Partner Poems & Word Ladders for Building Foundational Literacy Skills: Grades K-2

by David L. Harrison, Timothy V. Rasinski, Mary Jo Fresch

Overview

Young learners can’t help but feel motivated when they’re reading a funny short poem or story with a partner. Follow this up with skill-building word ladders that focus on phonics and vocabulary, plus an engaging language arts mini-lesson on reading, writing, or word study, and you’ve got a comprehensive, strategic approach to teaching early literacy skills. This book provides essential practice in reading and writing the top phonograms that are most appropriate for young students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338792904
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,106,582
Product dimensions:	8.38(w) x 10.88(h) x (d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

I was four when I memorized and recited on stage the Gettysburg Address, six when I began writing poems, eight and nine when I lived on a farm. What an author writes comes from the experiences of a lifetime. The Missouri boy who filled his room with snake skins, insects, turtle shells, fossils, and books grew up to be a public speaker, a scientist, and an author of stories and poems, often about nature. I liked school so school shows up in my books, too, particularly the humorous ones such as Somebody Catch My Homework. My education and background in science prepared me to research and write my own series of Earth science books called Earthworks.

Making up poems in first grade set me on a path that eventually led to Bernice Cullinan at New York University with whom I wrote a Teaching Strategies book called Easy Poetry Lessons That Dazzle And Delight. This book is meant for those who want to teach poetry in elementary school but need help getting started. I wrote a follow-up book with third grade teacher Kathy Holderith of Littleton, Colorado about using poetry as a teaching tool. That one is called Using the Power of Poetry to Teach Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and More.

I believe that writing, like reading, should begin as a fun activity. That”s why I wrote Writing Stories to help students improve their writing skills. In it I offer students twenty-five “secrets” to help them write better fiction. Acting as their personal guide, I share my own discoveries about creating ideas, getting started, making time to write, and all the tricks of putting the elements of a story together. Children”s authors have a unique opportunity to share what we”ve learned about writing with teachers and students. In Writing Stories, I show students the value of revising and rewriting and dedicate one entire chapter to the art of ending a story well.

After more than sixty published books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, I have lots of stories to tell kids about where my ideas come from and how they turn into books. Some of my poems have been set to music so during school presentations I”ve been known to break into song. When I”m not traveling to conferences or schools, I write seven hours a day six days a week.

My four best sellers together have sold more than four million copies. My books have won the Christopher Medal, Kids” Choice picks, Bank Street Book of the Year selection, Kentucky Blue Grass nomination, Best Book for Young Adults nomination, and Michigan Reading Association Readers” Choice list. One of my poems — “My Book” — is sandblasted into the sidewalk in Phoenix at the Central Library”s Children”s Garden. It was selected because it catches the excitement of reading. I”m proud of that. Not many can claim to published in concrete.

David Harrison currently lives in Springfield, Missouri.

Timothy Rasinski is a professor of Literacy Education at Kent State University and director of its award-winning reading clinic. He has written more than 200 articles and has authored, co-authored, or edited more than 50 books or curriculum programs on reading education. He is author of the best-selling books The Fluent Reader, The Megabook of Fluency, and the Daily Word Ladder series. His scholarly interests include reading fluency, word study, and striving readers. He taught for several years as an elementary and middle grade classroom and reading intervention teacher.

Dr. Mary Jo Fresch is an Academy Professor and Professor Emerita in the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. She began her teaching career as a 3rd-grade teacher in Kent, Ohio; worked with adults with challenging literacy needs at the University of Akron; and spent the last 30 years teaching a range of literacy methods courses for pre-service and in-service teachers at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), The Royal Melbourne Institute and Deakin University (both in Melbourne, Australia) and The Ohio State University. Mary Jo’s research focuses on the developmental aspects of literacy learning. Her articles appear in peer reviewed research journals. Her previous 20 professional books include Essentials Strategies for Effective Balanced Literacy (Shell), Learning Through Poetry (Shell; a five book series for developing phonemic and phonological awareness), 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success (Scholastic), and Empowering Students’ Knowledge of Vocabulary (NCTE). Mary Jo speaks nationally and internationally about literacy related topics and provides professional learning workshops for teachers across the United States.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Meet the Authors 6

