Transition Program
Word Detectives Transition Program is a reinforcement and continuation of the Beginning Word Detectives Program, with a major focus on students becoming automatic decoders. This unique program offers A and B lessons, allowing students who need an extra year of the Transition Program to revisit the same concepts with novel texts and activities.
What concepts are Taught?
- Spelling patterns
- Automaticity of Key Word recall
- Decoding strategies (primary focus)
- Spelling strategies (secondary focus)
- Word analysis (fully analyzing)
- Strategic application of word-solving methods
- "Schwa" sound
- Consonant doublings
- Common unaccented chunks (e.g. -le, -tion, -cial)
- Dividing words into chunks
- High-frequency irregular words
- Comprehension monitoring
Who can use it?
- Second through fifth graders
- Reading Levels: 12 through 22
- Students who have had experience with:
- phonemic awareness
- concept of word
- rhyming
- sight vocabulary
- Struggling readers
- Students receiving whole-class or small-group instruction
How is it organized?
- The program begins in September and continues every day throughout the school year (a 10-month program).
- Three Phases:
- In the Introductory Phase, students review concepts that are basic to all Word Detectives programs.
- Phase II introduces new information (e.g., special feature words, chunking strategies).
- Lastly, the Maintenance Phase provides students with many opportunities to practice and apply what they have learned in the Transition Program.
The Benchmark approach is anything by a decoding skill-only approach; rather, [Word Detectives] is embedded in ongoing instruction and used to empower children so that they can participate fully in writing and in reading of real literature. 