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Attention Teachers !
A Powerful - Powerful Tool
If you are a classroom teacher and
want to give your students a tremendous jump in reading ability at the
start of school, we strongly encourage you to use our Grade Level
Lists to test all your students in a one-on-one situation during the
first week of school. Grade 4 teachers should enlist the help of
assistants or parents and test each student on the Grade 3 words.
Grade 3 teachers should test all students using the Grade 2 Vocabulary
list. Grade 2 teachers should test their students using the Grade 1
list, etc. By doing this, you are identifying critical vocabulary
that your student should have mastered before beginning their current
Grade Level Vocabulary Program (remember, words from a previous grade
list occur with greater frequency in books, and therefore, are more
important to have mastered). It is suggested that you print one copy
(12 pages) of each vocabulary list for each student. While this takes
considerable time (and about a half ream of paper), it keeps things
much more organized and allows for less confusing coding of words
during the testing process. (It is also quite impressive to the
parents in your beginning of the year teacher conference).
Testing Procedure
To test a student, simply sit down at
a table and ask him/her to read the words from the beginning of the
list. If your student is able to read the words easily and without
hesitation, you may wish to save some time and ask them to read only
the “WD” words (Words of the Day). If a child can read these words
correctly, then he/she most likely can read the other words correctly
(since the WD words are typically more difficult). |
When your student reads a word
incorrectly, it is highly beneficial to write the word the child
actually said next to the list word. For example, if the word on the
list is “certain” - and your student said “curtain,” – you should
write down “curtain” directly next to the list word “certain.” This
way they can be practiced together later. You should also record if
your student hesitates on a word. For example, if your student
hesitates 5 seconds on the word “sure,” you should write a 5 next to
the word “sure.” If they hesitate even 2 seconds – you should write a
“2” next to the word.
Follow Up Practice
After completing the testing, write
20-30 list words that you previously marked onto a 4x6 card and tape
to the top right of your student’s desk. (Students love the fact that
they have their very own special set of words). Also, it is very
helpful to include the words that you wrote next to incorrectly read
words. From time to time, ask a student to read the words on their
4x6 card. You can also make a classroom activity of having students
put their words into sentences as well as timing each other on how
fast they can say their words. When mastery of the card words is
reached, you can then tape another card onto their desk with the next
20-30 words. Note: When putting words onto the card it is
recommended that you skip a space between each word. Mastery is
attained when the student can read the list words correctly without
hesitation. As added encouragement, you may wish to set up a reward
for mastery of the words from the list.
For classroom teachers who take the
time to conduct this pre-testing and practice, you’ll be rewarded with
an immediate advancement in student reading level.
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