What's in This Book 8

How to Use This Book 9

The 26 Phonograms

-ab

Partner Poem: Stop the Gab 12

Word Ladders 1 and 2 13

Mini-Lesson: Phonogram Grab Bag 15

-ack

Partner Poem: I Love My Yak 16

Word Ladders 1 and 2 17

Mini-Lesson: Noun, Verb, Adjective 19

-ag

Partner Poem: You Need a Bag 20

Word Ladders 1 and 2 21

Mini-Lesson: Sequencing Cumulative Events 23

-am

Partner Poem: Run, Meg, Run! 24

Word Ladders land 2 25

Mini-Lesson: Alphabetical Order 27

-an

Partner Poem: Fix the Fan 28

Word Ladders 1 and 2 29

Mini-Lesson: Fortunately, Unfortunately 31

-ank

Partner Poem: The Sea of Rank 32

Word Ladders 1 and 2 33

Mini-Lesson: Word Wheel 35

-ap

Partner Poem: What Do You Do? 36

Word Ladders 1 and 2 38

Mini-Lesson: Bingo 40

-at

Partner Poem: The Gnat's Hat 41

Word Ladders 1 and 2 42

Mini-Lesson: Dramatize the Poem 44

-ay

Partner Poem: The Missing Donkey 45

Word Ladders 1 and 2 47

Mini-Lesson: Sorting Words 49

-ed

Partner Poem: Lazy Fred 50

Word Ladders 1 and 2 51

Mini-Lesson: Sequence of Events 53

-ill

Partner Poem: Our Hero Jill 54

Word Ladders 1 and 2 55

Mini-Lesson: Fill the Bucket 57

-im

Partner Poem: Dim, Grim Jim 58

Word Ladders 1 and 2 60

Mini-Lesson: Retelling a Story 62

-in

Partner Poem: Identical Twins? 63

Word Ladders 1 and 2 64

Mini-Lesson: Word Dominoes 66

-ing

Partner Poem: If I Were the King 67

Word Ladders 1 and 2 69

Mini-Lesson: If … Then Statements 71

-ink

Partner Poem: Shrinking Marbles 72

Word Ladders 1 and 2 74

Mini-Lesson: Link the Phonogram 76

-ip

Partner Poem: But Can He Sip? 77

Word Ladders 1 and 2 79

Mini-Lesson: Flip Book 81

-it

Partner Poem: A Hissy Fit 82

Word Ladders 1 and 2 83

Mini-Lesson: Mix It Up! Pass It On! 85

-ob

Partner Poem: Rob and Bob 86

Word Ladders 1 and 2 87

Mini-Lesson: Synonyms 89

-op

Partner Poem: Stop! Stop! 90

Word Ladders 1 and 2 91

Mini-Lesson: Words Battleship 93

-Ot

Partner Poem: Little Scott 94

Word Ladders 1 and 2 95

Mini-Lesson: Hop to the Spot 97

-uck

Partner Poem: Every Word Is True 98

Word Ladders 1 and 2 99

Mini-Lesson: Lucky Match 101

-ug

Partner Poem: A Bad Bug Dream 102

Word Ladders 1 and 2 103

Mini-Lesson: Bug Out! 105

-um

Partner Poem: Early in the Morning 106

Word Ladders 1 and 2 107

Mini-Lesson: Number Circles 109

-ump

Partner Poem: Did You Hear That? 110

Word Ladders 1 and 2 111

Mini-Lesson: Web a Word 113

-unk

Partner Poem: Deep in the Woods 114

Word Ladders 1 and 2 116

Mini-Lesson: Tic-Tac-Toe 118

-y

Partner Poem: Shoo, Fly! 119

Word Ladders 1 and 2 120

Mini-Lesson: I Spy 122

References 123

Word Ladder Template 124

Consonant Letter and Cluster Cards 125

Answer Key 128