Pass the Torch!

Get Ready for Bloggy Olympics!!!

Join The 3AM Teacher, the Reading Olympians, and over 80 SUPREME education bloggers as we take you through a tour of the Reading Olympians Root Study Program!!

The Reading Olympians is a program to teach root words.  We have adopted the Common Core in Hawaii and roots are now expected to be taught in 2nd grade: 2.L.4c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).  I've taught every grade K-3rd and even Title I reading intervention, and I can honestly say I have never specifically taught a wide range of roots.  I am excited to teach this program, not only because it is directly tied to our new standards, but because the majority of my students are fluent readers, but do not always understand what they read.  By explicitly teaching roots, I hope to see a big increase in my students' comprehension.  

The 2nd grade program is called Junior Olympians.  Krista and Julie (the master minds behind the program) tie everything into the Greeks.  The first set is called the Jr. Nike set.  I started my lesson off with discussing what is a root and making an anchor chart.

Look at that adorable clipart by the 3AM Teacher! :)

I then passed out the Jr. Nike packet and students were able to look it over.

Once their names made it on the packets and the packets were placed safely in their blue reading folders, I passed out the vocab cards.

These cards have the root and definition.  There is also a cute little rap or rhyme for each root that can be glued to the back of the cards.  I had my class president in charge of hole punching the corners of the cards and students placed them on a binder ring.  I also sent home a practice worksheet that was included in the set in their homework packets this week.  Next week, we'll do the inside of the the Jr. Nike packet, really diving into what each of the roots mean.  

After getting a chance to look over the packets and making our word cards, I gathered the students back on the carpet and we did a little shared writing to review the meanings of the Nike words.

I plan to make a chart like this one for each root set that gets introduced. 

My kids are excited about learning roots and were already practicing thinking up the biggest word they could find with the root in it!