I dream of...index cards?

So, school is out, and yet, I can't stop working.  Like any addict, I tell myself I can stop at any time...but I'm beginning to doubt it. 

This week's project has been to create flashcards that correspond with our Kindergarten level reading material.  Students in my class range in reading ability from kinder to 5th grade, and in only 90 minutes of reading instruction per day, we have to address all of those needs.  Challenge Accepted!!

My kinders use a curriculum that is delivered through Direct Instruction.  Each day, students participate in a set of routines that provide modeling and opportunity for guided practice.  Part of those routines, for students at the Kindergarten level, includes reading sounds and sounding out words.  The thing that makes this different from many basal reading programs, however, is its use of a presentation manual that lists both the letters and words the students will sound out alongside the script to be used by the teacher.  The result?  An overwhelming amount of text on a page.  The solution?  Flashcards!

By putting each student-response prompt (letter or word image) onto its own unique card, we remove the excess stimulus and allow the student the chance to focus on the priority task.  And eventually, we can teach important text reading skills, like how to prioritize what gets the most attention on a page, and why things like small print, bold print, images, and captions are important.  But for now, we can isolate the thing that should be getting our focus.

Items needed for this project:
1) shoe-box sixed clear plastic bin
2) 2,400 index cards
3) 6 black, wide-tipped permanent markers
4) 2 red, wide-tipped permanent markers
5) Curriculum text
6) Labels (80 per page)

Most of the creation process here is straightforward.  I copied the student prompts directly from the text, including weird letter shapes and colors (this is why we need red ink, too).  The weird letter shapes are because in this system, students are taught one-to-one symbol/sound correspondence from the start (see qu, er, and wh images above).  2,400 index cards later...I'm dreaming about them!

The trick came in when trying to connect the student prompts with the teaching script.  Solution: create sticker labels for the back of each student word-reading card that tells which corresponding teacher script/routine should be used.  So, I created an icon and title for each of the basic repeated routines.  First, I typed out the routines onto half-pages, then created matching labels.  Now all I have to do is put the label on the back of the card. 

Next step is to create some training videos so that all the teachers on my team can get a head start on the routines for this school year!  You can check out my professional web page at http://staff.rentonschools.us/the/raj .