This afternoon, Will worked in his Summer Writing and Drawing journal. Via guided reading, we read the book, "Pete the Cat - Too Cool for School", even though Will said he had read it at home with his mother. I encouraged Will to read familiar words, sound out unfamiliar words, and tackle some short sentences through guided practice. He as yet benefits from reminders to sound out the word with its beginning letter, but his performance has considerably improved over the past month. I showed him some strategies, such as breaking the word up into smaller chunks to make it easier to sound out and decode, and he wrote a sentence and drew a picture about the story we read in his summer journal. To end our session, Will wrote the letter 'S,' practiced the beginning sound it makes, and spelled the word. We then created the letter into a snake using markers and thought up other 'sn' words. With encouragement and supportive prompts, Will makes the effort to persevere when challenged and is proud when he succeeds.