Kindergarten Read WellInitial Training

Part 1

Kelly Pruittkpruitt@tacoma.k12.wa.us

Introduction and Overview

Read Well Level K is a comprehensive and fully integrated language arts program designed specifically for kindergarten students.

It is research based and field tested. Whole Class Component… Get them ready. Small group Component… Get them

reading.

Who is Read Well K for?

Kindergarten Students

Features of a Quality Kindergarten Program

Phonemic Awareness: Student’s ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words.

Phonics: Students’ understanding of the alphabetic principle-that is, the relationships between written sounds and spoken words.

Fluency: Student’s ability to read a text accurately and quickly enough to ensure understanding.

Features of a Quality Kindergarten Program

(cont.) Vocabulary: The words students must

know to communicate - includes both oral and reading vocabulary.

Text Comprehension: Students’ ability to understand what they read, I.e. the purpose of reading.

The Big Picture1 complete program with 2 separate components

Whole Class activities provide a foundation for the Small Group lessons.

Content in Whole Class and Small Group components is reciprocal. (Same themes, characters, and skills are found in both.)

Consistent, repeating formats within and across the Whole Class and Small Group routines and activities allow children to become familiar and comfortable with what they are expected to do.

Factors Influencing Implementation

Students (Predictors: Phonemic Awareness; Knowledge of Letter Names)

Time (Administrative Support; Scheduling; Coordination between programs)

Teacher (Management; Attitudes & Beliefs; Use of time)

*** Low performing students make the best progress when double dosed in the SAME research based program.

An Important ResourceGetting Started: A Guide to

Implementation Comprehensive overview

Program Materials Orchestration and Scheduling How to teach the skills and

activities Independent Work Classroom Organization Appendix

Initial Placement Purpose:

To ensure that each student enters Read Well at the appropriate level

When: After week 3, and before week 9 Transfer students

Who: Assessment teams/any trained professional

Initial Placement Part 1

Capital letter names

Small letter sounds High-frequency

words Pattern Words

Part 2 Sounds Blending Irregular Words Sentences Passages read with

accuracy and fluency

A walk through of initial placement

Your Assessment Manuals please……

Grouping Students Determine number of groups based on

time and adults available to teach. Sort assessments in groups based on

placement results. Possible entry points:

Prelude A, Unit 1, 6, 10, 16, or Read Well 1

Critical Steps in Explicit Instruction

1. Demonstrate Model, My turn, I do it

2. Guide Practice Lead, Our turn, We do it

3. Mix group and individual turns… independent of your voice… Be creative!

Test, Your turn, You do it

Critical Steps in Explicit Instruction

4. Provide mastery based instruction

Be diagnostic as you teach, What are the errors?Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3Return to the difficult skill at least 3 times.

5. Acknowledge students’ efforts

Highlight and give specific praise.

When do you model? Model when skills are NEW or

DIFFICULT. Model when students make a

mistake. Do not model everything, all the

time.

Making Small Groups Work

Teach students the expectations regularly and as needed.

Use 4 or 5 positively stated expectations. Demonstrate as needed, and have children

role play each expectation. Provide ongoing, positive, descriptive

feedback.

Teaching Expectations“When your expectations are clear,

students never have to guess how you expect them to behave.”

TEAM- Talk, Effort, Ask, Movement T Charts Provide positive and corrective

feedback

Seating Arrange seating so that each student is in

the teacher’s line of vision. Teacher should be able to reach each

student’s materials to help in tracking while reading.

U shaped and kidney tables work best If using rectangle tables, sit in the middle on

the long side.

Students working independently

Prior to beginning small group instruction, teach and practice how to transition and work independently.

Review choices and expectations for independent time, frequently.

While teaching, give feedback to the students working independently.

Understanding Preludes and Units

Preludes A, B, C For students who have age-appropriate

language development and some alphabetic knowledge, but who are not ready for “formalized” reading instruction.

Units 1-20 For students with advanced language

development and some alphabetic knowledge. For students when they complete the preludes.

