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Reading with Ruby Week #1

I am starting a new series of posts that will be called “Reading with Ruby.”  I have the privilege of helping my good friend’s daughter learn to how read.  She is 5 1/2 and has shown all of the reading readiness signs needed to move forward.  She is:
*Familiar with print and books
* Recognizes most letters  (upper and lower case)
*Phonemically aware- knows the sounds that most letters make.  Leapfrog Letter Factory is GREAT for this!
*She is wanting to learn how to read.

I will be providing her with very specific and targeted instruction.  The instruction will consist of a balanced mixture of sight words and phonics.  She will be meeting with me two days a week for a few hours a day.  Although this time is structured and scheduled, it will still maintain flexibility to her needs and hopefully tons of FUN!!

Here is a look at week #1 activities:

First, I started with an informal assessment of letter recognition and letter sounds.  This assessment allowed me to target her instruction by recognizing her strengths and weaknesses.

I also gave her a sight word assessment which I made.  Although she only knew a couple of sight words, it gave me a good idea of where to start.
Then, I introduced Ruby to 6 sight words: look, see, funny, come, is, big.

 

Reading with Ruby Week #1!                                          Reading with Ruby Week #1!

 

Next, we verbally reviewed all sounds that letters make.  I do this regularly with Audrey and Sophia.  The A says..ahh, the B says…b and so forth.  Again, I am a strong believer in the Leapfrog Talking Letters video!!  My video came with some flashcards.  You can also download these fun alphabet printables here.
Sight Word Songs: We sang our sight words to the tune of BINGO.
There was a sight word for the day and funny was our sight word.
 F-U-N-N-Y, F-U-N-N-Y, F-U-N-N-Y and funny was our sight word.
I made some color by number sight word printables, which are available to download.
Ruby on the left, Audrey on the right.
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Phonics: Ruby worked on the letters she missed on the informal assessment by playing starfall.com
Reading with Ruby Week #1!

Phonics: The girls took turns sounding out a 3-letter word and matching the picture with this file folder game.

Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Reading with Ruby Week #1!

 

Sight Words: We also worked on making our sight words with play-doh.  Since Ruby was having a little difficulty forming some of the letters, I lightly traced the letters on the table with a pencil.  It was easy to clean off and helped her with the correct formation of letters.  This was the girls favorite activity…and so easy!

Reading with Ruby Week #1!

 

Phonics: Word Slides  These are such wonderful resources because they are FUN to use and really reinforce the CVC patterns needed for emergent readers.
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
We started our Very Hungry Sight Word Caterpillar
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Sight Word Color by Number: look, see, funny, come, big, is (left)
Sight Word Super Stars: link here for printables.  (right)
I put these in sheet protectors so I could use them over and over again.  It just provides a little extra practice when introducing sight words.
Reading with Ruby Week #1!Reading with Ruby Week #1!

 

Phonics: I had Ruby read the first book in the Bob Book Level 1 series: Mat.  She was able to decode most of the words and I could see her confidence building!  On Friday, we used the first book in series with our leapfrog frig magnets to find the 3 letter words (sat, mat, etc.)
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
I also had the girls take turns writing a letter from their sight words on the whiteboard.  For example, if the sight word is “funny,” Ruby will write the f, Audrey will write the u and so forth.
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
The final result:)
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
I had the girls work on some beginning sounds worksheet I found.
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
The girls took turns reading a simple High Frequency Reader: School
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
 Ruby’s mom, Brooke, will be working with her at home as well.  This week she will work on reading the first 3 books in the Bob Book series, practicing the 6 sight words for the week and reviewing letters sounds.
How I kept the little tot busy:)
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Coloring
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Farm Sound Puzzle
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Chunky Puzzle
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Peg Stackers
Reading with Ruby Week #1!
Sight Word Practice-You can
never start too early:)  Just kidding
She wanted to point to the words too:)

 

Annie Moffatt

Annie Moffatt is a former elementary school teacher and homeschool mom with a passion for helping young learners thrive. With a background in early education and a heart for making learning fun, Annie designs engaging, low-prep resources that build confidence and success in the classroom. Her hands-on, kid-friendly approach has supported thousands of teachers and parents around the world in creating joyful learning experiences for their students.

16 Comments

  1. Do you have the book The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists/? I used it when I was teaching first and second grade {and still reference it quite a bit when tutoring kids now.

    The list of word families alone {as well as the top 1,000 sight words} are worth its price in diamonds…

    Great post! You are very inventive!

  2. Ruby is blessed to have you! I was just going to create some letter slides on my own because I couldn't find them anywhere! Thank you!!
    ~ Mrs. Mc

  3. I ordered the Leapfrog Letter Factory through your link so hopefully it will give you the credit 🙂
    Thanks for all of the great ideas and printables!

  4. Chet,
    These are made by me and available on my blog. Look under labels..sight words. I have made the pre-primer in flashcard format but not the primer…yet. Hope that helps:)

  5. where did you get those flash cards that you little tot is pointing to? (not the ones you made and have on your blog, but the ones you have pictured in your pocket folders)

  6. p.s. just thought you may want to know…on your letter chart to test kids knowledge before you begin, it spells out S-E-X on the capital ones! oops! my son was sounding it out!

  7. Mara,
    I got those Level 1 sight word cards from Lakeshore. I really like them because they have sentences to practice on the back.

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