Science of Reading Goals & Awards will be a perfect fit into any early childhood classroom. Do you get excited when your students use a reading strategy you’ve been working on?
I do…I love seeing their “lightbulb” turn on and they feel successful!
Why not give them an award for all of their hard work?!
First, What is the Science of Reading?
Explicit teaching of reading skills is essential in every early childhood classroom. The Science of Reading is the research behind how we can best teach our students how to read. According to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the science of reading is informed by the simple view of reading proposed by psychologists Philip Gough and William Tunmer in 1986. The theory established that one must be able to both decode text and comprehend text in order to read. Psychologist Hollis Scarborough extended this idea by creating the reading rope, which unpacks the two strands even further and shows how they intertwine over time—illustrating that skilled reading requires increasingly automatic word recognition and increasingly strategic language comprehension.
Let’s Focus on a Goal…
I thought it would be most beneficial to have a goal or a few goals for the students to focus on during instruction. This will give the students a clear picture of what they need to work on and keep focused on during learning.
For example, if you have a student that is working on word mapping, they could pick the goal card, “Map My Words”. As their teacher, you would show them how to map words and resources they could use to do this independently. The student can refer to the Goal Tracker to remind them of this goal. If you are teaching in a small group, maybe the entire group has the same goal! The teacher could focus on word mapping strategies with that group and the group could work on it together even when they are not with the teacher. The Science of Reading Goals & Awards is a perfect addition to any early childhood classroom implementing structured literacy.
One Goal or More?
That is up to you! For younger students it may be best to focus on one goal at a time. This gives the student an opportunity to have one focus and not become overwhelmed.
For 2nd graders and higher, they may be ready to focus on more than one goal at a time. For example, maybe “Practice Phonics Skill /er/” and “Read Smoothly”.
Over 20 Goals Included…
- Letter Sounds
- Writing letter
- Say beginning sounds.
- No guessing! Decode words.
- Decode unknown words.
- Decode nonsense words.
- Encode words carefully.
- Map out my words.
- Practice phonics skill:
- Practice vowel sounds
- Practice digraph sounds
- Practice blending sounds…
- Read a decodable book!
- I will stretch out words.
- Divide words into syllables.
- Decode BIG words!
- Be a brave reader
- Read my heart words.
- Read accurately.
- Read fluently.
- Read smoothly!
- Use expression when I read.
- Think about vocabulary words.
- Think about the information…
- Focus on what you are reading.
- Think about what is happening…
SoR Award Time!
Once the students show progress or master a particular goal…let’s reward the student for all of their hard work! When I searched TPT and the web for awards based on the Science of Reading…there wasn’t much to choose from. I knew I needed something for my own reading intervention groups. The Science of Reading Goals & Awards will definitely come in handy as students progress through becoming a successful reader.
The SoR Awards include large certificates, multiple “bookmark” awards, and printable bracelets. All of the awards correspond to the SoR Goals. 🙂
What SoR Awards are Included?
- Letter Master
- I can write my letters!
- Sound Whiz
- I am a decoder!
- Decoding Expert
- I can decode nonsense words!
- I am an encoder!
- Word Mapping Wow!
- Phonics Success
- Vowel Pro
- Digraph Champ
- Blending Machine
- Super Stretcher
- I can read a decodable book!
- Syllable Star
- I can read BIG words.
- Brave Reader
- Heart Word Master
- Fluency Flow
- Smooth Reader
- Accurate Ace
- Amazing Expression
- Vocab Detective
- Comprehension Champ
Science of Reading Goals & Awards
Watch this video to see the Science of Reading Goals & Awards in action! If you end up implementing the goals & awards in your classroom, please share it with me!
The Science of Reading Goals and Awards are a perfect addition to every early childhood classroom! All of the goals are based on research that supports structured literacy. Let’s get our students excited about using these strategies to become successful readers!
I found a calculator pocket chart was best to organize the goals and awards. It makes it easy to find the specific award that I am looking for…and the students can see the goals/awards that are available!
Want to Learn More about SoR?
- “Decode & Read” is my newest resource to help build strong readers.
- Decoding Bundle, which includes various phonemic awareness & decoding practice pages that are editable to fit your need!
- Science of Reading Complete Guide: This guide is full of information to help students learn to read!
Science of Reading Course
This Science of Reading Course will take you on a step-by-step along the Science of Reading journey. The self-paced modules will give background knowledge of SoR, explain the key components of instruction, give real-world classroom examples, share organization tips, provide printable PDFs, and much more!
If this sounds like something that would help you with your Science of Reading journey, head HERE!
As part of the course, you will also receive the Science of Reading COMPLETE Guide!
