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User Guide

Route 66 offers literacy materials to adolescents and young adults who have a variety of physical, cognitive, communicative, linguistic, and sensory impairments. In addition, Route 66 Literacy offers instructional strategies for teachers. Currently, the site is intended for adolescents and young adults who are reading and writing at beginning levels. Because it is based on an instructional approach that includes a range of activities and experiences that are required to teach any student to learn to read with comprehension and to write meaningful texts, Route 66 has broader applications and can support students of any age who read like beginners.

What is included in the Reading section?

When you click on the Reading button (RED button), it will take you to the Reading Home Page. Here, the student will be asked to choose a theme. All of the themes within Route 66 Literacy have been chosen because of their respective popularity with adolescent and young adult readers. Within each theme, there are 4 units. Once the student chooses a unit, there are 4 reading options:

• Let's read this new book together,
• Let's reread this book,
• Let me read by myself, and
• I want to read other books about this choice.

What reading strategies should I be encouraging?

When asked this question, most people will respond that the first and best strategy for reading an unfamiliar word is to sound it out. It's definitely a good start and a good strategy, particularly if your student has a strong sense of phonemic awareness (which means the ability to recognize that words are made up of discrete sets of sounds). But there are other strategies that are just as important and just as helpful, yet are often overlooked. Like Reading Recovery teachers, we encourage learners to employ meaning, sound, and sight cues as they endeavor to understand printed language. As you navigate each guided reading activity, you will find yourself asking, "Can we say it that way?" and, "Does it sound right?" and, 'Does it look right?' You'll find that you will be asking these three questions often, and in a variety of ways. These questions are important and by asking them, you will be modeling the kind of internal dialogue that needs to take place if the student (or anyone, for that matter) is going to read independently.

Notice that the prompts are different on different pages. Some prompts encourage students to take important clues from syntax, which means how a given sentence is structured. Other prompts encourage learners to employ knowledge of symbols and to look to the words themselves, and whether or not they look right. Still others ask learners to employ their knowledge of meaning, often from the context that the picture or the illustration provides. You'll notice that when a student has to choose from one of three choices and picks the wrong one, we don't make her pick until she gets the right one. We provide instructional feedback and go on.

Are there other things I can do to support my student as s/he learns to read and write?

Yes, consider the following three principles as major supports to your student's emerging reading and writing abilities:

1. Know your student:

The first thing to do, if this hasn't happened already, would be to get to know your student as best you can. Reading, by its very nature, is a social act. As we read, we engage with others, both practically (here we are sharing this together), and theoretically, (I feel just like Harry Potter did when I started at a new school...) Consider the student's learning style and method(s) of communication. You will also want to become familiar with the student's work pace. Before you begin working with Route 66 Literacy, establish a signal between you and your student that will signify when you need to slow down, speed up, or clarify. Be responsive to the student's signals, both verbally and nonverbally. Note changes in posture or interest. It's definitely okay to go back over a tricky part or to bail out of an activity that seems ineffective or uninteresting to your student. Bear in mind that the purpose in designing these lessons is not to trick students or to continuously check their knowledge. Instead, we want to offer students the most informative context that we can, to all of their responses, even the ones that may seem obviously wrong. The best (and truly only) motivation for learning to read is to want to learn to read, so using your knowledge of this person as a learner will help guide you from activity to activity.

2. Model good reading

This may seem obvious, but another good strategy is to model good reading behavior. Reading should sound like talking so when you read aloud, do it with fluency, normal articulation, and with appropriate phrasing and emphasis. Your student's exposure to your best reading voice is critical to her ability to develop her own inner voice, whether or not she uses speech to communicate.

3. Support the role of inner speech

Additionally, the concept of inner speech is important to all readers, however, it is critical to readers who do not use speech as their primary means of communication. Have you ever noticed that when you read text that's too hard for you, you usually go back and read it again more slowly? Then, if it's still too hard, you'll read it aloud? What you're doing here is employing your inner voice. Most often, you probably don't even notice that you have one. But as text gets more difficult, your comprehension is adversely impacted and that's when you fall back on this voice, most literally. As you read, your inner voice is running a constant check against those three important questions that were mentioned above (Does it make sense? Can we say it that way? Does it look right?). When one doesn't check, that's when you slow down, and then ultimately, read it aloud. You can't read silently without an inner voice so it's important to know that it's there. As a reading and writing teacher, it's also important to know that the inner voice exists and that our job is to help students to develop and gain familiarity with their own inner voice.

Where should we begin reading?

