The Read to Self THINKmark: A FREEBIE for you!

Are you looking for more opportunities to encourage your students to apply what they have learned from your phonics instruction while they read?
Let me share this strategy with you!

We all know that children LOVE to read and be read to! The method described below gives them an opportunity to do both.

When your students are reading independently, have them hunt for spelling patterns that they are currently studying and prepare a THINKmark to share with the class.

This will give each child in your class an opportunity to “teach” their peers, read to the class and learn from each other!

This is especially powerful if you are managing differentiated Word Study groups such as Words Their Way. Your students will be exposed to a variety of phonics rules as they listen for spelling patterns presented by their peers!

Right here, and now, I will share with you my tried and true method of how to disguise Read to Self as a little more: Word Study! Using what kids love:

You can find The Read to Self THINKmark FREEBIE at the shop by clicking HERE!

My Word Study Goal Is…

I have found it extremely beneficial to provide my students with a Word Study goal that changes each time we study a new spelling pattern. I assign these "I can" statements as individual reading goals to hold students accountable for their reading achievement. This set of 47 Phonics and Reading Goals Posters with “I can” statements provide the students with a visual reminder as to what their Word Study focus is. It works! I promise.

My Gumball Is...

I use this Interactive Phonics Notebook as a supplement to our Read to Self, Guided Reading and Reader’s Workshop routines.

While reading, my students hunt for the spelling patterns that they are currently studying. They add each word to their collection of “gumballs”. After they have met the desired number of words on each page they earn a gumball for their gumball machine! The kids LOVE going on a word hunt!

What are “Gumballs”?

Students enjoy this color-coded strategy to help them identify the various spelling patterns in the words they read and write. 

What do you do with the Sticky Notes?

After each child shares their “gumball” we display our sticky notes on our True Interactive Word Wall. Students and teacher interact with the Word Wall houses by writing words on a post-it and display it on the word family house. The windows measure to fit a 3x3 post-it!

This interactive Word Wall includes word family houses for all phonograms appropriate for the primary grades. This method aligns with Words Their Way, any Spelling program AND differentiated spelling lists.

You will no longer worry that your Word Wall is just taking up valuable space in your classroom. I have included a 6-page guide to help you EASILY facilitate and manage your Interactive Word Wall. Simply, display these Word Wall houses and let your students do all the work.

44 Word Family Houses are included that feature graphics to reinforce each phonogram:

Short Vowel Rd.

Blends Blvd.

Long Vowel Lane

Bossy R Way

Digraphs St.

Diphthongs Dr.

To read a full description of how it is utilized in the primary classroom visit: A True Interactive Word Wall.

What is a Smart Cookie?

Our smart cookie jar is filled with "smart cookies"...yes, Cookie Crisp cereal!  It's that simple.  My students will go out of their way to earn ONE "smart cookie" during Share Time.  It is truly a tasty incentive.

You can find three options for the Smart Cookie Jar label HERE at the shop.

I do hope you find the Gumballs Phonics strategy useful in your classroom!  

It has worked wonders in mine!

A True Interactive Word Wall

Many of us Super Teachers have had Word Walls in our classrooms for years and years now. I have had one since forever! However, I have never found the Word Wall to be truly interactive for my students. Have you?

Of course, we practiced our words daily, and reviewed most of the words on a weekly basis. I would smile proudly when I found my students referring to the Word Wall during Writer’s Workshop but I always had this niggling suspicion it truly was not benefiting my students. Until I switched things up a bit and now it is TRULY INTERACTIVE!

You’re going to LOVE it!

8 years ago…
When I taught kindergarten, I had a traditional word wall. Later, I was sure that I included my students’ names and their pictures (adorbs! -not pictured, of course). Shortly after, I began to include Word Family Houses. This was a HUGE stepping stone for me. The FIRST step toward an interactive Word Wall. Here is a photo of my first Word Wall:

I thought I was so clever including the Word Family houses for short vowel sounds above our Word Wall! I mean, I was, right? It was great practice for my kinders. But was it truly interactive? Not really. We placed our sight words and our word family houses on display and simply looked at them on occasion. That’s it. A pretty bulletin board that took up A LOT of valuable wall space. So, the desire to create a TRULY interactive Word Wall was born.

