Scanning Strategy Guide

Teacher Facilitation Resource • Lesson 1

Scan & Solve

The Purpose

Visual scanning or "priming" allows 2nd-grade readers to identify difficult patterns before they attempt to read the full text. This reduces the cognitive load during oral reading, allowing for better fluency and comprehension.

Goal: Digraph Automaticity

Goal: Confidence Building

Key Digraphs

sh

Shell

ch

Chair

th

Thumb

wh

Whale

The 3-Step Scan Method

1

Pattern Spotting (The Hunt)

Students use a highlighter or finger to scan the text from left to right, looking ONLY for the target digraphs. They are not reading for meaning yet—just hunting for letters.

2

Silent Echo (The Warm-up)

Students whisper the sound of each highlighted word. They focus on the mouth position (e.g., quiet "shhh" or tongue-between-teeth "th").

3

Smooth Flow (The Performance)

Students read the full sentence, gliding through the digraphs. The prior "hunt" prevents them from stopping to sound out the digraph letter by letter.

Discussion Prompts

"Which digraph was the hardest to find? Why do you think that is?"
"How did highlighting help you when you started to read the sentence out loud?"
"What happens to our reading speed when we know what pattern is coming up?"

Scanning Key & Progress Tracker

Confidential

Student Hunt Passage Key

Shelley went to the shop to get a shell. She shouted when she saw a shark! That shark was on a thin ship. Chip the chimp was on the ship, too. They chatted and ate chips. Where did the ship go? When the whale sang, the ship sailed home.

Observation Checklist

Student Name	Scanning Speed	Accuracy	Self-Correction
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No
________________	□ Low □ Med □ High	□ 1-3 Missed □ All Found	□ Yes □ No

Tip: Look for students who skip the scanning step and jump straight to reading. Encourage them to "slow down to speed up" by finding the patterns first.

Digraph Detectives Fluency

Scanning for Digraphs

Echo Chamber Reading

Robot Repair Context

Word Magic Transformations

Digraph Broadway Stars

Scanning Strategy Guide

Digraph Training Slides

Digraph Hunt Worksheet

Echo Chamber Slides

Choral Facilitator Guide

Silly Sound Poem Handout

Confused Robot Slides

Robot Repair Discussion Cards

Robot Repair Shop Worksheet

Word Magic Lab Slides

Word Magic Lesson Plan

Word Transformer Activity

Broadway Audition Slides

Reader's Theater Rubric

Digraph Theatre Scripts Handout

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