Action Plan

Be somebody - who makes everybody - feel like somebody

-Kid President-

What

CVC = constant, vowel, constant (win)
CVCC = constant, vowel, constant, constant (cold)
Students used Elkonin boxes and letter tiles during small reading groups to work on improving their decoding skills. Students were engaged in explicit phonics instruction during whole group reading to practice CVC word recognition, blending, and segmenting, in order to decode words accurately. I was able to meet with students every other day for 15 minutes to receive one-on-one instruction for Elkonin boxes and letter tile practice.

Why

This strategy was chosen because my students needed a manipulative to enhance their ability to decode words at grade level. My students learned best when they can practice using Elkonin boxes and letter tiles. The students used counters as a manipulative to drag each sound they hear into the Elkonin box. For example, if students had the word “win”, they would drag three counters, one for each sound. They dragged one counter for “w”, one for “i”, and the last counter for “n”

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• Students improved their decoding skills, therefore, being able to improve their understanding of blending and segmenting words, which leads to reading fluency. 

• Students have the understanding that individual letters in words represent specific sounds.

• Connected word boxes provides a visual, supportive structure to help students make one to one correspondences with letters and sounds.

How

My goal for my class was to have 80% of my students receive proficiency or higher in word decoding. I recognized learning needs by keeping track of data and where students were at with their decoding skills. This allowed me to have students move up in a book level, stay right where they are, or have them go down a book level to better support their needs. If students were not showing a lot of growth, I met with them individually for a longer period of time. I provided a goal tracking sheet for students to keep them motivated. This will allow me and the student to see how much growth they have made. I kept track of the words they could decode and how well they used their decoding skills during guided reading instruction. The goal tracking sheet coved certain words they could decode. If students were able to decode a word, they could color in the box. They colored in the amount of boxes that matches the amount of times they could decode the word. I gathered how many CVC/CVCC words each student knows and how consistent they were. I also knew which words we need to practice.

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I practiced using words that were at grade level, below grade level, and above grade level, whichever one is appropriate for that student. During the explicit phonics instruction, it reviewed the letters and the sounds, this is when they used the letter tiles. During whole group instruction, it showed how CVC words should be decoded and why it makes sense. 

I had two different types of Elkonin boxes that helped differentiate for each student to meet their needs. I had 3 boxes for CVC words and 4 boxes for CVCC words. I provided support and provided one-on-one support for 15 minutes in the morning, as well as 20 minute whole group instruction. The whole group instruction was first thing in the morning. This was a great time for most of the students to do the talking and ensured they were receiving their best learning. The small group support was held at my front table. I would review how to decode words and performed an "I do, we do, you do" model for the students. This ensured they knew what I was looking for.