Partner Reading at Dows Lane

Dows Lane first graders in Erica Beck’s class practiced their partner reading. With the book set out between them, partners decided to either read one page at a time in turns or read together at the same time. After reading the book, partners went on a search for certain types of words. They collected trick words, words with a digraph or words with a glued sound, like -ing, -ang, -ong or -ung.

“Recognizing parts of words from our Fundations lessons in their partner books helps students to make the connection to these words when they are reading on their own,” Beck said. “Additionally, it helps a partner be better able to coach a reader through a tricky word. They might say, for example, ‘Do you see a glued sound in that word? Start there.’”