What we do in Title One Reading class...

A typical lesson with 1-2 grade students looks something like this...(this is told from a student's point-of-view)

Fluent Writing Review

Before my 30 minute lesson begins, I get to write some words on the board. I’m learning to write little important words as fast as I can so that I can write them in my stories. It’s fun to write on the board!

Rereading Familiar Books

In every lesson I get to read lots of little books. I get to pick some of my favorite stories that I have read before. This is easy for me. I try to read my book like a story and make it sound like people are talking.

My teacher says, “That’s good reading; that’s how good readers read.”

Rereading yesterday’s New Book and Taking a Running Record

Now I have to read a book all by myself! My teacher will check on me and won’t help me unless I

have a hard problem. If I just can’t figure out a word or I get all mixed up, my teacher will tell me the word or say, “Try that again.” I read this book yesterday. My teacher helped me work hard to figure out the tricky parts. Now I think I can read it pretty good all by myself!

Letter Identification and/or Word Making and Breaking

Sometimes I need to do work on learning about letters or important “chunks” of words. My teacher

knows all about the things I need to learn. I like to move the magnetic letters around on the board;

they help me understand what I am learning.

Writing a Story

Every day I get to think up my own story to write in my writing book. I can write lots of the little words all by myself. My teacher likes my stories and helps me work to figure out how to write some of the words.

We use boxes and I say the word I want to write slowly so I can hear the sounds, and then I write the

letters in the boxes all by myself. I like to read my story when I’m done.

Cut-up Story to be Rearranged

I read the story and my teacher writes it on a long strip of paper. My teacher cuts up my story so I can put it back together. I have to think real hard to get it all back together. Then I have to check myself to see if I got it right. Most of the time I do!

New Book Introduced

I like this part of the lesson best! My teacher picks out a story just for me and tells me what the story is

all about. We look at the pictures and think about what the people and animals say in this book. My

teacher helps me think about some new and important words in my story. Isn’t it fun to hear about the story and look at the beautiful pictures before you read it? I think it helps me read the story too!

New Book Attempted

Now it’s my turn to work hard again, but I like this story and I know my lesson is almost over. When I

come to a hard part my teacher will ask me questions to help me think, or show me what I should try to think about or do. My teacher is trying to teach me all the things that good readers do. If I have to work real hard on this story, we will probably read it again together so I can just think about the story, but I’m not sure there is enough time.