Read Carefully
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Answer Questions
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Improve Outloud Reading
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Nab New Words
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Read carefully means that students absolutely need a strong foundation in phonemic awareness and phonics. The RAINforest Reading program focuses heavily and this aspect of reading, because without it students will not be successful readers. There is only so much you can tell from the pictures.
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Students, of course, also need to understand what they read and be able to answer a variety of questions about what they read. The bookmark for the "A" of RAINforest Reading is 2-sided and has questions that focus on fiction and nonfiction books. Students can read more purposefully when they use these bookmarks.
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Children will also want to begin to read with fluency and expression. This bookmark gives the children some strategies for becoming more fluent and expressive readers.
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The idea behind "Nab New Words" is that children are constantly on the lookout for words that they do not know the meaning of. They are encouraged to collect words as if they are treasures. I have my own students write them in a special notebook and challenge themselves to find as many new words as they can daily. We are lucky enough to have a 1-1 iPad program in our school, and each of my students has a link to Storyline Online so that they can listen to actors read stories. They use the closed caption function so that they can see the words as they are read to them. They have learned many new words through this wonderful website. See the link above. I am also starting to write books that will add to the mix. The first one, "Where is My Shoe?" is above.
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