How to Use Guided Reading With Pre-emergent Readers
"How am I supposed to practice guided reading with my students who when they don't even know their letters?" If you're a kindergarten instructor, you've probably asked this question. The answer is a Pre-A guided reading lesson.
Pre-A readers are students who are non quite gear up to ready to read text. These are students who usually know less than 40 letters (uppercase and lowercase). They often need to work on concepts of print and phonological sensation skills.
Sometimes called a Level AA guided reading lesson, a Pre-A guided reading lesson focuses on the important foundational skills a student volition demand in order to read.
What To Piece of work On With Pre-A Students
Before you decide what to include in your Pre-A guided reading lesson, you will want to assess your students. Students at a level AA guided reading level can have a wide variety in their skills.
Some students may have strong concepts of print but be unable to identify messages or letter sounds. Others may know a majority of their messages, but be unable to apply that to a level A text.
Earlier you lot program, you will want to assess your Pre-A students on these skills:
- Recognizing and writing their name
- Letter ID
- Letter of the alphabet Sounds
- Concepts of Print (letters vs words, reading left to right, etc)
- Phonological Sensation (rhyming words, syllables, first sound)
What to Plan For Your Pre-A Guided Reading Lesson
In one case you have assessed your students, y'all can showtime planning your Pre-A guided reading lesson. You may not need every role of a normal Level AA guided reading lesson. Pick and choose based on your students' needs.
Usually at the beginning of the year, my Pre-A students need to piece of work on recognizing and writing their names.
I like to take my guided reading small groups begin with a proper name action. In one case they learn the routine, my students tin do this activity independently. This is helpful because students can get correct to piece of work while friends are however making their way to my table.
One of my favorite name activities is name puzzles. You lot can differentiate this by giving students a model of their proper name for support. In one case students tin build their proper noun independently, you might take away the model.
Yous can also brand more or less cuts in the name puzzles. At start, you might only cut students' names in half. Eventually every letter of the alphabet will exist cut apart.
Alphabet Activities for Pre-A Guided Reading
Alphabet practice is a large part of our Pre-A guided reading lessons. Since this tin can include a broad range of skills, I try to grouping students with similar needs.
Alphabet skills you might piece of work on include:
- Letter of the alphabet bigotry
- Sorting messages by shape
- Matching letters to an alphabet chart
- Matching capital letter and lowercase letters
- Naming messages
- Identifying letter sounds
- Identifying start sounds
I of my favorite alphabet activities during our guided reading pocket-size groups is to have students friction match letters to an alphabet nautical chart.
If this gets sometime, you tin can make it new again by having students shake upward letters in a can, spill them, and and then match them.
Being able to discriminate between letters and identify them fifty-fifty with a different font is important. Non every book volition have the same font!
I choose a letter well-nigh students know and a letter they are nevertheless learning to sort.
We also use do our alphabet chart routine every single group. You can use an alphabet nautical chart or an alphabet tracing book for this routine.
Together, we volition bespeak to each letter of the alphabet and say the alphabetic character, picture, so the letter audio. I take seen the most growth in letter ID and sounds with this routine. We do the same alphabet chart routine during our morning meeting.
This may be an unpopular opinion, only I don't recollect students need to be able to proper noun the bulk of their messages before moving on to Level A. To me, it's more of import that students are able to identify what sounds a letter makes. This volition aid them decode.
Phonological Sensation Activities for Level AA Readers
Phonological sensation activities are as well a big part of our guided reading modest groups. Having strong phonological awareness skills is essential for reading success.
Phonological awareness skills we might work on:
- Identifying rhymes
- Producing rhymes
- Clapping syllables
- Counting syllables
- Identifying whether words begin with the same sound
- Identifying first sounds in words
This can be a quick part of your lesson! One activity we beloved is thumbs up/thumbs down. I say two words. If they [rhyme, commencement with the same sound, etc] students requite me a thumbs up. If they practice not, students requite me a thumbs down.
Picture sorts are too an easy, hands-on action. Students can sort pictures by catastrophe rime, number of syllables, or beginning sounds.
Concepts of Print Activities for Kindergarten
Concepts of print and book handling skills are so important for emergent readers. I will choose an activity based on what my students are struggling with.
Students need to sympathize the difference betwixt letters and words. They need to understand that letters build words earlier they can decode. This lesson will help give them a strong agreement.
One time students know what a word is, they can exercise pointing one to one and counting the words in a sentence.
After that, students can work on reading left to right. This activeness is i of my favorites for practicing reading left to right.
Students will motion a counter left to correct under the pictures. As they do, they will say the picture words.
Level AA Books for Pre-A Guided Reading
Of course, nosotros need students to practise actually handling a volume and reading during guided reading, right?
Depending on where my students are, I use both level AA and level A books during my Pre-A guided reading lessons. Level AA books usually include one sight word and a motion picture word.
Level AA books are perfect for emerging readers who are just getting used to pointing one to 1 and tracking text. They besides help build reading conviction as students become able to read them themselves.
Once my students can track text 1 to one and follow a longer pattern, I begin using Level A books. These books include sentences with 3-5 words. They take the aforementioned word design on each folio.
Mixed Up Sentences and Guided Writing
Subsequently we read our book, we complete a mixed up judgement and guided writing. The sentence I choose is simple (3-5 words) and includes the sight word or blueprint in our book.
I will use a long sentence strip and draw a line for each word. We volition say the sentence several times together while pointing to the lines.
And then, I volition take the students assist me write the words, with one educatee writing a word on a line. For words that are not sight words, I volition have the students identify the get-go sound and and so write but the first letter.
Afterwards we write all the words, we will say the judgement again.
Then, I cut up the sentence into words. Each educatee gets a word. Together, we will fix the sentence and then read it again. I let ane student accept the sentence home to set with their family.
Need Pre-A Guided Reading Lessons and Materials Prepare to Go?
My Pre-A guided reading unit contains everything yous need to teach your Pre-A guided reading groups. It includes 12 Level AA guided reading books, lesson plans, and materials to teach concepts of print, names, and letters.
If you lot are distance learning in kindergarten, this unit also includes digital guided reading books and digital discussion work and concepts of print activities.
Grab the Pre-A guided reading unit here!
How to Use Guided Reading With Pre-emergent Readers
Source: https://natalielynnkindergarten.com/what-does-a-pre-a-guided-reading-lesson-look-like/