This document provides a school-wide lesson plan to help struggling readers at all grade levels. The lesson teaches students to become "language detectives" by having them identify and create posters about word patterns, such as rhyming words, prefixes, suffixes, and irregular plurals. Students will analyze words that fit the patterns and strengthen their decoding, vocabulary and comprehension skills. The lesson incorporates choice, visuals, technology, and opportunities for students to share their work and provide peer feedback to increase engagement. Formative and summative assessments are used to evaluate students' understanding and application of word patterns.

1. Collaboration and Improvement
Brooke Brown
American College of Education
LIT5203 Strengthening Literacy
August 7, 2016

2. School-wide Literacy Need
• The first grade students at Frederick
Douglass Elementary School had a
71% pass rate on the end of year
reading assessment.
• All 33 students who did not meet the
reading benchmark received additional
reading services throughout the school
year from specialized staff members.
• Currently there is NO additional
intervention model or strategies
available for teachers to assess when
the county program is not effective.
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3. Research Summary
• The Language Magazine (2014) composed an article highlighting various
reading experts’ tips for succeeding with all readers.
• Dr. Sandra Iversen provided the following suggestions:
• All essential reading elements, phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension,
vocabulary, and fluency should be present from the very beginning
• Talking and writing should be part of every teachers’ daily reading instruction
• Students should be provided with multiple opportunities for learning the same skills in
different contexts.
• Judith Holbrook stated that…
• students need repeated exposure to the same text over multiple days in order to build
essential reading skills.
• using the “key word” method when teaching students how to summarize texts. The “key
word” method requires students to use five or six key words to write three or four
sentences using those key words in order to write a concise summary.
• Cathy Puett Miller encourages teachers to…
• create a classroom environment that not only encourages skill development but also the
behavior of reading.
• be purposeful, personal, periodic and regular, and partner inside and outside your school.
• Patti Rommel suggested using graphic organizers to help students focus on
essential information and enhance comprehension.

4. Research Summary
• In the article “Helping Reluctant Readers,”
McCormick and Segal (2016) provide
strategies for helping reluctant readers when
they encounter text across the curriculum.
• Students who experience low achievement in
reading will disengage when faced with reading in
other content areas.
• In order for students to be more successful
teachers can develop students’ prior knowledge,
teach important vocabulary, and make connections
from the topic to real life.
• Teachers can also modify the text for the reader by
making the text easier to read and chunking the
text. By chunking the reading selection, the text
can be segmenting into manageable sections,
making the concepts more accessible to the reader.
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5. Research Summary
• Latham (2014) identifies several challenges readers may encounter that
causes them to struggle and provides teaching considerations for each
challenge.
• Teachers need to determine why a learner may be struggling to read and then
provide appropriate support by building on the existing reading strengths that
the student already possesses.
• Schematic knowledge may cause some readers to struggle with the text because
of the technical language present in the reading. Teachers can assist students in
making connections to their prior knowledge before reading the text.
• Students may have difficulty decoding and teachers can provide opportunities
for students to become language detectives when examining rhyming words,
unusual plurals, and prefixes or suffixes.
• Teachers need to look for physical impairments that may hinder a student’s
reading success and be aware of any disruptive environmental conditions that
could hinder students.
• Using text that contains emotionally charged content or has a structure of text
that is difficult. She suggests modeling and teaching students how to choose a
“Just Right” book.

6. Research Summary
• Burns (2015) states that a one-size-fits-all
approach to education does not work for every
child.
• She states that left-brain activity is often
underdeveloped in struggling readers and there are
ways that teachers can aid struggling readers at a
neurological level.
• Teachers can check for discrimination of similar
sounds, provide instruction that is intense,
motivating, and frequent, and engage in vocabulary
activities from an early age. Research has shown that
student who are exposed to more words as young
children have greater pre-reading skills when they
begin school.
• Teachers can also provide opportunities for students
to work on listening accuracy, auditory sequencing,
and phonological memory. Burns (2015) suggests
using the intervention program Fast ForWord, which
emphasizes these skills.
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7. Research Summary
• In the article “Seven Ways to Help
Struggling Readers,” Meyer (2016)
provides strategies used to help students
achieve substantial reading gains.
• Teachers should seek out research-based
interventions such as Fast ForWord and
Reading Assistant and target the root
cause of student’s reading difficulties.
• Educators need to empower students with
a dedicated teacher and a blended learning
approach.
• One-on-one support to strengthen fluency
and comprehension is needed and students
need opportunities to write every day.
• Teachers need to accelerate student
progress with real-time data and students’
progress needs to be evaluated using
multiple measures.
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8. School-wide Lesson Plan
• Lesson Title: Becoming a Language Detective-Finding the patterns in words.
• Overview: Students at any grade level can become a language detective and find
the patterns in words whether they are rhyming words, irregular plurals, or
prefixes or suffixes. Building students’ knowledge of word patterns will enable
them to better decode unknown words and strengthen vocabulary knowledge,
which can lead to better comprehension skills (Bromley, 2007).
• Standards:
• K.7 The student will develop an understanding of basic phonetic principles.
• 1.6 The student will apply phonetic principles to read and spell.
• 2.5 The student will use phonetic strategies when reading and spelling.
• 3.3 The student will apply word-analysis skills when reading.
• 4.4 The student will expand vocabulary when reading.
• 5.4 The student will expand vocabulary when reading.

