Word Coaching

Flash Fluency Glows and Grows is a debriefing of a student's one-minute reading fluency check during guided reading. It provides immediate feedback to the student about their reading by addressing highlights in their reading as well as skills that still need practicing. This brief feedback session allows teachers to address the immediate needs of not just the student, but potentially that group of students. 

EEKK Think Pair Share is a fun variation on a traditional Think, Pair, Share that is useful for younger students. As an indicator to my students that they must engage in discussion with one another, I will say "Go EEKK," which stands for "elbow, elbow, knee, knee." Students recite the simple chant, “Elbow, elbow, knee, knee” and face each other knee-to-knee in the process to discuss whatever topic I have chosen. The EEKK strategy gives my students a structured way for engaging in collaborative, on-topic academic discourse.

The decoding boards, which are your basic dry erase boards, help students visually see what their brains do as they read which is looking for blends, digraphs, long/short vowels etc. Rather than simply reading off the board, I have students write the words we practice in phonics and write the diacritical marks that support and show them how to decode words along the way that then support their reading.