6th Grade Reading Strategies

 

 

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Comprehends in Context

How to Teach Reading Lesson Plans: Uses the process of word analysis/decoding to identify and comprehend words in context.

1) Utilizes prior knowledge
· Have the students create KWL charts.
· Use the cloze process. The teacher will provide a list of sentences for the students to determine the missing word in each sentence (e.g., The sun did not today because it was cloudy.). Have students fill in missing words and save as part of electronic student portfolio. See Technology Resource Guide for information on electronic student portfolio.

2) Decodes unknown words using the three-cueing system (e.g., semantics/contexts meaning, syntax/sentence structure, graphophonic/sound-symbol correspondence)
· Provide the students with a list of words. The students will determine which letters produce the “schwa” sound (e.g., telephone, lemon—graphophonic).
· Demonstrate the parts of speech in a sentence through color-coding, illustrations, or sentence diagrams (syntax).
· Have the students read an unfamiliar paragraph with new words underlined. The students will select correct meaning from definitions provided.
· Write an unfamiliar paragraph on the board and read, pausing after each sentence. The students will hold up a word card from a given stack that completes the sentence.
· Assist the student in decoding unknown words by using the syntactical grammar structure cues through grammatical questioning techniques that utilize sentence patterns.

n n v n
Example: Howie and Sue drove the buses.

Questions: What happened in this sentence? (drove)
Who drove? (Howie and Sue)
What did they drive? (buses)

3) Uses word patterns to correctly spell words in context
· Pronounce a Word. The students will hold up the correct vowel combination card and pronounce the vowel combination (e.g., ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, oa, ow, ou).

4) Extend word patterns (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, inflectional ending)
· Have the students find prefixes and suffixes from a story/newspaper and make new sentences using these words.
· Provide the students with a list of root words and let them work in small groups. The students will produce a class chart listing root words and all added prefixes and suffixes.

Example:

38 Phonograms

V-C/V-C-C V-C-e/V-V0C Diphtongs, r-controlled, others
a at, am, ag, ack, ank, ap, an, ab ay, ail, ain, ake
e ell, est, ed eed ew
i ill, ip, ick, ing, in, ink, im ine ight
o ot, op, ob, ock out, ow, ore
u unk, ug, uck, um
y y

Adapted from CIERA from the National Reading Summit

4) Uses synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms
· Write antonyms on two sets of cards. The students find the matching pairs and make sentences for the words.
· Have the students play Antonym Baseball. The students get one point for each antonym they can name when its opposite is “pitched” to them. They must use it in a sentence.
· Present a sentence orally. Have the students replace a given word with its synonym as they repeat the sentence (e.g., The vase is big. The vase is large.).
· Have the students read a phrase. The students will guess the rhyming synonym. For example:

Phrase Rhyming Synonym
ill heninsect’s trousersfat newlywed sick chickant’s pantswide bride

· Provide the students with a stack of homonym word cards. The students will hold up the correct homonym card after the teacher reads the sentence from the board.
· Have the students use a thesaurus to locate synonyms for any specific word.
· Use electonic/online resources to locate examples of synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms.

5) Uses multiple meanings of words/homographs
· Have the students use a list of homographs to develop sentences that express the different meanings of homographs. For example:

Duck The duck is yellow.
You must duck to go under the rope.

· Have the students use a list of homographs to develop silly sayings.
· Use graphics/drawing tool to illustrate words/silly sayings. .

6) Interprets the meaning of contractions and possessives
· Have students make cards with the contraction form (e.g., I’m) on one side and the regular form (e.g., I am) on the other side. The students draw a card and use the contracted form in a sentence.
· Attach two pockets to an empty tissue box. Label one pocket “possessives” and label the other pocket “contractions.” Place a supply of tagboard strips in which you have underlined the possessive or contraction in the box. The students will pull out the strips and place each one in the correct pocket.

7) Utilizes figurative language/sound devices (e.g., rhyming, alliteration, onomatopoeia)
· Put humorous magazine and newspaper clippings in a folder. The student will choose a clipping to write a limerick using a specific rhyming and syllable pattern.
· Use writing/publishing tool to have small groups create a booklet of limericks to share with others. .

8) Identifies/spells frequently-used words correctly
· Have the students use beans with letters printed on each bean, (upper and lower case), to form spelling words that the teacher reads in context.
· Have the student write and illustrate spelling words. Use a graphics/drawing tool to illustrate spelling words. .
· Create a word-search puzzle using frequently-used words in the context of a current story. After reading the story, the students will locate the vocabulary words in the puzzle. See Technology Resource Guide for online resources.
· Have the students write a paragraph daily on a favorite subject. Use writing/publishing tool program to keep a personal journal. .