Students continue our first novel unit as we read The Boxcar Children. We work on building vocabulary skills 
as we look at phonograms in key words. We also group words by meaning, part of speech, singular/plural, and past, present and future. These word sorts provide support and enrichment.
Our target comprehension skills are: character and setting. As we read, students identify character traits for each of the main characters and also identify ways in which the setting is important to the plot of the story.
We develop fluency through oral reading practice. One technique we work on is called ‘echo-reading’ in which students take turns reading the same passage, striving for better fluency (expression, smoothness and pace) each time. Students also partner-read the text, focusing on reading with accuracy.