Explicit Instruction and Feedback

Step 

Explicit Instruction 

Feedback 

1. Select a Story

Set a Purpose: “Here’s where you have a choice of which story you would like to read. There are 12 stories to choose from. You are in charge and can choose the stories in any order.”

2. Key Words

Set a Purpose: “For this step, you will be working on vocabulary skills. When you click on a word, you will see a pop up with the definition which will be read to you. Sometimes there will be a sentence using the word or a picture to go with it. Becoming familiar with these key words will help you understand the story better.”

Guided Practice/Modeling: “Let’s look at the first word together. Read the word to the student. “Have you heard that word before? Tell me what you know about this word already. What else do you notice about this word? Based on the age of the student, point out the parts of the word and/or identify the part of speech.

“When I’m learning a new word, I find it helpful to hear it multiple times. I’m going to read the first word for you this time. When you work on your own, the computer audio will read it to you. It’s important to focus on the audio in order to learn the words and what they mean.”

• Mute the sound and have the student click on the word.
• Pronounce the word and ask the student to repeat the word.
• Read the definition.
• Ask if the student has any questions about the definition and answer their questions.
• If there is a sentence, read it to the student and then ask the student to read it with you.
• If there is a picture, talk with the student about how the picture relates to the word.

“Let’s listen to the next one together.”

• Unmute the sound and have the student click on the word.
• Model attentive listening as the word and definition are read aloud.

“Because I like to hear new words multiple times, I often click them again to hear them repeated. However, we don’t want to take too much time on this step so make sure you only do that for a few words.”

3. Prediction 

Set a Purpose: “Making a prediction helps to get your brain ready to start thinking about what the story is about. That makes the story a little bit easier to understand.”

Guided Practice/Modeling: “When I am making a prediction, I use the title, the picture, and key words to help me think about what I already know about this topic.”

• Talk with the student about the title, picture, and key words.
• Ask them what they know about the topic.
• Share what you think the story will be about.

“I know I only have a couple of minutes to write my prediction, so I think of one or two sentences to write.” Decide on a sentence together.

“Then I type my prediction. I read it to see if it makes sense before clicking Next.”

Independent Practice:

Feedback: If you notice (or anticipate) that the student has difficulty typing the prediction, ask them to signal the teacher the next time they get to that step so the teacher can do one of the following options.

The teacher can:

• Type the prediction using the student’s words.
• Provide a notebook where the student can write the prediction. (Note: the student will need to type something—like a period—in the box before the Next button will be enabled.)
• Provide a sentence starter for the student.

4. Cold Timing

Set a Purpose: “The cold timing will help us know how fluently you can read a brand-new story out loud. When you finish reading, we’ll see your score on the graph in blue.”

Feedback: As the student reads the story, quietly remind them to click on words they miss. Eventually, they will be more comfortable noticing and clicking on words they don’t know.

5. Read Along 

Set a Purpose: “The read along step helps us learn to read more fluently, with expression, like we talk. When we read fluently, we understand what we read.”

Guided Practice/Modeling: Read the first few sentences of the story like a robot—no expression, no pauses—or very fast. “Can you easily tell what the story is about/what is happening in the story when I read like that?” Read the same few sentences with expression: pausing at commas and periods and emphasizing important words. “Is it easier to understand when I read it that way? Why?”

Independent Practice: Have the student practice reading the first few sentences with expression.

Feedback: If the student doesn’t pause at periods, remind them that a period is like a stop sign when you’re driving. Have them go back and reread the sentence, then praise them for their efforts.

6. Practice 

Set a Purpose: “The practice step is your chance to practice reading the story fluently on your own, see if you can meet your goal, and learn something new.” Show the student how to find their level and goal at the top of the screen.

Guided Practice: “What do I need to remember when I’m reading? When do I pause?”

Independent Practice: “Now it’s your turn. You’re going to read for one minute and click on the last word you read. Your score for each practice will show up in the box under the image.”

7. Quiz 

Set a Purpose: “The quiz step is your chance to show what you know by answering some questions about the story. You can go back to the story any time to find the answer.”

Guided Practice: “What is this question asking you to do?” Guide the student to the purpose of each question, i.e., main idea, detail, vocabulary, and show them how to go back to the story and find the answer.

“If you want to hear the words, just click on any word in the question and answer and the narrator will read them to you.” Demonstrate clicking on the words to hear them read.

Additional Resources: If students are struggling with a particular type of comprehension question, reference the Comprehension Tips and Comprehension Builder in the Read Live Staff Member Module to see teaching strategies for the different types of questions.

