1. Ready, Set…Read! Creating a Successful First Reading of the New Book
Presented by
Ann Fry
Michelle Young

2. Set the Mood for Success
Invite them into the book.
Use a friendly, excited voice.

3. Give the Gist
It is important to give them the main idea or the main problem in the story to help them be able to anticipate what is coming as they read.
Somebody, Wants, But, So…*
Macon, Bewell, & Vogt (1991)
*This is used as a great comprehension activity for students, but it is also an easy way for us to get to the gist of the story in many books
When giving this brief introduction, you determine if you want to reveal the ending (the “so…”), or let it be a surprise.
Strategy: Somebody Wanted But So... MacOn, Bewell, & Vogt (1991)
Overview: The strategy Somebody Wanted But So... is used to help students understand plot elements such as conflicts and resolutions. It can be used as a "during reading" or "after reading" strategy. The students complete a chart that identifies the character, the goal of the character, what problems or conflicts that are being faced, and what the resolution of the conflict is.
Procedure:
Model the Somebody Wanted But So... strategy by reading a selection aloud and using a chart with four columns: Somebody (character), Wanted (goal/motivation), But (conflict), So (resolution).
Assign a story, or a chapter of a story, to the class to be read silently.
Working in small groups (of 2 or 3), ask the students to fill in the chart and write a statement using the information from the chart.
Each group shares the statement they have created.
Teacher and class discuss these statements.
The next day, students use the strategy independently.
Example:
The following suggestions have been adapted from the Kylene Beer (2003) book, When Kids Can't Read: What Can Teachers Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Beers has suggested in her book that narrative poems like Shel Silverstein's "I'm Sick and I Cannot Go to School Today" be used for modeling Somebody Wanted But So...
First, after the poem is read aloud, the class discusses who will be the Somebody they want to consider. In this poem, it obviously will be "I," the only character mentioned. Next, the discussion should center around what "I" wanted. One possibility is that this character simply wanted to stay home from school, sick in bed. Then, what caused the problem? But it was not a school day ... it was Saturday. So, "I" recovered immediately and went outside to play.
Next, it is important that when they have finished the chart that a summary sentence using the information on the chart should be written.
When using this strategy with a chapter from a novel, the students should be assigned to fill in the chart using more than one character. However, when they do this, it is important to remind them that each character may have a different point of view.

4. Book Orientation
Give them a purpose for looking at the pictures/reading the story.
Get the children to talk about the book.
Our goal is to teach them to orient themselves and become independent.

5. Set the Students up for Success with Structure
Make the children familiar with:
phrases of language that he might never have heard.
Unusual names and new words.
Familiar words used in an unusual way.

6. Setting them up for Success with Structure (continued)
Give the children opportunities to hear and say new words and structures that he will need to use in the reading.
It is important for struggling readers (and those that do not have good control of the language) that we take the “bugs” out of the book before they try to read it.
The first reading of the new book is not a test. It needs to be a successful reading.
(Marie Clay, Literacy Lessons II, p.91)

7. Predict and Locate Procedure for Predict and Locate:
Have the student say the word.
Say “What letter would you expect to see at the beginning of ___ ?
Have them find it and frame it with their fingers.
Have the child read the word and run their finger under the word as they say it.
As students progress, ask what they would expect to see at the end of the word.
Also, after “What would you expect to see at the beginning?” ask, “what would be after that?” This helps them think about looking past the first letter.

8. Choosing Predict and Locate Words
In lower level books,
Select a word they cannot get to by using the picture and the first letter.
Select a word at the beginning of the sentence (where there are no context clues to help).

9. Choosing Predict and Locate Words (continued)
In higher level books,
Select a word or even a phrase you anticipate will be hard to get to (e.g. “exclaimed, wondered, replied.”)
As they become more competent readers, you may not need to have a predict and locate word.

10. How to choose the strategy to teach during the new book
Our teaching points need to be for strategic behaviors that can help them on any book at any level.
The strategic behaviors on the graph build on one another. As they gain control of one behavior, teach the next one and prompt to that as your focus—this is working in their zone of proximal development.
credit to Jan Henderson, Reading Recovery Teacher Leader, 2007

11. Questions to consider when determining what word work will be most beneficial:
What does this group need in order to move forward in text level, or to problem solve at this level?
What principle of print (see “Some Principles of Print” handout) does this group need to understand and be able to use in order to move forward?
What can I demonstrate during and after reading the new book to support and develop an understanding of this principle?
Credit to Jan Henderson, Reading Recovery Teacher Leader, 2007