One of my favorite things to do when I volunteer at school is to read with kids. I think it’s one of the simplest and most meaningful ways teachers can use classroom volunteers.
I designed Speedy Reading Review as a reading activity to use with my second and fourth grade sons. I wanted a way for them to quickly review important reading skills at home. The “reading journey” concept is memorable, so it helps them apply the idea as they read independently: Slowing down to pay attention to important details, looking for signs that provide important information, inferring if no clear “signs” are present, and watching for (and avoiding) reading potholes.
I realized that Speedy Reading Review could also be a helpful resource for classroom volunteers to use when they read with kids, or even for whole group instruction in the classroom.
Students practice using pre-reading strategies, noting their thinking as they read, gathering key details, and understanding the text through inferential and interpretive thinking. Kids can use it with small passages as they read, or at the end of a story as a way to process the information.
This resource includes the following:
- Directions for parent volunteers and materials list
- Directions for Your Reading Road Trip pages to guide students through each step. (These can be photocopied or placed in a page protector to use with a water-soluble marker.)
- Map Your Reading page
- Reading Potholes reflection page
- Posters to use to pre-teach the procedure in class
If you’re a parent looking for a way to review reading skills at home, or if you’re a teacher looking for a new activity for your classroom volunteers to use when they read with kids, you can download Speedy Reading Review right here!
Happy reading!