8. Retell 

Set a Purpose: “For this step, you are going to retell or summarize the story so I can see all the things you understand and remember about the story.”

Guided Practice/Modeling: “When I am getting ready to write a retelling, I like to look back at the story one more time. This helps me remember what the story was about, but I can’t just copy from the story—I need to tell it in my own words. Let me show you an example from a student who used to be in my class and did a good job with the retelling.” Show the student a retelling from a previous student that met your expectations. “This retelling starts with the main idea and then includes related details. I have some sentence starters to help you build on the details.” Share the list of sentence starters from the Comprehension Builder available in Read Live or from the Structured Retell Directions, Organizer, and Checklist.

Gradual Release: “Let’s write this retelling together. Tell me your ideas and I will type them. We can discuss the main idea and details as we go.” Work on the retelling together gradually encouraging the student to take more ownership.

Independent Practice: “You did a nice job with the retelling. Do you feel ready to do one on your own?”

Feedback: If you notice (or anticipate) that the student has difficulty typing the retelling, ask them to signal the teacher the next time they get to that step so the teacher can do one of the following options.

The teacher can:

• Type the retelling for the student as the students dictates.
• Provide a notebook where the student can write the retelling. (Note: the student will need to type something—like a period—in the box before the Next button will be enabled.)

Set a Purpose: Think of an age-appropriate activity the student may have practiced—like tying shoes or playing a sport, an instrument, or a video game and use that example in this conversation. “Remember when you were learning to (insert activity)? Did you do it quickly and easily the first time you tried it? Did you need to practice over and over until it became easy and automatic for you? Well, that is what practicing the word list step does. You get to practice the list multiple times in order to reach your goal. As you continue to practice, reading the words will become easier and more automatic. Soon, you won’t have to stop and think about each sound in the word—you’ll be able to read it right away.”

Guided Practice/Modeling: “Let me show you what I mean.” Read the list of words down and across slowly. Then do it again with fewer pauses and more automatically.

Gradual Release: “Let’s read the words together.” (Read the words with the student.) “Nice work! Now, read a few words to me.”

Feedback: When a student says a word incorrectly, ask them to pause for a moment. Slowly pronounce the word by sounding it out. Then, have the student sound out the word with you. Prompt the student to look at the letters in the word as they sound out the word again. Finally, have the student read the word without sounding it out first.

Set a Purpose: “As you learn to read words, you can also start to learn how to spell them so you can use the words in your writing.”

Guided Practice/Modeling: Place a small whiteboard and marker in front of you and the student. “When I am trying to spell a word, I say it very slowly and stretch it out.” Choose a word the student is likely to know and demonstrate. “When words rhyme, I can follow the pattern.” Write additional rhyming words on the whiteboard. “I’m going to say a new word slowly. Tell me the letters in the word and I’ll write them down.” Write down what the student says. “This is the correct spelling of the word.” Write the correct spelling above the previously written word. “Do they match?” If yes… “You got it right!” If no… “Let’s see what’s different and change the first word to match the correct word.” Discuss the changes needed and show how to make the changes.

Gradual Release: Give the student the marker and ask them to spell a few words. Watch for signs the student is ready to do the spelling step independently.

9. Pass 

Set a Purpose: “Now it’s time to pass this story. This is a chance to show your improvement with the number of words you read correctly compared to the cold timing. After I score your hot timing, you’ll see a graph in red that shows how well you did. During this step, we can also see how you did on the quiz and the retell (or word list).”

Guided Practice/Modeling:

“I’ll listen to you read the story for your hot timing. Make sure to read carefully and use your voice to show expression. Remember, we want to make it sound interesting. Before you start, let me show you what I mean.” Read the first and second paragraphs of the story demonstrating careful reading, stopping for punctuation, and reading with vocal inflection. Make one mistake to see if the student notices. “What did you notice while I was reading?” If they noticed the word you missed, praise them for paying attention and catching that. Reassure them that they do not have to be error-free on the hot timing. As long as they have three or fewer errors, read with some expression, meet their goal, and answer the comprehension questions correctly they can pass the story.

Gradual Release: Let’s try something else. “I’ll read a sentence and then you’ll repeat it after me. Try to read every word and use your voice to make what you’re reading sound interesting.” Read a sentence and have the student read the same sentence after you. “Well done! Now you read a sentence, and I’ll repeat after you.” Repeat the sentence after the student reads it. Provide corrective feedback, if needed.

Feedback: Because the errors show up in the first box on the pass timing screen, it is tempting to tell the student how many words they missed. Instead, look at the second box that shows how many words they read correctly and let the student know how many words they got right.

On the pass/review work screen, show the student how they did on each step.