Ways to Help Your Child When They Read to You

1. Use picture clues. Look at the picture and the beginning sound in the word. "Does that make sense?"

2. Think about the story. "Does that make sense there?"

3. Sound it out. Look at the beginning, middle, and end of the word. "Does that look right? Read the sentence again, saying the sound of the first letter, and see if you can think of what the word might be."

4. Look for little words inside the bigger words. (on, is, it, an,...)

5. Look for word "chunks" inside the bigger words. (ing, er, ly,...)

6. Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence. Then go back to it. "Now, what would make sense there?"

7. The very last strategy is to ask someone what the word is. Children need to take a risk. Children also need a longer "wait time" when reading. Don't just say the word for your child. They need to work on using these strategies on their own, and often.

Fluency

   Another important reading skill is fluency. One way to build fluency is to encourage your child to go back and read a sentence again. Often, a child will read a sentence in a very choppy way- because they've had to stop often to figure out unknown words. Once they've figured out all the words, they then need to go back and reread that sentence in a normal way. Reading easy, repetitive, well-known stories also builds fluency. Children need to be encouraged to try to read words in the same way that they speak, in a normal and natural way.

Reading for Meaning

   Reading is a meaning-making activity. We read to learn. Another important reading skill is reading for meaning. After your child reads a sentence or two, you can ask them what it was that they just read. If they don't know or don't remember, it's important that they go back and reread. "What did you just read about? Did what you read make sense?"

   Self-correcting is another important reading strategy. This shows that the child is asking himself the questions, searching for clues, cross-checking, and correcting errors. This is why it's so important that we give them plenty of time while they're reading. We need to encourage and reinforce these strategies so as to allow the child to become an independent reader. Happy reading!

My Literature Program

   Learning to read, write, and spell is a developmental process very similar to the way in which a child learns to speak. It happens through consistent modeling, practice, risk-taking, encouragement, and patience. Children learn to read by reading. Your child will be surrounded by lots and lots of good books and be immersed in a print-rich environment.

    Shared reading:

   *Reading of predictable (rhyme, repetition, meaningful stories) books often with a big book with the whole class.

   *Hearing good literature, an average of six to eight books as well as three to five poems or songs daily.

    *Development of reading strategies, including word attack skills instruction. As much as possible, word attack skills instruction is integrated into the total reading process. Our morning message will be one way that we discover letters and sounds, punctuation, and capitalization. Our charts and songs are another way we learn them. Phonics skills are taught directly, as well.

   *The children will have the opportunity to read to the whole class, as well as becoming a guest reader in the kindergarten classes.

The Writing Process:

   *The process of drafting, revision, editing, and final copies is introduced. Very few first first graders go through all four steps.

   *Children must be deeply involved in their writing, share it with others, and most importantly perceive themselves as authors.

   *Good literature is a wonderful model for writing.

   *Journals: Entries will be modeled. Children will have the opportunity to share their entries.

   *Author's Chair: Children can share their stories and publish the ones that are the most meaningful to them.

   *Author Studies: We will learn about many children's authors and read as many of their books as we can.

Spelling:

   This is developmental. This "invented" or "developmental" spelling will evolve from scribbling to random letter strings to beginning sounds and ending sounds to words without vowels to very phonetic spelling and on to conventional spelling. I encourage the children to do their best when composing. We have writing folders with hundreds of words included, and children are encouraged to look at the word wall and around the room for a word they need. I will teach spelling strategies, and look for growth in their ability to transfer these strategies to their own writing.

   First graders will be expected to spell the "Top 40" words (this list is included on my first grade expectations page) correctly and consistently by the end of the year. We will have weekly spelling tests that will focus on the Top 40 and also words that fit into a pattern or word family.

   I also expect the children to be able to read the "Top 125" words (this list, plus the kindergarten 25 words, is included on my first grade expectations page) and be able to spell a majority of them as well.

Small Group Reading:

   *I work with small, flexible groups of children daily. This "guided reading" gives children the opportunity to develop as individual readers while participating in a socially supported group. Guided reading enables children to use and develop strategies "on the run". The focus is on constructing meaning while using problem-solving strategies to figure out the words they don't know. The goal is to have children read independently and silently.

   While I work with a small reading group, the rest of the class will be engaged in a number of "centers" activities such as the listening center, pair reading with a buddy, silent reading, word study activities, journal writing, or book extensions.

   *Word Wall: Important, high-frequency words are displayed to be used as a visual cue for spelling words.

   *Making Words: This is an exciting, high-energy activity where children arrange letters to make different words. They begin by making little words using a few of the letters and then progress to bigger words. They learn how to look for patterns in words and how changing just one letter can change the whole word.