1. During a shared reading experience, sit close to the students to read a poem, rhyme, song, or story written in large-text format and illustrated with a strong match between pictures and text. (A big book is an example of such a text.) Before beginning to read, ask students to predict what they think the text will be about by looking at the cover and title page pictures. Read a portion of the text and ask students if any of their predictions have come true. During the reading of the text, stop once or twice at an appropriate story point to lead students to confirm or modify previous predictions and make new ones based on the reading and pictures.
2. Involve students in choral speaking and echo reading of familiar poems, songs, rhymes, or chants. In choral speaking, students recite a selection together, either as a class or in small groups. The lines may be divided so that several students speak one line and then the whole class speaks a set of lines. Coach tempo (how fast or slow to read the lines), rhythm (which words to stress or say the loudest), pitch (when to raise or lower the voice), and juncture (when to pause and how long to pause). Discuss with students the decisions about the oral speaking of a selection and have them explain why they are making the choices they are. The same considerations should be made when students are involved in echo reading. In echo reading you take the lead and model how a line of text is read; students “echo” the reading.
3. Create simple props that support acting out the book, nursery rhyme, or fairy tale that the class is studying. Discuss the props as a class. Divide the class into small groups and give each group a set of props. Have students work together to retell the story through drama. Place props in the pretend area of the class so students may repeatedly act out the story. This activity may be done with puppets acting out the story.
4. When revisiting a shared reading text, students decide on sounds (to be made vocally, with simple musical instruments, or with found objects) and/or motions that represent key parts of the text selection. Students may work with motions and sounds as an entire class, or they may be grouped and assigned to be in charge of specific scenes. Students practice and experiment with ideas and interpretations. Then conduct a reading of the text with students participating on cue.
5. Read a familiar nursery rhyme or predictable text. Then tell the students you are going to read the selection again. This time you will leave out a rhyming word. (Cover the word with a post-it.) Their job is to supply the missing word. Prompt: What word is next? (g. and h.)
6. Read stories that have rhyming words. Draw students’ attention to the words that rhyme. Help the students to identify the patterns made by the rhyme, (i.e., which last two sounds are the same).
7. Make up rhymes or use rhymes in a book. Leave rhyming words at the end of a phrase blank. Students select rhyming words that make sense to finish the rhyme.
8. Record on chart paper, a language experience text based on a common class activity. (A language experience text is one that the class composes, and the teacher records.) As students contribute ideas, write them. Write each new sentence on a separate line. As each sentence is written, identify it as a sentence. As you record the students’ sentences, also periodically identify single words. For example, you might say, “Now, I’m going to write the word duck.” or ask, “What word goes next?”
9. Use picture cards for rhyming activities that emphasize the concept of word. For example, when students are shown picture cards of a bat, a cat, and a ball, ask them, “Two of these words rhyme, one does not rhyme. Can you tell me which word does not rhyme with the other words.”
10. After students are familiar with a big book selection because they have listened to it read several times and they have interacted with the text by acting it out, drawing pictures, doing a choral reading, etc., read the text again. This time let the students know that you are going to read it one sentence at a time and that you are going to clap each time you read a word. Model the activity. Then invite students to repeat the sentence with you and clap for each word.
Special thanks for the above learning experiences provided by Lynchburg City, Bedford, Appomattox and Pittsylvania Counties in conjunction with the VA Department of Education.