9. School-wide Lesson Plan
• Objectives/Learning Outcomes: Students will
create a poster that identifies a specific word
pattern that addresses their current academic level.
Posters may include writing, drawing, a
combination of both, or technology.
• Materials, Resources, and Technology:
Students will have various materials available to
choose from in order to create their poster.
Materials include markers, crayons, different
colored construction paper, pencils, pens, colored
pencils, poster board, rulers, and magazines.
Available resources would include dictionaries,
thesaurus, quick words, classroom posters,
phonics poems, The Word Spy, and story books.
Several technology programs such as Pixie,
PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, online dictionary
and thesaurus websites are available for student
access.

10. Instructional Strategies
• Instructional Strategy 1: Students will become language detectives and work
to identify patterns in words (Latham, 2014). Students may use available
classroom resources to identify words that fit the word pattern that they selected
from a set of word patterns provide by the classroom teacher. Learning various
word patterns will increases students’ knowledge of words and enable them to
make connections to new words.
• Instructional Strategy 2: Students will investigate the meaning of words they
encounter that they do not know the meaning of and the teacher will aid students
in making connections to other words to help build from the known to the new.
Bromley (2007) states that words are learned because of associations that
connect the new with the known and direct instruction in vocabulary influences
reading comprehension more than any other factor.
• Instructional Strategy 3: The teacher will chose several word patterns that
address the appropriate ability levels of the students. Students will be given the
opportunity to choose their own word pattern to investigate and choose their
mode of presenting their information. In the article titled “Help for Every
Struggling Reader,” by Language Magazine (2014) Cathy Puett Miller suggests
that teachers tap into student motivation and by giving the students choices in
their learning process it increases student engagement and strengthens
motivation to learn.

11. Instructional Strategies
• Instructional Strategy 4: Students will be able to analyze word patterns
and observe other students word patterns in order to increase their
decoding skills. Students will be given opportunities to read books in
guided reading that will enable them to apply what they have learned
about various word patterns. According to Rasinski, Rupley, and Nichols
(2008), phonics and reading fluency have been identified as two critical
components in early elementary reading instruction.
• Instructional Strategy 5: After students gather a list of words that
meets their identified word pattern they will be expected to create a
visual poster that presents their information. Some students may choose
to use words, drawings, or the computer to organize their information. At
the younger levels students may rely heavily on drawings and
illustrations due to a lack of strong writing skills. Mackenzie and
Veresov (2013) state that drawing should be a valued and critical
element of early writing curriculum.

12. School-wide Lesson Plan
• Student Groupings: Students will be grouped based on their individual
ability levels and the teacher will provide suggested word patterns based
on their current spelling and reading levels.
• Students may work individually while the teacher works with small groups of
students who may experience difficulty beginning the assignment or require
extra assistance.
• The teacher will monitor student work and check in with students periodically
throughout the assignment.
• This project will take several days and will be segmented into various tasks
• Additional time will be provided to those students who require it.
• Presentation: Students will share their presentations with their
classmates.
• Presentations will be spread out over several days in order to sustain student
attention.
• Students will also use their presentations to create a class book of word patterns
that will be available for students to read.
• Posters will then be displayed in the hallway for other students and staff
members to view.

13. Assessment/Evaluation
• Formative assessment will take place throughout the lesson to
monitor student understanding and guide future instruction.
• Students will be given a summative grade on their presentation at
the conclusion of the assignment.
• Grading criteria will vary based on the word pattern that the
student is investigating.
• Prior to beginning the assignment the teacher will review the
grading criteria with the students so that there is a clear
understanding of what is expected.
• Students will also be expected to apply their word pattern when
they are decoding words in guided reading. Reading application
will be assessed by teacher observation and anecdotal notes during
guided reading.
• Feedback will be provided in a one-on-one format with the teacher
conferencing with the student.

14. Closure/Reflection
• After each presentation students will reflect on what they learned and share any
connections that they were able to form.
• When all students have shared their posters they will use the presentation
information to create a class book of word patterns that will be available to read
during independent reading time.
• Students will also be asked to self-reflect on the lesson and identify what went
well, what was difficult, and what adjustments they might have needed to make
throughout the lesson.
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15. Survey Questions
• 1. Do you feel this lesson addresses reading needs at all grade levels?
• 2. What strategy do you feel is most effective?
• 3. Is there any additional strategies that you would suggest using
during the lesson?
• 4. Do you have any questions or concerns about the lesson?
• 5. What changes, if any, would you make to the lesson?

16. References
• Bromley, K. (2007). Nine things every teacher should know about words and vocabulary instruction.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(7), 528-536.
• Burns, M. (2015, February). Inside the brain of a struggling reader. Why a one- size-fits-all approach does
not work for every child. District Administration, 51(2), 60.
• Carpenter, J. P. (2016, May). Teachers at the wheel. New modes of professional learning put educators in
the driver’s seat. Educational Leadership, 73(8), 30-35.
• Language Magazine. (2014, April). 13(8), 24-27.
• Lathan, G. (2014, October). Struggling readers: A complex label. Practically Primary, 19(3), 33-35.
• McCormick, M. K., & Segal, P. H. (2016). Helping reluctant readers. The Science Teacher, 83(4), 41-45.
• Meyer, C. (2016). Seven ways to help struggling readers. Principal, 95(3), 36-37.
• Mackenzie, N., & Veresov, N. (2013, December). How drawing can support writing acquisition: Text
construction in early writing from a Vygotskian perspective. Australian Journal of Early
Childhood, 38(4), 22-29.
• Rasinski, T., Rupley, W. H., Nichols, W. D. (2008). Synergistic Phonics and Fluency Instruction:
The Magic of Rhyming Poetry! The New England Reading Association Journal, 44(1), 9-14.