Reading Fluency: Zoology Kit

Three-part cards make reading practice independent. The control card lets students find and fix their own errors, which is how humans learn best, with no teacher correction required. Beyond that, remember that interest drives learning. With 18 packets covering everything from fungi to mammals, most students will find a group they love. They will choose those cards again and again, and that curiosity can carry even a reluctant reader through repeated reading practice. The cards also build vocabulary, part of the language comprehension side of reading in both Gough and Tunmer's (1986) simple view of reading and Scarborough's (2001) reading rope. By reading the word echinoderm now, a student will recognize and understand it when they later meet it in a science text.

Begin by using the photo-only cards to teach vocabulary (via the 3-period lesson). Then, use the photo-only cards from several packets in this kit for sorting work. Add-in the sorting labels for students who are reading. Finally, when students are stretching past phonetic reading, use all three parts: lay out the photo cards, read and match the word labels to the photos, and use the control cards to check for accuracy independently (no teacher help required).

Follow your students' interests. A student who loves frogs can start with Amphibians. Over time, use the Natural World/Zoology Chart to show where each packet fits. Living and Non-Living sit at the top, then the plant, fungi, and animal kingdoms, then vertebrates and invertebrates and the groups within them. Discussing how the groups fit together helps students see the big picture of how scientists organize living things.

Typically Kindergarten (ages 5–6) and above. However, students of any age can benefit from these cards if they:

• Can read phonetically
• Are interested in animals, plants, or fungi
• Need reading practice
• Prefer self-correcting activities to teacher correction

We recommend putting several titles out at one time to meet the interest of the entire room. We like to organize and display these in our 3-pocket foldover cloth pouches. (Note that each packet comes in a sturdy, clear reclosable bag that is for teacher storage only, not student use.) As students lose interest in the topics on the shelf, swap them out for different packets from the kit (you can use the same pouches maintained in the same shelf location).