First-grade students have been working hard to use their Word Detectives skills to decipher tricky words while they read. They have been learning about compound words, digraphs, vowel teams, snap words and more!.. Word of their hard work reached the ears of Senior Detective Reads-a-Lot, aka Literacy Specialist Sarah Evans, and so she arranged a special visit for them to the Super-Secret Detective Agency on December 2.
Students arrived with badges and book bags and spent a few minutes reviewing some of their word-solving skills and their knowledge of high-frequency or "snap" words. Then, they paired up with their reading partners to put their skills to the test. But, they were suddenly interrupted by Detective Read-a-Lot who had a super-secret mission for them. Decipher 10 clues to solve the word puzzle... Using their word blends and snap words, they put together their clues to discover that the message said, "There is a surprise waiting for you outside the classroom door."
Lo, and behold, Sir Bookworm himself, head of the Super-Secret Detective Agency, bumbled in to congratulate them on all their hard work. He had small gifts for them, but could they help him solve one more mystery? He'd lost some of his words. As he turned to write the words he was missing on the whiteboard, first-graders excitedly pointed to the back of his cape. There were his missing words, stuck to the cape. He was ever so grateful, and quickly handed out their gifts, glasses for close reading, finger flashlights to see better while they were reading, and a bookmark to keep track of where they left off in their favorite books!