Instructional Resources - Reading, Writing, and Communicating
Teaching the Colorado Academic Standards in Reading, Writing, and Communicating is supported through a wide array of free instructional resources. This webpage lists just a few of these resources and will be updated regularly. If you are an educator in Colorado and have suggestions for a great free resource please email Charles Dana Hall. For additional opportunities please check Professional Development.
This page is currently organized by the following topics:
Fluency
Fluent reading is defined as the ability to access text with appropriate rate, accuracy, and prosody. Reading rate refers to the speed at which readers move through text. Accuracy refers to the ability to read without miscues. Finally, prosody is considered a critical component of oral reading fluency. Prosody is the ability to read with appropriate phrasing and intonation. The ability to read with good prosody depends on automatic, accurate word recognition.
Determining Fluency Needs: This PDF include data regarding expected reading rates for children at different grade levels and different times in the year.
Short Patterned Word Phrases Drill: These phrases can be used to help students gain automatic word recognition skills, a critical component of reading fluency.
Phonological awareness
Phonological awareness refers to a person’s ability to recognize component speech sounds that make up spoken words. Essentially, words can be separated in three ways. The easiest is by syllable—rab-bit. A second way involves separating words into onsets (initial consonant[s]) and rime (the vowel and what follows) – cat = C/AT. The third (and most difficult) way to demonstrate phonological awareness is by dividing words into phonemes, or individual sounds – cat = C/A/T. Phonological awareness is essential for learning phonics.
Phonological Awareness Activities: This sequenced set of phonological awareness activities will help teachers scaffold early reading instruction.
Phonological Awareness: This website provides an array of developmentally sequenced phonological awareness activities.
Phonics
Phonics typically refers to study that stresses letters and the sounds they represent. This word is also used to describe reading and/or spelling instruction that teaches sound-symbol correspondences.
Softschools.com - phonics: This website describes a number of phonics-based activities for use in the classroom.
Kidzone - Phonics: This website outlines a number of phonics-based activities and suggestions for instruction.
Comprehension
The RAND Reading Study Group defined reading comprehension as “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language (2002, p. xiii).
Comprehension Frameworks: This part of the Reading Rockets website outlines a number of instructional strategies for improving a student’s ability to make meaning from text.
Virginia DOE – Comprehension Frameworks: This webpage outlines a number of instructional frameworks that have proven to facilitate greater comprehension of text.
Writing
Writing refers to the ability to use the knowledge and structure of language to express ideas through text.
Students should demonstrate increasing sophistication in written expression as they progress through school. Student writing should require the use text-based evidence gleaned from increasingly demanding texts as they move through school. Students advancing through the grades are expected to master the CAS and further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.
Reading Rockets - Writing: This webpage provides teachers with invaluable insights and recommendations to help improve writing instruction and student outcomes.
Read, Write, Think: This comprehensive website provides instructional resources specific to many aspects of literacy development and instruction, including a wide array of suggestions for integrating writing across the curriculum.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the group of words used by or known to a particular people or group of persons. Vocabulary can be sub-divided into many different components (e.g. expressive, receptive, technical, academic –etc.)
Three tiers are used as a way of teaching and assessing vocabulary. A word’s frequency of use, complexity, and meaning determines the tier into which a word falls.
Tier 1—Basic Vocabulary
Tier 2—High Frequency/Multiple Meaning
Tier 3—Domain/Concept Specific
Important Considerations: Rote copying of definitions DOES NOT WORK for long-term word learning!
The following videos provide expert classroom demonstrations of vocabulary instruction at the Kindergarten and 2nd grade levels. Reading researcher and practitioner, Anita Archer stars in these videos.
Vocabulary Instruction - Kindergarten
Vocabulary Instruction - 2nd Grade
Vocabulary: theory, research, and promising practices
Dr. Michael C. McKenna created this ppt to effectively review theories of vocabulary acquisition, highlight a few critical pieces of vocabulary research, and connect to numerous instructional activities.
For website assistance in Reading, Writing, and Communicating, please contact Charles Dana Hall.