3 years later…
Now, being a first grade teacher and since having begun my journey with differentiated Spelling lists with the help of Words Their Way (learn more about this journey HERE), I found the need to focus more on phonograms rather than letter sounds. So, I switched up my Word Wall. It then evolved into this:

Notice the post-its around each Long Vowel house! Yes! Those are words written by my students as they hunt for words in their decodable books that contain the current Spelling pattern they are studying! A bit more interactive, right? Yes, I was getting closer to having a truly interactive Word Wall.

But I still was not satisfied. So, the pursuit for a truly interactive Word Wall continued.

I spent a huge amount of time this summer working on individual Word Family houses for EACH phonogram. For example, there is not just ONE word family house for each long vowel sound but, FIFTEEN long vowel houses-one for EACH phonogram! Here is a glimpse of “Long Vowel Lane”:

I must ask you to take a closer look at one of the houses. Notice the windows are the exact same size as a 3x3 post it. Notice how the graphics all contain that ONE long vowel sound for ONE phonogram. In fact, you might even tell a story about the words that live in that house together. Here is a closeup for you to take a better look (click to enlarge):

Now it gets exciting! Since I differentiate the spelling lists for my students using Words Their Way, we mainly focus on one phonogram a week. If I am working with 4-5 different Word Study groups, that involves 4-5 different Word Family houses!

Just WAIT! …it’s coming…

First let me explain our Read to Self routine.

When I am working with my small guided reading groups, the remaining students are assigned differentiated Word Study assignments for Word Work AND Read to Self.

As a Read to Self assignment, I provide my students with decodable readers so they can practice reading words according to that specific spelling pattern. They hunt for words, record them in their “Gumballs Collection” (a notebook that contains a page for each phonogram -we call them "gumballs"-I’ll explain this further in a bit) and they prepare a post-it to share their learning with the class during “Share”.

You are going to LOVE this…

After our Daily 5 center rotations, I provide my students with the opportunity to share their learning from their Read to Self assignment with the whole class. This provides the whole group with the opportunity to learn from each other. Which will expose them to 4-5 different phonograms!

My above-level students will have an opportunity to review what they have previously learned when an “on-level” or “below-level” Word Study group presents their learning.

On the flip-side, my “on-level” and “below-level” students will be exposed to new phonograms that the above-level groups present (a bit of frontloading!)

It’s a win-win!

After the children share their “gumball”, we display their learning by adding their post-it to our Word Wall. We place them on the house windows or below the house for all to see and learn from. The children feel so proud to see their work displayed on the “Wall”.

To learn more about how I manage our Read to Self assignments and Share Time, please visit this blog post:

Disguise Read to Self as Word Study

Would you take one more peak at a house? I want you to notice one more thing about our Word Wall:

They are color coded! Be still my teacher heart! What teacher and student doesn’t enjoy color-coding?

You are going to LOVE this too…

My students benefit from using a color-coded system for our spelling patterns that we like to call "gumballs". The color of the houses matches the color-coded system!

This simple color-coding strategy has proven to be a HUGE help to my students when identifying phonograms in their reading AND applying these spelling rules in their own writing! I cannot begin to explain how well this works for my students and how much they enjoy it. I urge you to try it!

There are SIX different Word Wall sets available at my TpT shop.

You can find them HERE or by clicking on the image below.

The complete set is also bundled up for your savings:
The Interactive word Wall BIG Bundle

I truly hope you have found this information helpful. Be sure to try the color-coded system to help your young readers identify spelling patterns in their reading and their writing! It helps tremendously!

Reader's Workshop: The Reading Mat

The Reading Mat will provide your students with a visual reminder of how to keep track of what they are reading and build stamina! This system will also encourage your students to reread and build their fluency!  Oh, yes!

