Suggestion # 3: Teach Word Parts - I would definitely use this in a classroom. In particular, this section mentions an activity called "Vocabulary Trees". I like this idea because it is a fun way for students to learn about root words, and think about how word parts impact the entire word. I especially like the idea of a class tree, where students can add words as an entire class. I think if teachers took more time to teach the parts of a word, students would have a better understanding of why certain words are spelled certain ways, and why they mean what they mean.
Suggestion # 4: Turn Vocabulary into a Word Hunt -- I like this idea, because it gives students a sense of ownership over the words they find in a specific book. I could see it building struggling readers' confidence in that they are noticing certain words. The bookmark would help with this tremendously. Also, this activity would create a classroom environment where students are talking about word parts and the context of the words.
Suggestion #7: Read Aloud and Use SSR -- I like this suggestion because it does not put one of these ideas over the other. While I find reading aloud to be extremely effective, I think SSR has its place as well. I like that she gives suggestions of ways to use that time to continue to help students ( conferencing, discussing reading progress, work on phonics or spelling, etc). I could see using read alouds at the beginning of a unit (reader's theatre, etc), and having students read to themselves at the end. I think each of these serves a certain purpose. If you have readers who are lacking in confidence, I think readers theatre would be a great way to slowly build their confidence in reading aloud. I really like that it gives students time to rehearse and feel comfortable before reading in front of people. That practice has built-in repeated reading as well. I think paired reading has a place too! Students who struggle with reading can find a partner who is encouraging, and supports them as they read. I think this would be very effective in my future classroom :).
Vocabulary trees were something that caught my interest as well. I never was taught using them, but I believe it is an effective, visual way to teach root words and vocabulary. This will also prepare students for the OGT, SAT, or ACT. I also liked it because it can be used with all ages of students, depending on the difficulty of the words, affixes, and roots.
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