Early Literacy Instruction Students need to make connections between all areas of literacy. As students learn to read they need opportunities to practice and explore these concepts while making authentic connections. The learner can discover some of these links for himself. The child’s brain is excited to find what it already knows in a different setting.

Word Work and Guided Reading Students are chosen to be in this homogenous group to work on similar skill sets. Word work is based on known letters, words or parts of words that students are comfortable with. Word work is built upon (scaffold) and monitored. Guided reading books are carefully chosen to support the concepts practiced during word work. Students read independently in their guided reading book while the teacher provides support when necessary and documents progress.

Procedures for integrating word work into your small group lesson After assessing students, determine your student population with similar needs to form your group. Choose a letter, digraph, chunk, or word part that your child is familiar with. This will be the base or known part for your child to identify with. Choose words from familiar reading or the second reading from yesterday’s book or yesterday’s writing. Determine the of variations the word that you would like your students to work towards. For example making hat from the known word cat. Make it clear what you want the child to attend to in the word. Build the word in front of the child at eye level letter by letter from left to right. Use magnetic letters. (cut out letters for younger students-tiles older) Model the procedure you would like students to mimic.

Hand the students the letters necessary for creating the desired word. Watch as they practice breaking the words apart. Encourage the pronunciation of the word or sounds as they are manipulating the letters. Remove or set aside the varying sound or word part and hand students the next set of letters necessary for creating a new word from the existing base. Repeat previous procedures of breaking the words. (This can be at the onset, rhyme, syllable, prefix, suffix) Procedures for integrating word work into your small group lesson (con’t) This should be a quick and engaging activity to activate prior knowledge and assist students in making connections. (Suggested number of words, 3)

Application Carefully select a guided reading book that will support the word work that has been done. The books should be at the students’ instructional level and have text that mimics patterns that you have practiced during the word work portion of the small group lesson. Books with supportive familiar text, allows the students to make independent connections and apply what was learned during word work in their reading work. Work to ensure that what is learned in one place is transportable to another place.

Progress Monitoring During the next lesson, continue with another variation of the word work from the previous day or decide to move onto another concept. Always focusing on what the children know and building (scaffolding) from the knowledge they bring to the table. Explicitly make connections for them if they are struggling. Connect the dots from word work to reading work if necessary. Record known words for each child on a daily basis and chart progress on a weekly basis. Re-evaluate your small groups on a regular basis. Make changes to the group dynamics when appropriate.

Skill based groups Students could be reading at different levels but have similar word work needs. Conduct a mini lesson on word work and then students work in their just right books.