Improving Early Literacy Strategies and Activities for Struggling Students (K-3)

by Miller, Wilma H.

• ISBN13: 9780787972899
• ISBN10: 0787972894
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-16
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Improving Early Literacy Strategies and Activities for Struggling Students (K- 3) This practical resource provides teachers with creative strategies, games, and reproducible activity sheets that are designed to help improve literacy skills in struggling K-3 readers. Improving Early Literacy addresses five general areas for improving reading instruction: letter-name knowledge, sight word knowledge, phonics, word structure, contextual analysis, vocabulary knowledge, and comprehension. It also includes reproducible informal assessment devices. Written by Wilma H. Miller, an expert in the field of early literacy, this important book is based on solid research and includes activities, strategies, and hands-on exercises that can be used both in standard and in special education classrooms for either whole class instruction or work with individual students. Improving Early Literacy offers teachers an arsenal of reading strategies for helping struggling emergent readers develop letter-name knowledge, sight word knowledge, phonics, and reading fluency skills. This book provides a comprehensive listing of various strategies incorporated into activities and worksheets and offers a practical introduction to early literacy instruction informal assessment devices based on proven research concepts approaches, strategies, and materials for teaching early literacy skills techniques for developing listening and oral language skills ways to assess and implement letter-name knowledge and sight word knowledge strategies for improving phonic analysis enhancement of structural and contextual analysis ways to expand vocabulary and comprehension techniques for teaching emergent literacy tochildren with special needs

Author Biography

Wilma H. Miller, Ed.D., is professor emeritas of education at Illinois State University in Normal, where she taught undergraduate and graduate students in reading for over thirty years. Prior to that she taught at the University of Wisconsin and was an elementary teacher in Illinois and Arizona. Dr. Miller has published numerous journal articles dealing with reading and has also authored many books in the field, including Reading Comprehension Activities Kit, Complete Reading Disabilities Handbook, and Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading & Writing.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	ix
About the Author	xi
A Practical Introduction to Early Literacy	1	(30)
A Brief Description of Early Literacy	3	(7)
The Rationale for Developing Early Literacy Skills in Early Childhood Programs	10	(1)
Whole Language and Its Place in Early Literacy Instruction	10	(4)
Whole Language and Children Who Have Special Needs	14	(2)
Whole Language and Children Who Have Average Linguistic Skills	16	(4)
Whole Language and Children Who Have Above Average Linguistic Skills	20	(2)
The Language-Experience Approach (LEA) in Early Literacy Programs	22	(3)
The Language-Experience Approach for Children Who Have Special Needs	25	(2)
The Language-Experience Approach for Children with Average Linguistic Skills	27	(1)
The Language-Experience Approach for Children with Above Average Linguistic Skills	28	(3)
Assessment Devices in Early Literacy Programs	31	(76)
Standardized Tests and Their Major Advantages and Limitations	33	(2)
Informal Assessment in Early Literacy Programs	35	(69)
Checklist of Primary-Grade Writing Behaviors	104	(3)
Listening and Oral Language Skills	107	(18)
Listening	109	(5)
Oral Language	114	(1)
Theories of Oral Language Development	114	(3)
Stages of Oral Language Development	117	(8)
Letter-Name and Sight-Word Knowledge	125	(48)
Letter-Name Recognition and Identification	127	(26)
Sight-Word Recognition and Identification	153	(20)
Improving Competency in Phonics	173	(26)
Phonemic Awareness	175	(1)
Phonics	175	(2)
The Most Common Phonic Elements	177	(22)
Improving Ability in Word Structure and Context	199	(32)
Word Structure	201	(16)
Context Clues	217	(14)
Improving Ability in Vocabulary and Comprehension	231	(38)
Types of Meaning Vocabularies and Their Relation to Reading Achievement	233	(9)
Reading Comprehension	242	(27)
Appendix I: Big Book Resources	269	(2)
Appendix II: Predictable Books	271	(4)
Appendix III: Recommended LEA Resources	275	(2)
Appendix IV: For Additional Reading	277	(2)
Appendix V: Chants, Finger Plays, Action Verses, and Recommended Books	279	(8)
Appendix VI: Wordless Books	287	(2)
Appendix VII: The Dolch Basic Sight Words	289	(4)
Appendix VIII: Books for Reviewing Individual Letter Names	293	(6)
Appendix IX: Cooking and Baking Activities to Review Letter Names	299	(4)
Appendix X: Contemporary Easy-to-Read Trade Books	303	(2)
Appendix XI: Further Reading on Phonics	305	(2)
Appendix XII: Trade Books for Improving Phonic Skills in Context	307	(6)
Appendix XIII: Books to Promote Enjoyment of Words	313	(2)
Appendix XIV: Poetry Books for Young Children	315	(2)
Appendix XV: Books for Visual Imagery	317	(2)
Bibliography	319	(8)
Answer Key	327