Small Group Work
Jump Rope Readers support effective and efficient small group work. Before planning a group, you will want to match students with the right book. To do that, the document titled, “Matching Students to Jump Rope Readers,” explains how to use data from the Phonic Decoding Assessment to match students with books. This document is available on the online resources on Heinemann’s platform, Flight. Or, you can use another decoding inventory to determine what letter-sound correspondences students know and what kind of words they can read. You can also use the scope and sequence in A Guide to the Jump Rope Readers to find a book that will offer students appropriate practice. For most students, this book will simply be one that aligns with the phonics you have recently taught. For some students, it may be a book earlier or later in the scope and sequence, depending on what they already know.
Once you have chosen a Jump Rope Reader, here is a flexible structure you can use for planning small group work:
● Decoding practice
● Encoding practice (if time)
● Introduce the book
● Partner reading
● Brief discussion
The books themselves are a great resource for planning each of these elements. Here is some guidance around that:
Decoding practice—sounds
For early readers, practicing letter-sound correspondences until they can be recognized automatically is important work. Use a deck of cards with recently taught letter-sound correspondences, plus any that remain tricky for students. If helpful, use cards with picture mnemonics initially, but fade these out as students become automatic with specific correspondences. Over time, the deck should feature more and more cards with letters only, because this is closer to the task of recognizing correspondences in print.
Each Jump Rope Reader features a “blue page” at the beginning of the book that lists all the previously introduced letter-sound correspondences. You can use this to create a deck that will align well with a specific book. As students read through the sounds, encourage them to “clip the schwa.” That is, say the sound in a pure, clipped way—make sure they do not add an extra “uh” at the end. So, /r/ not /ruh/, /b/ not /buh/. If you have a kinesthetic gesture for short vowels or other difficult correspondences, encourage students to do the gesture when that card comes up. You can make it a game—“We just learned short O. I’m going to hide that card in our deck. When you find it, do our octopus move!”
Decoding practice—words
Reading words in isolation helps students solidify blending skills and add words to their sight vocabulary; it also gets them ready to read the book. Select eight to ten phonetically regular words from the book you have chosen to read with students. Write the words on cards or on a single page. Choose a majority of words that feature the phonics focus of the selected book, but also choose some mixed review words. For example, if you are planning to read Ana and Pip with students, choose mostly words with short U (the phonics focus of that book), but also choose some review words with other short vowels. Each Jump Rope Reader lists the phonics focus in a white bubble on the back of the book. You can use the words from the “Read it!” activity inside the front cover to find a starting set of words. Then, pick additional words from the narrative text of the book.
Decide whether to read the words “sound-by-sound” or as a whole word. Generally, if students have just learned a letter-sound correspondence, it is helpful to begin with sound-by-sound blending. If students have practiced the correspondence for a couple days, it is helpful to reduce scaffolding and read the word as a whole.
To read words sound-by-sound, point under each letter-sound correspondence while students say the sound chorally. Then, sweep your finger under the word while students read the whole word chorally. As a scaffold, you can add “sound buttons” to your words. There are different ways to do this. Here is one way: A dot underneath a letter means one letter, one sound. A line underneath a letter means two or more letters, one sound (as in sh, tch, ay, ea). A curved line connecting a vowel and a final E indicates a split vowel digraph. For example:
To read words as a whole, point to the start of the word and give students time to whisper-read to themselves. You might ask them to show a thumbs up when they know the word. Then, sweep your finger under the word while students read the whole word chorally.
Encoding practice—sounds
If time allows, encoding practice is a powerful tool that supports both reading and writing. If students are reading a book from Set A, you can begin with encoding practice dictating the sounds in the “Sound it!” section and asking students to write the corresponding letter(s). Many teachers like to use whiteboards, but it may be even more supportive to offer students a scrap of lined paper if your whiteboards are not the lined variety, because this supports proper placement and sizing of letters. As students write, coach their letter formation.
Encoding practice—words
Students reading books from both set A and set B can write words as a warm-up. Dictate –three to five words from the “Read it!” section of the book you have selected and ask students to write the word. As you dictate each word, use it in a sentence. Then, ask students to repeat the word and segment it across their fingers—saying the sounds one at a time and holding up a finger for each sound. As students write, coach their letter formation. When students are done writing a word, show them the correct spelling and ask them to fix up as necessary.
Introduce the book
When introducing a Jump Rope Reader, first lead students in previewing the book and making predictions. Next, share any non-decodable “story words” from the book so that students will be able to recognize them in print. Then, give students something to “read and find out about” related to the main plot of the book. This sequence does three things—it gets students thinking ahead to what might happen, it prepares them for the two or three non-decodable words they will encounter, and it focuses their attention on the most important information in the book. The “Be a Book Buddy” section inside the
front cover of each Jump Rope Reader offers suggested language you can use for this three-part introduction.
Partner reading
Set students up to read either the whole book or part of it with a partner. Reading with a partner offers extra support and it helps students be accountable for reading all the words. Use a “reader-and-coach” routine. There are many ways to do this. Here is one way: Partners take turns being the reader and the coach. The reader reads the words. The coach points under the next word to be read with a craft stick. The coach also helps with tricky words by using the following steps:
● Pause and let your partner try the word.