Small Group Materials Teacher Guides Assessment Manual Blending Cards

Teach and support Oral Language, Phonemic Awareness (Blending and Segmenting)

Sound and Tricky Word Cards

Teach Phonics (letter/sound fluency) and Irregular Words

Small Group Materials (cont.) Decoding Magazines (consumable)

Teach Oral Language, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics

Student Storybooks

Teach and support Phonics, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Fluency

Homework Blackline Masters

Support Fluency, Comprehension, and the Home-School connection

Teacher’s GuidesOrganization of the guides New and Important Objectives Language Priming Detailed Lesson Plans Language and Vocabulary Practice End of Unit Assessment Making Decisions Extra Practice

Lesson Planning-Units 1-20

Options: 5, 7, 9, or 12 day plans

Some units will have a 4 day plan

Small Group Instruction

Recommendations Every group Every day 20-30 minutes Double dose for the lower

performing students

Small Group Instruction

Teaching Table After the lesson

Decoding Practice

(10-15 minutes)

Storybook Reading

(10-15 minutes)

Partner reading

(5 minutes, later in year)

Small Group Planning If you are alone…

Run 3 small groups (20 minutes each) for 60 minutes

Meet with higher performing group for less time, give additional small group time to lower scoring students.

Run 2 small groups (30 minutes each) for 60 minutes

Run 2 small groups (20 minutes each) for 40 minutes

Small Group Planning If you have 1 para…

Run 3 small groups (20 minutes each): Para meets with 1/3 Teacher meets with 1/3 1/3 are “independent”

If you have 1 para… Teacher meets with 1/3 Para supervises 2/3

Small Group Planning If you have 1

para… Class split into 6

groups. Teacher and

para each meet with 3 groups

Students are independent when not in a group.

If you have 2 or more teachers in your grade level and a para… During small group

time, split classes by ability level.

Daily Lesson Format

10-15 minutes Decoding 10-15 minutes Story Reading Partner Reading/Independent Work Extra Practice Activities Homework

Decoding Lessons Include:

Warm-Ups-Magazine covers, Sound and word cards, Smooth and Bumpy Blending Cards

New Sound Introduction/New Sound Practice Introduced with a poem and tracing letter

Smooth and Bumpy Blending Stretch and Shrink Sounding out Smoothly Accuracy and Fluency Building Tricky Words

Model and Practice

Practice a decoding lesson…

Story Reading Fully Decodable Text (Duet & Solo Stories) Priming Background Knowledge Vocabulary Introduction Procedures

Finger Tracking First Reading Second Reading Correcting Errors Repeated Readings Expressive Reading

Model and Practice

Practice a duet and solo story…

Assessment-End of Unit Efficient, individually administered measures

of each student’s mastery of newly taught skills, and retention of previously learned skills.

Assessment at the end of every prelude or unit.

Assessment Activity for students to complete while you are assessing. (Blackline Masters)

Practice administering Assessment

Jell-Well Review

Periodic review of earlier units Strengthens foundational skills, avoids

overloads, builds confidence

Maintaining Home-School Connections

Found in the back of every Teacher’s Guide

Certificate of Achievement

Appendix

Checklists Lesson Planner Additional Blackline Masters

Whole Class Materials26 thematic 5 day units with 4

review units Teacher’s Guides CD of Songs ABC Wall Cards ABC Poem Posters Read Aloud Books

Literature Book Package RW Lap Book Set

Whole Class Materials (cont.)

