Word-solving strategies can be fun with books like Clifford for President by 
This PDF has 26 pages and is included in the free eMember area. It is also included in the word-solving and reading comprehension strategy pack one. The longer PDF of 170 pages is also located in our free eMember area. Sign-up on this page (just check the free eMembership option to make the payment option disappear).
Skippy Frog Word-solving Strategy Skip it and Go Back to Try Again
This is one of the most frequently used strategies for children. Adults may use this or other strategies without thinking, but for children in the early fluent stage of reading, it may have to be pointed out and practiced. Children who read and just stop when approaching an unknown word do not have the necessary word-solving strategies. This one works very well.
Stretchy Snake encourages children to slowly whisper the sounds in a word to blend them together.
This actually works better than “sound it out.” Isolated sounds that are heard individually do not make words. By whispering slowing and blending the letter sounds, the word may more easily be heard.
Elephant Ears encourages children to listen to see if the sounds match the letters.
Children soon understand when the teacher or parent pretends to have elephant ears, and it means to listen to the letter sounds. Perhaps the child has the wrong “a” sound, or is using a hard “c” instead of a soft one. The sounds must match and make sense. With all these strategies, some children will like a few more than others. This may help for a child who tends to say the first letter of an unknown word and then stop reading. Encourage the child to read all the way through the word to the end.
Fix-up Bear: Does the word sound right, look right, and make sense?
Children may try to read fast to sound grown-up. Teachers tell students good readers make sure a word sounds right, looks right, and makes sense before continuing to read. “Good readers” is what we say to avoid saying, “You should . . . ” to give the child a role model.
Lips the Fish
Lips the Fish is sort of a trick as the child gets his or her lips ready to read. By getting lips ready, the sound is already forming in the reader’s mind. How do they get ready to read? By knowing sounds. But a child may be tired of hearing he or she should sound it out. Teachers and parents may be tired of saying that over and over, as well.
Trying Lion is for when one strategy doesn’t work, try another!
Trying Lion is for when children are figuring out which strategies may be most helpful. When one doesn’t work, another one may be tried until a child has a comfortable set of word-solving strategies.
Trying Lion is for when one strategy doesn’t work, try another!
Trying Lion is for when children are figuring out which strategies may be most helpful. When one doesn’t work, another one may be tried until a child has a comfortable set of word-solving strategies.
Thank you for reading! Carolyn
The popular download Reading Strategies Pack One. See this blog post for more information and photos. This can be downloaded in our free eMember area.
Reading Strategies Pack two is a companion for the free reading strategies pack one, above. This link will open a free demonstration PDF to provide more information and a list of the CCSS addressed. This PDF is included in our premium Amember area.
ABC’s of Reading Comprehension for Pre-K – Grade One — A free developing reading comprehension skills eBook for parents and teachers of young children. It is an instant download at the blog post.
Asking questions is one of several reading comprehension strategies practice in primary grades. This post has a freebie.
Interactive student notebook (ISN) activity page, free instant download PDF opens here reading-strategies-ISN-for-students.
Do you need rubrics? They are wonderful for being observed by the principal or peer coach to help answer the question, “How will you evaluate this lesson?”
The post is about a 40-minute reading strategies professional development video in our premium Amember area by Wise Owl Factory. It has student PDFs and 2 renewal (CEU) units if approved by your school district. More information here.
Free synthesizing as a reading strategy video for professional development for teachers on the blog post. Free student PDF. The video is about four minutes long and has information for teaching students about the synthesizing reading strategy.
Free non-fiction text conventions “workbook” for some writing, drawing, and cut and paste activities on these text features. Download in the free eMember area.
Free printable bookmark of some basic word solving strategies. Very helpful!
Learning to read in Kindergarten and first grade begins with background preparation that parents can do at home, in the car, and even without using books all the time.
The post shares our free grade-two word wall printable. This PDF opens in our free eMember area. It is intended to accompany writing workshop or class writing time.
Text to Text Connections with Knuffle Bunny and Going on a Bear Hunt, free at the blog post.
Inferring discussion guide for A Photographic Fantasy: Stranger in the Woods, by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick, download at the blog post
Text to Text Connections with Knuffle Bunny and Going on a Bear Hunt, free at the blog post.
Free PDF work page and answer key is a free instant download at the blog post.
All the books Wise Owl Factory has made free PDF book companions, novel units, and literature companions. Most will download at the link to the blog post about the book, some will open at this link.
Word-solving strategies can be fun with books like Clifford for President by