● If they’re stuck, say, “Sound it out.”
● If they’re still stuck, tell them the word. Then ask, “What’s the word?” so that your partner has a chance to read the word on their own.
● Then, say, “Reread!” to remind your partner to reread that page. This helps them remember what happened and gives them another chance to practice the tricky word.
Partners switch roles when they turn the page. As partners read, you can coach them on their decoding, coach them on their partner work, or ask questions about the book to check for comprehension or to spark thinking. If students are able to sustain partner reading on their own, you can also leave them to the task while you go and work with another group. Set up an expectation for what they will do when they are finished—such as rereading the book or reading another book from their bin.
Brief discussion
When students are done reading the book or the passage, engage them in a brief discussion. Each Jump Rope Reader features discussion questions in the “Talk About” section inside the back cover. You can use these questions or develop your own. A good sequence of questioning is: literal—> inferential—> evaluative/connections. That is, check that students have literally understood the content of the book, then see if they’ve made the necessary inferences. Finally, engage them in thinking critically about the whole book or in connecting the book’s content to their lives or prior knowledge.
Other Ways to Use the Jump Rope Readers
The Jump Rope Readers are a helpful resource for many different reading activities. Here are some ideas:
Partner reading:
Once you have taught a “reader-and-coach” routine, students can use the books for partner reading at other times of the day—not just during your small-group times.
Shared reading:
You can lead shared or choral reading with either your whole class or a medium-sized group of six to ten students. Decide whether you will project one copy of the book for all students to see or whether you will offer individual students or partnerships their own copy of the book. As you lead the
shared reading, pause before certain pages to decode a tricky word or two in isolation. Point to the start of the word and ask students to whisper-read it to themselves, giving a thumbs up when they know the word. Then, sweep your finger under the word as students read it chorally. Also pause every so often for a brief
turn-and-talk about the book. For this, you might draw on the “Talk About” questions or you might design questions of your own.
Warm-up word lists:
As previously mentioned, reading words in isolation is good practice for early readers. After you have developed a word list for a small group, you can give students a copy of that list to reread on their own. This can serve as a warm-up during reading times, or it can be something that students take home.
“Read it!” mini book:
As an alternative to the word list, you can copy the “Read it!” section from several Jump Rope Readers that students have read recently and turn that into a “mini book” that students read as a warm-up or at home.
“Rhyme it!” mini book:
Each Jump Rope Reader also features a “Rhyme it!” section inside the back cover. This section is packed with regular words emphasizing the phonics focus of that book. You can copy the “Rhyme it!” sections to create a mini book of these. Again, this can serve as a warm-up or an at home resource.
“Answer it!” mini book:
In Set B, there is also an “Answer it!” section inside the back cover. This features silly questions that emphasize the book’s phonics focus. This, too, can be turned into a mini book.
Reading games:
Games can be a fun way for students to get more practice, either with a partner or in a small group. The Jump Rope Readers are a terrific resource for many reading games. You can mine the books for decodable words or turn to the “blue page” inside the front cover for a list of irregular (or “temporarily irregular”) high-frequency words that students can practice. (Keeping in mind that you will have taught these high-frequency words to students before handing them the book.) Here are two reading games that many teachers and many students enjoy:
● Kaboom! This game works well for students reading books in either Set A or Set B of the Jump Rope Readers. Write decodable words on craft sticks, drawing words from the “Read it!” section and the narrative text. On some sticks, about –three to four, write “Kaboom!” The goal of this game is to get the most sticks. On their turn, each student must pick one stick. To keep it, they must read the word. A student may pick up as many as three sticks, but if they get one that says “Kaboom!” they must put all the sticks they just got back into the pile. (Not every stick they have, just the ones from that turn.) After a “Kaboom!” stick appears, remove it from the game. Play continues until all the sticks are taken.
● Build it! This game works well when students are reading books late in Set A or early in Set B. Select something like 10 to 15 words from the book with blends or digraphs. On one color index card, write the onset of each word. On another color index card, write the rime. To play, put all the cards face down. The goal is to get the most words. On their turn, a student selects one card of each color and sees whether or not they can make a word. If they can, they keep the word. If they can’t make a word, they keep the cards to see if they can combine them with cards they get on a later turn to make words. Play continues until all the cards are taken.
Book buddies:
Rereading is hugely important for early readers—it builds sight vocabulary, and it also supports fluency and comprehension. One way that many teachers create an authentic opportunity for rereading is by establishing “book buddies” with another classroom at the school—usually with either
older or younger students. Determine a schedule for when the book buddies will visit each other— whatever works for you. When the visit is coming up, ask students to select a favorite Jump Rope Reader to read to their buddy. Then, give them time to practice reading that book aloud several times. During practice times, students might read aloud to themselves, or they might read aloud to a partner, or even a stuffed animal. Getting ready to share a book with a buddy gives students a strong motivation for rereading.
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Need more information on Jump Rope Readers? Download the overview here. For more learning on using decodable texts to help readers apply and extend their phonics knowledge in the classroom, register for this workshop day on Oct 29, 2024.
