are written by the child at the beginning of the lesson

• Re-reading familiar books--The child selects and reads 3 books that have been read previously.  During re-reading, the child can practice fluent reading, solve the few problems that might remain, behave like a good reader, and consolidate new learning.  The child takes several familiar books home to read each night.

• Taking a running record--The child reads the new book from the previous day while the teacher takes a running record.  The teacher may tell a word if the child is really stuck.  The teacher uses this information to analyze and make inferences about the child's growth in using effective strategies. This helps the teacher in planning for the next day's lesson.

• Letter Identification or word analysis--During this portion of the lesson, the child learns to identify letters or analyze words by attending to significant features or "chunks".

• Composing and writing a story/sentence--Writing is closely linked with reading and is a part of every lesson.  The child composes the story and writes the sentence letter by letter and word by word.  The child also reads the story. The teacher will assist the child when needed , allowing for as much independence as possible.

• Cut-up Sentence--The teacher writes the story on a sentence strip and cuts  apart the words or phrases for the child to re-assemble.  The story-sentence is read again and put in an envelope for the child to take home. The child will glue the story/sentence on a sheet of paper provided.

• New Book Reading--Each day the teacher selects an appropriate new book that the child will be able to read with 90-95% accuracy.  The teacher introduces the book by talking about the pictures and using some of the language patterns that might be difficult or unfamiliar.  After the introduction, the child reads the book with coaching support from the teacher.The teacher selects teaching points from the reading so that the child's strengths can be used as a base for untangling confusions and building new knowledge.