LESSON ONE: Decoding Strategies

                             

LESSON DESCRIPTION

Students use decoding strategies (cueing systems: meaning, structure, and visual) to problem solve unknown words when reading.

 

GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS

R1C         Apply decoding strategies (using cueing systems: meaning, structure, and visual) to problem-solve unknown words when reading.

 

LESSON MATERIALS

§         Sources of literature 

 

§         Supplies 

o        Magazines

o        Newspapers

 

§         Handouts provided

o        None

 

§         Words to Know

o        cueing system

o        compare

o        contrast

 

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 

Students find a newspaper, magazine or other nonfiction passage of a natural disaster that has recently occurred around the world. Students tape record oral reading of the passage. Students play back the tape recording and mark reading errors with X’s as shown in class. Use reading strategies to correct and clear up understanding of the passage. Write a brief summary of the information read. Be prepared to hand in the error sheet and summary.

 

Idea

This may be assigned for homework, teacher may need to offer tapes and selections of newspaper/magazines articles, internet sites, etc. and supply text that does not frustrate lowest readers. Reading sources should be at students’ instructional levels. (Read with 90 to 94% rate of accuracy.)

 

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

  1. Play an audiotape recording reading challenging text (slightly difficult for 6th grade students). Student should have hard copy of the text to follow during reading. During this reading, deliberately misread several words and at least one phrase. Student read along silently using the same text.

 

Questions

for

Students

Did anyone notice problems in the reading of this text?

Do the errors disrupt the meaning of the article?

What do good readers do when a word or phrase doesn’t sound right, doesn’t look right, or doesn’t make sense?

 

Strategy

Write any suggested reading strategies on a wall chart

 

  1. Using a copy of the text on an overhead transparency, place an X over the words and phrases misread during the first half of the tape. Use the charted strategy to correct the errors at the beginning of the article as you think aloud.

Questions

for

Students

What is still not clear?

Do we need to add support resources to our chart (dictionaries, reading buddies, teacher, thesaurus, etc.)?

What strategies do I use when I don’t know a word or understand a phrase as I read difficult text?

 

strategy

Cueing Systems:

Structural – does it sound right? What word or phrase sounds better?

Visual – does it look right? Are there parts of the word (prefix, suffix, root word) that you know the meaning of? Did you pronounce all parts of the word?

Meaning – does it make sense? Use context clues, create a visual image in your mind, or read ahead to see if it became clearer

 

Idea

Choose an article within the theme of natural disasters challenging to most 6th grade students. As you mark errors on the overhead, ask students to mark their copy of the text. Stress comprehension of the text by asking a student to retell or paraphrase text.

 

  1. In pairs, students continue marking errors using an X above the errors and use reading strategies to correct errors modeled by the teacher. As a group, share correct text. Continue together until everyone agrees on the pronunciation and meaning of the text.