Running head: EARLY READING COMPREHENSION PLAN 1

Early Reading Comprehension Plan

Tiffany Solis

Grand Canyon University: ELM-305

January 17, 2019

EARLY READING COMPREHENSION PLAN 2

Early Reading Comprehension Plan

Part 1: Vocabulary Development

Alfonso’s goal is “I can identify real-life connections between words and their use”. This

goal is aligned to the Common Core State Standard; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.C

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at home that

are cozy) (CCSS, 2018).

Learning Activity

The learning activity would start with a read aloud story, The Sloth Who Slowed Us

Down by Margaret Wild. This book is available on Epic. Alfonzo would have his IPad open to

the book so that he can track as I read the book aloud. We would complete the book together

stopping to notice interesting words. I would write 3-5 of the interesting words on a chart paper

noting the page in which the word appears. We would then revisit the chart paper and talk about

each word. We will read the sentence the word appears in and then visualize what the word

makes us think. I would do a lot of thinking aloud to provide model for Alfonso. For example,

the word “comfortable” appears on page 25. I would ask Alfonzo to close his eyes and think

about this word. “What do you see when you think of the word “comfortable”?” I would also ask

him questions such as “What are some things at home that are comfortable?” Lastly, we would

write the word on an index card, draw the picture that we thought of during our visualization and

list some items at home that connect to the word. We would repeat this process for the 3-5

interesting words. Alfonso would then add the index cards to his bag to practice.

Explanation of Research-Based Strategies

I decided to utilize the strategy Vocabulary Flood created by Linda Labbo, Mary Love,

and Tammy Ryan. This strategy utilizes a vigorous vocabulary instruction; in which the words
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are not defined up front but are discovered through authentic texts. According to the National

Reading Panel, seeing vocabulary in authentic text produces a robust vocabulary learning

experience that teaches students the skills needed to understand new words in text (2000). I also

utilized the vocabulary strategy for explicit word instruction, building a word bank. According to

Graves, Jule, Graves, & Dewitz having students build word banks can provide the student with

many opportunities to use the new words in their word bank (2010). For example, have the

students read their words and definitions to a classmate. Another option is to have students pull

for their word banks when writing.

Part 2: Reading Comprehension

Alfonso’s goal is “I can make connections between the text and my life” & “I can retell

the story using the sequence first, then, next, next, and last”. This goal is aligned to the Common

Core State Standard; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4

Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses

(CCSS, 2018).

Learning Activity

The learning activity would consist of using storyboards and answering “author and you”

questions. We would start by opening up the story. I would have the class take a minute to look

at the cover and the pictures in the book. I would then ask the class, “what do you think the story

is going to be about?” I would have them share their ideas with their elbow partner. Then I

would have them share their ideas to the class. We would then talk about why we think the story

will be about sloths. I will then ask the students what do they know about sloths. I will have them

share this information with their elbow partners. I will then tell students to think about we now

know about sloths during our reading today. I will explain to the students that we will be making
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a storyboard; what happened first, then, next, next, and last. This will help the students sequence

the events of the story.

Explanation of Research-Based Strategies

During this activity I will facilitate active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive

interaction by utilizing partner talk, See-think-wonder, and visuals. Partner talk allow the

students to collaborate with each other. They get a chance to share their ideas and learn from

each other. By practicing see-think-wonder students have the opportunity to inquire about their

wonders. This helps promote questioning skills; which are useful for reading comprehension.

The research based strategy “asking questions” will promote students to use connections between

what they already know and what they have learned from the text to comprehend the text

(Adler,2001).

Part 3: Rationale

The reading comprehension plan shows alignment between the academic goals, activities,

and research-based strategies because they all align to aid Alfonso in achieving his academic

goals. The reading comprehension plan starts with the academic goals. After knowing the

academic goal, it was a process of looking at Alfonso’s interests and where he is struggling. This

way I could I decide what standards I needed to align to his specific learning goals and what

research-based strategies would be best suited to help Alfonso.

The strategies utilized all help Alfonso with vocabulary and reading comprehension

skills; specifically relating new words and text to his prior knowledge. I wanted to start by

building his vocabulary skills. These skills are a basic building block for reading comprehension.

However, building a vocabulary is a never ending process that adults still utilize. Therefore, it is

important that students can use explicitly taught skills to help build their vocabulary. According
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to Graves, Juel, Graves, & Dewitz, words that are not automatically recognized and understand

can damper reading comprehension skills (2010). With that being said, Alfonso has a hard time

connecting words to real-life context. So, I wanted to use visualizing to help Alfonso think about

the word meaning in his life. What is the first thing he pictures when he thinks of a specific

word.

Furthermore, Alfonso had a similar issue with reading comprehension. He struggled

relating his prior knowledge to new knowledge. Therefore, the strategy “author and you” can be

used to help build connections between what a student already knows and what they will learn

(Adler, 2001). Alfonso also was able to work collaboratively with his classmates to answer

questions about the text and share ideas. This is an important aspect of learning. All the students

will have different background knowledge about a text. So, when they can share with each other

they are helping build the background knowledge of other students in the classroom.

Lastly, utilizing these strategies across all curriculums will help students practice these

skills in a multitude of different settings. Students will begin to understand how they can ask

questions and relate to text during math and science, by providing them with the opportunity to

practice the vocabulary and reading comprehension strategies.

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References

Adler, C.R. (Ed). 2001. Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children

to Read, pp. 49-54. National Institute for Literacy. Retrieved from

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1text.html

Common Core State Standards. (2018). English Language Arts Standards. Retrieved from

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RF/3/

Graves, M. F., Juel, C. F., Graves, B. B., & Dewitz, P. F. (2010). Teaching reading in the 21st

century: Motivating all learners. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Shanahan, T. (2010). The National Reading Panel Report: Practical Advice for Teachers.

Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED489535.pdf