Pocket Chart Cards Blending Cards Art Related Activities

Unit Art Projects ABC Scrapbook Art Pages

Independent Work (BLM or Workbooks) Homework Activities

Whole Class Teacher’s Guides

Teacher Friendly Organization 6 Teacher’s Guides,

including all 30 units Table of Contents Overview New and Important

Objectives Preparation 5 Day Planner Day at a Glance Detailed Lesson Plans

Teacher’s Guides Black text= Required Activity Red text= Recommended but non-

essential activities Step by step “scripted” directions

Purpose: To visualize a quality lesson Not to be memorized or read verbatim

Important notes, tips, and reminders A star = a new skill, activity, or story

Teaching Whole Class Lessons

Teacher support of student learning is gently scaffolded:

Teacher demonstrates or overtly models the skill for students. In Teacher’s Guide = blue text

Teacher guides practice of the skill with students. In Teacher’s Guides = gray text

Teacher gives students independent practice (group & individual turns) with the skill. In Teacher’s Guides= gray text in parentheses

Alphabet Routines Rhythm, Rhyme, and Repetition

Except for Day 1, these activities can be done in any order.

ABC Practice: Boogie Woogie, Alphabet Beat, Zee Zi Ziddly,

Purpose: To reinforce the letter names and alphabetical order

IMPORTANT! POINT as students sing it!

ABC Cheer New Sound Intro Tell students the new

sound. Turn wall card over

before you start activity in units 1-4, after in units 5-26.

Recite the new verse for students.

Recite the verse again, and have students repeat each line.

ABC Cheer (continued) Point to appropriate wall card. Units 1-8 Verses only Units 9-26 Use all the wall cards If the wall card has a picture, students say

the verse. If the wall card only has letters, students say the name of the letter.

After completing “cheer”, review known beginning sounds.

Poem Purpose: To reinforce known letter/sound associations

Basic Steps: Introduce/practice the unit poem. Have students identify

what they see on the poster.

Recite the poem and have students say it with you.

Review a previous poem, using a cloze format.

Read Alouds and Related Activities

Everyday a Read Aloud!

Multiple Genres Classic Favorites

Purpose of Read Alouds To build students’

background knowledge and vocabulary

To familiarize students with story elements and structures

Develop comprehension strategies

Make connections

Read Alouds(continued)

Lit Books are the centerpiece of the unit.

Read on the Day 1 and re-read on the Day 4.

Read Aloud on Day 5 is Teacher Choice.

Unit Lap Book Stories Author written

interactive complements to the Lit Book

Read on Day 2 & 3 Use the

programmed introductions, questions, and follow-up activities.

Stretch and Shrink Oral blending/Oral language

Purpose: Primes students for sounding out words

Provides practice with basic oral language patterns

Stretch and Shrink (continued)

Steps Say the word. Use the word in a sentence. Demonstrate stretching out the word, then

shrinking up the word. Guide practice Have students practice independent of your

voice. Don’t forget the oral language practice.

Smooth & Bumpy Blending

CRITICAL blending and segmenting practice

Purpose: Provides practice in identifying sounds in words.

Helps students distinguish between “sounding out smoothly” and “stopping between sounds”.

White Board Dictation Age appropriate spelling and drawing

practice. Purpose: Provides practice in hearing

and writing sounds, pattern words, Tricky Words, and sentences.

Gently introduces early writing conventions.

White Board DictationBasic Steps: Sounds: Have students identify the sound at

the beginning of the word. Demonstrate writing the letter/sound

association. Have students identify the beginning sound

again. Dictate the sound and have students write it.

White Board DictationBasic Steps: Pattern Words: Say the word; then use it in a

sentence. Have students say the word. Segment the word into sounds, with the students. Hold up one finger for each sound as it is said. Have students identify each sound as you write it. Have students blend the word and read it. Have students identify and write each sound. Have students blend and or read the word.

White Board Dictation Tricky Words and Sentences

See Teacher’s Guides for specific directions.

IMPORTANT MANAGEMENT TIPS: First teach students how to use their white

boards. Develop a “routine” for handing out and

collecting the white boards, markers, and erasers.

Independent WorkPurposes: To help students develop work habits. To foster home-school connections. To improve handwriting and fine motor skills. To reinforce learned skills To provide work for students to do while

teacher does small group instruction.

Samples of Independent Work

Read Well Whole Class Homework

Final Thoughts Teach a complete lesson

Decoding Story Reading Comprehension and Skill pages Homework Assess at the end of every unit

Teach with fidelity Teach diagnostically – Assessments inform

instruction