Begin by adhering the “My Reading Mat” cover page to the top of a file folder. The “Stop” and “Go” mats are adhered to the inside of the file folder.

Students begin by placing their stack of books on the “GO” side of their mat. They place the harder texts at the bottom and the easiest on top (to be read first).

When they finish a book it gets placed on the “STOP” side of the reading mat.

When all the books are read, students then “make their way back” as they reread their books, each time placing in on the “Go” side of the mat. This will encourage your young readers to stay on task and avoid returning to the classroom library to peruse for additional books. This will encourage them to reread to build their fluency.

Here is a closer look at The Reading Mat in action:

It is also helpful to provide your students with a post-it so they can tally how many books they have read during independent reading to keep track of their growth. This will help them set goals and take ownership of their reading growth!

If you would like your own copy of The Reading Mat, you will find it here:

Reader's Workshop: The Reading Mat

Disguise Read to Self As Word Study

Are you looking for more opportunities to encourage your students to apply what they have learned from your phonics instruction while they read? Let me share this success story with you!

We all know that first graders LOVE to read and be read to! The method described below gives them an opportunity to do both.  They read independently hunting for spelling patterns AND are read to by their classmates while they listen for spelling patterns!

Right here, on this page, I will share with you my tried and true method of how to disguise Read to Self as a little more: Word Study! Using what kids love:

sticky notes
color coded "gumballs"

decodable "just right" readers

peer teaching

Share Time (they all LOVE Share Time)

(multi-sensory strategies)

BEFORE:
I begin our day (prior to the Daily 5) with a phonics/spelling mini lesson. For example, if we are studying digraphs we might complete a spelling sort or a short fluency passage. To read more about how I manage DiFfErEnTiAtEd Word Study groups using Words Their Way click HERE.

We close our mini lesson by taking a "sneak peak" at their assigned story for Read to Self. The story would include words with digraphs.

I provide my students with Read To Self bookmarks to mark the page in our decodable readers to help them quickly find their assigned story and to remind them of what is expected of them:

If you would like to download a copy of the Read to Self bookmarks click HERE.

DURING:
During the Daily 5 centers, students spend time at the Read to Self center where they first complete their assigned reading and move on to their self selected reading. As they read the assigned decodable story, they hunt for words that contain a digraph and jot them down on a post-it to share with the class after the Daily 5. My students benefit from using a color coded system for our spelling patterns that we like to call "gumballs":

Once my firsties have completed their assigned reading, they may move on to their own self-selected books. I encourage them to look for these spelling patterns in these books as well. It is important for them to use those stickies as a bookmark on the page where they found the word in the book. They will need to find that page quickly during Share Time.

AFTER:
Once all students have had an opportunity to learn at each Daily 5 station, we meet at the carpet for a Share. This is when my first graders take the lead as "teacher" and TEACH their classmates their current Word Study focus.

Share Time is a favorite part of our day! By mid-year, my first graders have the routine down pat and run the show themselves. This leaves me the time to review their work from the Daily 5.

Student script for share time:

• "My Word Study goal is I can read digraphs.  Today I read ________________, and my gumball is /sh/."
• This is the moment when they read the sentence from their book that contains a word with their gumball. The rest of the students listen for the gumball and raise their hand to contribute their answer.
• The "teacher" calls on no more than 3 students to contribute their answer. Once a classmate shares the correct answer, the teacher says, "You're a smart cookie" and both the "teacher" and the student who answered correctly takes a cookie from the cookie jar (Cookie Crisp cereal).
• The "teacher" calls on another student, "_______ would you like to share?" and the new "teacher" responds with "Yes, please."
• The sticky note gets placed on our Interactive Word Study Bulletin Board:

If you would like to learn more about how I manage differentiated Word Study groups as pictured above visit HERE.

Including a Word Study Share as part of your Daily 5 routine is an excellent way to help motivate your students to apply their Word Study focus and to celebrate what they have accomplished.