While this is not a basal activity and there is no specific order in which to proceed, we do suggest that reading a new book together is a good place to start. Why? By reading aloud and supporting your student's engagement with the text, you offer her an opportunity to make a connection with a written work that she probably could not make on her own. Your primary purpose as you sit beside this student is to be "the more knowing other," who can model the relationship between reading and meaning making. In addition, reading a book together offers you, the teacher, the opportunity to determine which reading strategies your student can employ, and which he or she is still in the process of developing.

On each page, your first job is to read the large, black text to the left of the picture (and we recommend using your finger to point to each word as you read it). The purpose of scripting the words onto the blackboard is to help you to provide instructional feedback to your student. Initially, it may feel awkward to read the words on the blackboard verbatim. That's understandable, and yet, in the beginning (and this will depend on your background knowledge and skill level in reading instruction), it may be more important that you follow these directions closely since they are designed to support your learning in teaching within the context of balanced literacy instruction. We also recognize that many of you will choose to ignore the teacher tutor and her blackboards. That is completely acceptable, particularly if you have experience in practical literacy instruction. We encourage you, however, to use the questions and other built-in opportunities for the student to respond to questions you pose.

Who is the lady in the blue skirt?

We call her the teacher. Whenever you see her image on the screen, this is a cue that we want to offer you some guidance and support in teaching this lesson. A blackboard will give you directions about what you can say and do to fill the intention of each activity. The sentences that appear in white are for you to read aloud. In the beginning, we suggest that you follow the teacher directions as closely as is comfortable for you. As you become familiar with the site, you may find that you come to rely on the teacher less and less. That's fine (and actually, that's the idea!). Remember that in addition to helping your student read and write, we want to support you as you endeavor to become a more confident and proficient teacher within the context of balanced literacy instruction.

Why do I need to read the blackboards aloud?

Many of the directions that appear on the teacher's blackboard are what we call, "instructional feedback." By providing context and clarification your student's errors in a supportive and constructive manner, you help make mistakes as informative as correct responses. You'll note that the teacher directions don't ever tell the student that s/he is wrong. By responding along the lines of, "Well, it could be that..." you are valuing all of your student's responses. Your role as the teacher is not to test knowledge and correct mistakes, but to clarify misunderstandings and encourage risk-taking. If your student has no communication difficulties, you would want to ask, '"Why do you think that is the answer?" Our intention in creating Route 66 Literacy was to provide alternative means through which we can help the student think about her response and why it is or is not accurate. Using the language provided in this context can feel uncomfortable at first, but we think you will find its benefits are measurable.

What do I say when I see a letter between two hash marks (i.e. /j/) on the blackboard?

Throughout your experience reading together on the site, you will see this notation frequently. When a letter appears between two hash marks, this is your cue to read this letter's sound, rather than its name. In our efforts to support a student's ability to read with comprehension, we ask them to attend to three kinds of cues: sight, meaning, and in this case, sound cues. It's important for your student to have exposure to and practice all three cueing systems if s/he is to problem-solve effectively around unknown letters, sounds, and words.

We just read this book, why do we need to read it again?

Reading, like any skill, requires lots and lots of successful practice. With practice, comes a sense of mastery. This sense of mastery is integral to your student's developing sense of himself as a reader. Rereading a book offers learners the opportunity to become more strategic in their reading by allowing them to think less about the forms of print and more about its function. By increasing the exposure to the same text and adding variety to the reading of it, students can then make new and different connections with the material. Repetition increases the opportunity for learners to make personal connections to their reading. It allows learners to begin to hear that they, too, can sound (in their heads) like good readers as they become more and more familiar with a given text.

Additionally, rereading a text is something that all good readers do, in order to increase comprehension, fluency with words, or simply for the pleasure of doing so. How many times have you reread a favorite book, poem, or story? In each rereading lesson, you'll notice that the teacher appears on the first and last pages. The aim here is to reread the story with fluency while increasing comprehension. As stated in the teacher directions, this is an important time to pay attention to the non-verbal and/or the verbal cues of your student. At the end of the story, the teacher will reappear so that together, you and your student can reflect on the reading when the story is complete.

Why should we let the student read by her/himself? Isn't the whole point that we work together?

Yes, working with a more knowing other (meaning you!) is a large part of this process. But so too, is self-directed reading. Both established and developing readers need to spend time interacting with books in a variety of ways. This includes time alone. Self-directed reading poses important challenges to your student, among them the chance to pick materials that are appropriate to her reading level, the chance to practice skill application, and the chance to understand why a person would want to read after she learns how to do so. Simply put, readers need to read for individual purposes. This time spent alone reading will not only increase his fluency and familiarity with reading, it will help your student to consider how reading can support her, not just as a student, but as a whole person.

What is the significance of this stack of other books?

