Try, Try, Try Again

Strategy When you get to a trick)' word, don’t just try one thing! Sometimes one eWkai& t/wx gab?
strategy will work on one word but not another. Make sure you try more than one
strategy thinking, “What will help me read this word?”
LEVEL
any
Teaching U p You will W'ant to modify the strategy and lesson language to agree
with the sorts of strategies you’ve taught and the sorts of strategies that are appropri­
ate given the level of text that the child is reading. The example visual on this page
was a chart used for a small group. After the students in the group practiced the strat­
egy, each child got his or her own mini copy.
G E N R E /T E X T T Y P E
any
Lesson Language You know so many strategies to help you read tricky words
when you come to them. You know how to read the word from left to right. You know
how to check the picture and think about what makes sense. You know how to think
about what is going on in the story, and how that can help you choose the right word.
SKILLS
You know how to look fo r parts o f words you know inside o f the larger word. When you
come to a new text, you should carry these strategies like a toolbox: using just the right decoding, integrating
one fo r just the right job. Just like you wouldn’t use a hammer to take out a screw, you sources of information
shouldn’t use the “check the picture”strategy when there aren’t pictures! Other times,
yo u ’llfin d that you try one and it won’t work; in that case, you should try another one.
So, when you get to a tricky word, don’t just try one thing! Make sure you think, “What
will help me read this word!'”and use the strategy or strategies from your toolbox that
you think will help the most.

Prompts
What strategy do you think you’ll try here?
Let’s look at that word. Now pick the strategy you’ll use.
You chose and used a strategy correctly. Did it work? No? Then pick another.
Think about what other strategies you know.
What else can you
do to help you read
that word? Readers Use More Than 1
You gave it a first try.
What’s the next thing Strategy to Figure it Out!
you’ll try?
What do you think
will help you read
this word?
What can you do? £ Hat Tip: Reading
What else do you Recovery.- A Guidebook for
have in your toolbox? Teachers in Training (Clay
What might help 1993)
you here?

S upporting Print Work 85