Positively Learning: Wishlist Wednesday & Decoding

How do you approach decoding with your readers?

The most obvious answer is practice, practice, and practice! Becoming a confident reader can take time, so I also want reading to be engaging. I truly believe reading unlocks doors for my students and I want them to love reading as much as I do!

Thankfully, there's SO many wonderful choices for children's literature, yet I've still struggled to find the "lowest" leveled books to engage my students who are emergent readers. The wonderful mini-books I've purchased from TPT sellers have saved the day and I use also Reading A-Z frequently. But as easy as these are, my students still just need more (& more) good old-fashioned decoding practice.

A few years ago I discovered the beanie baby reading strategies. I had seen them around, but didn't give them too much thought. Then I got hit with a super-struggling group - it was one of those groups that took every ounce of energy, yet was SO rewarding. The majority started off with "tough" little attitudes and behaviors to match. I truly didn't think the "cute" animals would cut it, but I was running out of ideas!

Oh. My. Goodness!

These little stuffed animals were a GAME-CHANGER!

Imagine my toughies...ready to pick on each other and use less-than-desirable word choices. Did I mention I also had to pick these friends up from recess (read: hot, sweaty, thirsty)? Oh yeah...I didn't have a classroom either, so we used the floor of the computer lab :)

Now picture this same group cuddling Chunky Monkey, Lips the Fish, and their pals. It was PRECIOUS! I went back to Amazon three times just to order additional animals! There was way I was going to lose their interest!

I started creating materials using matching graphics and learned what worked and what didn't with this group and then continued to revise with my future groups.

Fast forward a couple of years...I still consider these decoding strategies my number one "go-to" for small reading groups. This summer I finally searched my computer and bundled them all up together! It feels so good to have all these tried & true activities in ONE place!

Here's the bundle I just uploaded this morning: