Word Detectives

(que the spy music!)

Have you heard about our secret missions? We are having loads of fun with our new reading unit - Word Detectives! This unit supports students as they monitor their own reading by locating difficult words, using what they know to try solving those words, and then checking their attempts before either trying again or moving on.  This unit also supports students as they are learning how to increase their bank of high-frequency words-and also use the words they know to help solve unknown words.  As students learn ways to use visual information effectively, they will learn how to apply their phonics knowledge to solve words in continuous text, attending to blends and digraphs, common inflectional endings, syllable breaks, vowel combinations, common spelling patterns, contractions and compound words.  During this unit, first-graders will continually work on developing their fluency skills.

Each day this week we have received a super secret mission to complete......... and so far this is what we have worked on:

1. Word detectives notice when there is a problem and stop to solve it!
2. Word detectives look closely all through the whole word (we used small magnifying glasses during this lesson)
3. Word detectives use everything they know (we referenced our strategies for solving tricky words from the previous unit)

We have also learned a fun, new song to the tune of "Ghostbusters"

Lyrics:

Word Busters!

When there's something strange...
as you read your book...
Whatcha gonna do?
LOOK closely!

When the word is tough...
read from start to end.
Whatcha gonna do?
LOOK closely!

I ain't afraid of no word!