Individual Word Work Folders for Reading Intervention

During my 30-minute reading intervention time, I have a group of four to six students in need of intense individualized reading instruction. After all, how else are they going to get better at reading without practicing reading? As any reading teacher will tell you, that's much easier said than done. Until now!

I can't wait share with you the easiest way to keep track of your students and their progress on learning new sight words. All you need for each student is a file folder labeled on the inside with the words "Words I Know" on one side and "Words I'm Learning" on the other side, a marker, and 2"x 2" post-it notes (7 to 10). Here's how it works. 

First, listen to each student as they read a fluency passage. While they read, keep track of high frequency words that they know quickly and write them down, one per post-it. These will be suck to the student's Words I'm Learning half of the folder. 

Then, write two or three sight words or high frequency words that the student stumbles over. These are placed into the Words I'm Learning section of their folder.  

Then, each day as part of my small group reading time, I ask students to interact with their words. 

We build sentences. We play "I spy", we pair word families... Anything that I can think of to quickly ask students to touch, move, hold, read, and say their words.  Most of time, we notice patterns in words they hold, and the students begin showing each other patterns, families of words or phonetic rules in each other's words at my reading table. Daily exposure to new words allows these kids to move their words from the side of Words I'm Learning to Words I Know. Then we can pick new words all over again!

 The whole activity takes in between 3 and 5 minutes. I store the folders with my other reading intervention materials so that the students don't lose their words and/or play with them. This is also a great informal assessment grab-and-go for an RTI meeting, parent conference, or team meeting on individual students. Easy and fun!

I hope you'll try out this great strategy for word work. I can't wait to hear all about how you use and modify this to work for your classroom!

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