It is also a great opportunity for children to learn from their peers, especially if you are differentiating your Word Study groups. Children in advanced Word Study groups can introduce new spelling patterns to children who are not yet at that stage. And on the flip-side, children who have already learned a spelling pattern will have an opportunity to review those patterns they have previously learned!

Share Time also allows you to informally assess your students' ability to apply what they have learned.

In the last decade, I have been using the Daily 5 Management for Centers and Small Group instruction. In those years, I have morphed the Daily 5 into a system that combines MANY best practices (differentiation, Daily 5, Words Their Way, Lucy Calkins, Orton Gillingham... the list goes on).

Teaching is an art. If we go about our instruction utilizing the best programs and resources we can get our hands on, we find amazing results! This story is a testimonial!

Words Their Way, OUR way Part 7: Read to Self as Word Study

Why not take your Word Work one step further?  I have disguised Read to Self as a bit more... Word Work... and my firsties don't seem to mind.  Yours won't either.  It's a Win-Win!  Read on!

Read to Self Word Study Assignments

In addition to my students' Word Work during our Daily 5, one of their "Must Do" items is to Read to Self.  During this time the children are assigned a story to read from one of our decodable readers that reinforces their Word Study Goal.  (The students have the opportunity to choose what books to read later in the day during our Reader's Workshop or as a "Can Do" when they finish their Daily 5).

Since I have 5 differentiated word study groups (using the Words Their Way program), I have found it difficult to manage each group's reading assignment from the different sets of decodable readers that I have collected over the years.  I was using post-its, but that seemed like a waste of 20 post-its a day-they quickly disappear. I found it necessary to create bookmarks to mark the story to be read each day:

I currently use the decodable readers from the Journey's anthology that our district purchased for us.  I also saved the last set of readers from our previous anthology.  I have to admit, I finally have a nice supply of readers that allow for each group to have a story to read each day.  If I find I am a story short, I have several sets of reading comprehension passages that I have purchased and I provide them with a photocopy to keep.

Once I determine which decodable reader (and the story within) best matches each group's Word Study focus, I slip the bookmark right to the page and drop the books in their respective baskets!  

It takes me about 5 minutes to prep their Read to Self assignments each day...  now that I have created book marks as a management tool.  Not to mention, the kids LOVE using book marks!

Another plus...directions for the Read to Self assignment is printed on each bookmark to remind my young readers of what must be done.  You will notice that each Word Study group has a color coded bookmark with their group's name printed on it.  This makes it easy for my students to locate their Read to Self assignment for the day.

My students are also encouraged to jot down the words that contain that week's focus in a folder as they read. We call this notebook a "collection".  For example, if they are working on the long vowel sound of /ai/ they would list any words that contain that word chunk in their folder (we call word chunks  "gumballs" because we highlight them with a color coded circle). They love to see their collection of words grow.  This is their incentive. They also receive a real gumball after taking a weekly spelling test if they do well.  If you would like to learn more about our Gumballs Notebook please visit my post:

Our Interactive Phonics Notebook....Chunky Monkey's Gumballs!

As you can see, I have disguised Read to Self as a bit more... Word Work... and my firsties don't seem to mind.  Yours won't either.  It's a Win-Win!

And there you have it!  Words Their Way--OUR Way!

If you would like to download the Read to Self Bookmarks, Bulletin Board Display, bin labels along with the data tracking forms and related resources mentioned in this article visit my TpT store:

Differentiating Words Their Way: Organization & Routines BUNDLE

This is what is included:

This is a seven-part blog series.

Click below to jump right to what you need to know:

Words Their Way-- OUR Way PART 1: Getting Started

Words Their Way-- OUR Way PART 2: Getting Organized

Words Their Way-- OUR Way Part 3: Planning and Prep

Words Their Way-- OUR Way Part 4: Motivation & Goal Setting

Words Their Way-- OUR Way Part 5: Routine & Mini-lessons
Words Their Way-- OUR Way Part 6: Word Study Assessment
Words Their Way-- OUR Way Part 7: Read to Self as Word Study