Monday, October 12, 2020

Halloween Emergent Readers!

In Kindergarten, I always loved kicking off some basic guided reading practice in October. Routines are set, student/teacher relationships have begun to blossom, and we are ready to dip our toes in the water of the deep dive of reading! My school uses the DRA leveled reading assessment to benchmark students. We do no formal oral reading assessment until January. Fall is all basic prepwork of concepts of print, using picture clues, and listening for repeated phrases in pattern books. We slowly start to have students open their eyes to the first letter of the words they are reading so they can begin to rely on the letters in front of them rather than the memory of the repeated phrases or a misinterpreted picture clue.


That's why when I made these Emergent Readers for Halloween I had my students in mind! They are written to be on DRA Levels 1, 2, and 3 - which is perfect for Kindergarten or First Grade in the fall! Plus, with a Halloween theme, who can blame them for wanting to keep reading and get more and more excited for their very spooky day! They are differentiated so that students will have a book right on their level! Ease into reading for the little guys! Just practice tracking print or step it up to picture clues and decoding words here and there. There are four books- three of which come with or without tracking dots depending on the level and skill of your readers. The work is done for you! Just print (and put your copier on staple! It will put one staple on each book! All you'll need to do is cut the pages in half and the books are assembled for you!) and you're all set!


Who I Am on Halloween - DRA Level 1
Sight Words: I, am, a
Follow the picture clues to finish the sentence and practice tracking print! Don't forget to look at the words as you read- many pattern books change pattern on the last page!

I See Candy! - DRA Level 2
Sight Words: I, see, a
Follow the picture clues to read the color words for each candy. Pictures are coloring book so children can color in the candy once they figure out the word. Then it can serve as a picture clue for them in future reads and will help facilitate independent reading. Each pattern ends with Yum! which can be decodable for those readers ready for it.

Who Says Boo? - DRA Level 2.5
Sight Words: A, does, not
More sophisticated patterned sentences, words that require you to look at the first letter (jack-o-lantern, not pumpkin; vampire not Dracula). The pattern changes at the end with a decodable sight word and picture clue to help. Because it focuses on the words does and does not, it's a great transition book to my Thanksgiving Interactive Sight Word Book!



Halloween Decorations - DRA Level 3
Sight Words: said, the, I have, do, you
Sophisticated patterns that change with each page. Quotation marks and commas within the sentences. This book is incredibly similar to the DRA Level 3. Because of that, to keep fidelity with the assessment, I use this for students who are already assessed at a Level 3 or 4 so they can use these in Independent reading. This would be perfect for a beginning First Grader!




Keep you head in the clouds!
-Dianne