Intervention for an Intervention

 I previously shared that I would like to reflect each week about a failure (because we learn and grow through them).  This week is no different!

The past two years I have used Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) and we (me and my students) love it.  The books are so engaging and the different characters are loved.  For the most part, my teammates and I have followed the program.  And we have seen some great growth in our Tier 2 reading instruction.

 In the training, we did learn that the phonics should meet the need of the group.  It seemed that each student in each group had a different set of needs.  So for the past two years, I have followed the phonics written with the LLI lesson.  But...yep, you guessed it.  Those gaps did not seem to fill.

This was a hard failing to swallow.  Because it was on me for not tailoring my instruction to better meet the need. It led me to some great reading.

From reading and conversations with Orton-Gillingham trained co-workers, I came up with a plan.
1. Assess reading level with F&P.
2. Assess phonological awareness skills.
3. Assess phonics skills.

Fun with Phonemic Awareness

 

I have really come to enjoy teaching phonemic awareness.  It provides such an opportunity to be silly with the kids!  Since I primarily teach reading in small groups, phonemic awareness is a quick part of our daily routine.  For the past few years I have really been into the fractured nursery rhymes (is that what you would call them?)  They are poems that go to the tune of the nursery rhyme but may have some different verses.

My firsties think they are so funny!!  And are always asking for more.  I even try to get them to make up new ones as a group.  

I use these rhymes in so many different ways depending on what they group needs.  It may be rhyming or maybe onset/rime or maybe segmenting sounds.  But I use these rhymes as the tool to hit any of those skills.

These are some of my favorite nursery rhyme books right now.

 Do you have any favorite nursery rhyme books that you can suggest?
Please link up below with your fun Phonemic Awareness or Phonics ideas.