Amy Johnson
Reading Coach
Oxford City Schools

“Independent Strategies”
By Jill Marie Warner
When I get stuck on a word in a book,
There are lots of things I can do.
I can do them all, please, by myself.
I don’t need help from you.

I can look at the picture to get a hint.
Or think what the story is about.
I can “get my mouth ready” to say the first letter,
I kind of “sound it out.”
I can chop the word into smaller parts,
Like on and ing and ly ,

Or find smaller words in compound words
Like raincoat or bumblebee
I can think of words that make sense in that place,
Guess or say “blank” and read on
Until the sentence has reached its end,
Then go back and try these on:

“Does it make sense?”
“Can I say it that way?”
“Does it look right to me?”
Chances are the right word will pop out like the sun
In my mind, can’t you see?

If I’ve thought of and tried out most of these things
And I still do not know what to do,
Then I may turn around and ask
For some help to get me through.

• The Reading Block
• Interpreting DIBELS
• Forming Instructional
Groups using Data
• Interpreting Errors to
Determine
Instructional Needs
• Literacy Stations
• Lesson Plans

20-30 minutes Whole Group
Instruction
Small Group Instruction /
Literacy Stations/
Conferencing
Intervention Block/
SSR/ Library/
Conferencing
Writer’s Workshop
30-45 minutes
30-45 minutes
45-60 minutes

• Follow accountability standards
• Use a research based core curriculum
• Teach five reading components daily
– Phonics
– Phonemic Awareness
– Fluency
– Vocabulary
– Comprehension
(National Reading Panel)

Understanding the Purpose of
Different Programs
Programs are tools that are implemented by teachers to ensure that children learn enough on time.
(Vaughn et al. 2001)
Core
Reading Program
Meeting the needs for most
What is the purpose?
Tier 1- Core
Tier 2- Supplemental
Tier 3- Intervention
Supplemental
Reading Program
Skill specific
Intervention
Reading Program
Meeting the needs for each

• Use progress monitoring to indicate deficits
• Group students according to similar needs
• Use explicit and intensive instruction
• Follow up on instruction
• Meet with at least 2-3 groups per day
– Intensive students meet daily
– Stagger strategic and benchmark students

• Dominie Sentence Dictation
• Dominie Benchmark Assessments
• Dolch Words and Phrases
• STAR Reading
• DIBELS
• Progress monitoring

Why use DIBELS?
To Assess All 5 Components in the
Shortest Amount of Time
Phonological Awareness
Phonemic Awareness
ISF, PSF
Phonics
(Alphabetic Principle)
NWF
Fluency and Accuracy ORF
Vocabulary
Comprehension
WUF
ORF, RTF

Did you know… Did you know…
Students who benchmark in
Phoneme Segmentation at the end of kindergarten will rank at 50 th percentile or greater on the SAT in
3 rd grade.
There is a .91 correlation between fluency (with prosody) and comprehension.
(Harn, 2003)

Interpreting DIBELS (Data Meeting)
• Focus on the goal:
– 80% Low-Risk
– 15% Some-Risk
– 5% At-Risk
• Download and examine the following reports:
– Summary Report
– Histogram
– Box Plot
– Class Report
– Summary of Effectiveness by Class

Progress monitoring
– Intensive students weekly
– Strategic students twice each month
– Benchmark students once each month
– Use research based readability leveled passages (DIBELS,
SRA, QRI)

System of
Meaning
System of
Language
System of
Print
System of
Meaning
 Schema
 Building
Meaning
System of
Language
System of
Print
 Vocabulary  Accuracy
 Automaticity
 Fluency

Using “Errors” to Plan Instruction
Error make/ mask house/ horse need/needed
T/ campfire
T/ helpfulness
Interpretation Strategy
Accuracy
Possible
Automaticity
•Sight words
•Sight phrases
•Chunking
•Context
Clues
•Phonics
•Word building
(affixes, compound words)
•Vocabulary
When Materials
•Small group, stations
•Take home packets
•Invention block
•Sight word cards
•Sight word phrases
•Sight word text
•Affix tools
•Multisyllabic tools
•Chunking tools
•Wright Skills
(phonics text)
•Nonsense word assessment

What is Highly Skilled Instruction?
(Alabama Reading Academy)

• Teacher directed
• Clearly stated
• Avoid phrases such as
“What do you think…” and “What does this letter sound like?”
• Teachers must…
– State objective
– Model expectation
– Scaffold to guided practice
– Promote independence application
(Alabama Reading Academy)

• Extreme focus
• Concentrated
• Energetic
• Emotional
• Teachers must…
– Be persistent
– Be relentless
– Celebrate success
– Increase challenges
– Communicate “You can do this!”
(Alabama Reading Academy)

• Following a progression
 Wright Skills Phonics
Progression
 Skills Trace
• Going from part to whole
 Sound-Word-Phrase-
Sentence-Appropriate
Text-Wide Reading
(Alabama Reading Academy)

• Student materials are aligned with what is being taught (match the purpose)
• At least 90% accuracy (teacher-directed)
• At least 95% accuracy (independent)
(Alabama Reading Academy)

Decodable Text vs.
Predictable Text
• Decodable Text
– Contains words containing previously taught sounds
– No patterns
– No picture clues
– No rhymes
• Predictable Text
– Simple vocabulary
– Contains patterns
– Contains irregular words and words with untaught sounds
– Uses pictures for clues
– Can rhyme

Literacy Stations
“What are the other kids doing?”
Independent
Reading
Fluency
Teacher
Listening
Word
Study
• Data Driven
• Meaningful
• Goal-Oriented
• Ample Practice
– Fluency
– Word Study
– Listening
– Independent Reading

Fluency
Independent
Reading
Teacher
Word
Study
• Observe oral reading
• Ask high level questions
• Make documentary notes (anecdotal records)
Listening

• Supplement to core curriculum
• 90-95% Research based programs (Voyager
Passport)
• Other faculty involvement
(Reading Intervention,
Title I)
• Second block of intervention (Tier 3)
(Vaughn et al. 2001)

 Practice on independent level
 Recreational text
 Accelerated Reader
 Partner reading
 Literature circles
 Reading Response
Journals

 45-60 minutes
Mini-Lesson
Status of Class Report
Independent Writing
Conferencing with Teacher
Peer Conferences
Sharing Time
 Writing Process
 Various Modes
 Non-prompted,
Self-selected

20-30 minutes Whole Group
Instruction
Small Group Instruction /
Literacy Stations/
Conferencing
Intervention Block/
SSR/ Library/
Conferencing
Writer’s Workshop
30-45 minutes
30-45 minutes
45-60 minutes

Professional Book
Recommendations
Reading With Meaning:
Teaching
Comprehension in the
Primary Grades by Debbie Miller
Strategies That Work: Teaching
Comprehension to Enhance
Understanding by Stephanie Harvey ,
Anne Goudvis

Professional Book
Recommendations
• Good-bye Round Robin
: 25 Effective Oral
Reading Strategies by Michael F. Opitz ,
Timothy Rasinski
• The Fluent Reader: Oral
Reading Strategies for
Building Word
Recognition, Fluency, and Comprehension by Timothy V. Rasinski
"Step into any elementary or middle-school classroom around the world and you are likely to see oral reading at some point in the day..."