Behind the stack of books icon

I want to read other books about …

On the Reading A Books webpage, you'll see 3-4 books that serve as support stories to the new book. The majority of these books are written at reading levels lower than the level found in the first reading of the new book. The purpose is so that students can have success in reading independently. Often you'll find just one word on a page that matches the adjacent picture. In other books you'll find that the text is written in verse and offers your student the opportunity to use her knowledge of sound and rhythm to read and predict text. Though it is an activity that is ultimately designed for independent use, it's ok to offer support or help until your student gains the confidence and/or the skills s/he'll need to read on his/her own. 

Isn't this a reading activity? Why would my student write a review of the book?

Yes, it is a reading activity and yes, the purpose is for your student to spend time and develop mastery with high-interest and readable text. But, one way your students will develop a deeper understanding of the books they read is by evaluating them, comparing them with other books they’ve read, and relating them to their own experiences and knowledge about the topic. The book reviews provide a structured means to do this. After reading a book, students can choose to write a review about the book. When writing a book review the student can begin by rereading the book, reading what others have written in their reviews, or moving directly into writing their own review. The site supports students in clarifying their evaluation, by offering a choice of positive, negative, and neutral responses. Furthermore, it supports students by offering a word bank and supporting letter-by-letter input using a standard or alternative keyboard input. The overall purpose of this activity is to provide students with a natural bridge between their reading and writing behaviors and to demonstrate that reading promotes thoughts, feelings, and opinions that can be expressed through writing.

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What is included in the Word Study section?

When you click on the yellow Word Study button,

it will take you to the Word Study Home Page. Here, the student will be asked to choose a theme. We have chosen specific theme areas based on research on what adolescents are most interested in. Within each theme, there are 4 units. Once you have selected a unit, you can choose from a variety of word study activities, including Making Words, Compare/Contrast, and Other Word Activities.

Why study words?

We've called it Word Study but really, it's as much about the opportunity to work with words as it is to study them. By working with words, learners can become more strategic in their abilities to read and write as they begin to see similarities, differences, and anomalies in the forms and functions of print. We have established our contention that practice is critical to literacy learning and development. The purpose of Word Study is to engage in this practice. But there's something else to it, too. Word Study offers learners the chance to play with words and begin to learn their internal structures. With the opportunity to play, learners make emotional connections between themselves and the material. This is when lasting learning takes place.

Where should we start?

There isn't any best place to start. Think about which activities s/he needs the most support in, which she'll exhibit the most mastery in, and which she'll enjoy the most. Don't forget that you can always bail out if an activity feels too hard, too time-consuming, or just plain inappropriate. And, as ever, self-direction might positively influence your student's ability to stick with an activity and make it meaningful. So use your knowledge of your student and what she needs most to support her reading and writing as a guiding principle to determine the order in which you do each activity.

What's the point of making words?

When you click on the crane icon for making words, you'll receive directions about how to support your student in making words. The purpose of this activity is twofold:

• To help the student to see how to build or spell words by systematically adding, changing, or deleting letters and,
• To see the relationships between the spelling patterns in different words.

As your student navigates the activity, you'll find that the student is asked to make longer and longer words. As you explore this activity, feel free to encourage and support any observations your student might make about the relationships between words or his new understandings about how to construct them. ("Yes, pan and man are similar to each other, except for the first letter," or, "You're right, off and on both start with o.") 

Why is the text on the blackboards written in a script font?

In this activity, we need to show you the words that the students need to spell, but we don’t want the students to copy the words. Using a script font solves the problem because you can read script, but the beginning reader you’re working with cannot. We know that the script is more difficult for you to read than the print we use on other blackboards on Route 66. Don’t worry about slowing down a little. The payoff will come when the student you’re teaching begins to understand how our spelling system works – something that will never happen from copying words.

What's the purpose of Word Sort?

At the end of each making words lesson, you will guide the student through a word sort activity using the words that were just made. The teacher prompts provided on the blackboards will direct you to ask the student to look to beginning, end, and spelling patterns of words and group them according to their similarities. Sorting the words in this way will motivate students to look once again at each of the letters in the words that were made. This will help them develop a memory for the individual letters and spelling patterns that appear.

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WRITE A BOOK REVIEW

One way your students will develop a deeper understanding of the books they read is by evaluating them, comparing them with other books they’ve read, and relating them to their own experiences and knowledge about the topic. The book reviews provide a structured means to do this. After reading a book, students can choose to write a review about the book. When writing a book review the student can begin by rereading the book, reading what others have written in their reviews, or moving directly into writing their own review. The site supports students in clarifying their evaluation, by offering a choice of positive, negative, and neutral responses. Furthermore, it supports students by offering a word bank and supporting letter-by-letter input using a standard or alternative keyboard input. The overall purpose of this activity is to provide students with a natural bridge between their reading and writing behaviors and to demonstrate that reading promotes thoughts, feelings, and opinions that can be expressed through writing.

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