I invite you to use this site as a way of communicating with me, staying abreast of the latest reading research, strategies and activities, along with staying informed about what your child is learning.
The Following information includes examples of the skills my small groups of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students are currently working on.
1st Grade Readers: Automatic Recognition of short vowel sounds, vc and cvc words, consonant digraphs, and first grade trick words (words that don't play fair). When your child cannot read a sound, a letter name, or a short cvc word within 1 to 2 seconds, they don't know it automatically. This automaticity will come with lots of practice. Your child is reading books that are at his or her"Just Right Level"daily. Please read with your child at home.
The Short Vowels: /a/as in apple, /e/ as in Ed, /i/as in itch, /o/ as in octopus, and /u/ as in up. Vowel-Consonant Pattern Example Words (vc): at or it Consonant-Vowel-Consonant Example Words (cvc): dad or mom Consonant Digraphs: Two consonants that make one sound such as: ch, sh, th, wh, ck, and qu
Parents Please Note: Reading fluency is not about reading fast. When students read too fast they may be just word calling, which can result in not understanding what has been read. A "Just Right" pace is when the student can read words in context automaticallly, accuratley, using expression (prosody), and can retell the main idea and details of the material read. 2nd Grade Readers: Attaching the sound(s) of letters to their correct symbol(s) is called "Phonics". To increase phonic skills, students need focused daily reading and spelling practice. Word patterns, closed syllable words, along with reading fluency are practiced in a variety of ways daily. Reading fluency increases as students automatically learn to break words apart. Learning to read groups of words together fluently is called, "Phrasing" and this skill is practiced daily. Proficient phonics skills build reading fluency. Three things must happen in oder to aquire reading fuency. First, a reader must be able to read at a "Just Righ"pace. Second, a reader must be able to read the words accuratley. And third, a reading must be able to read with expression (prosody), so that it sounds like a natural conversation. Phrasing practice helps students stop reading word by word, ultimately improving their prosody.
Word Patterns: Parts of words such as "all" as in ball, "ink" as in pink, and "ong" as in song Closed Syllable: Has one vowel with the short sound, which is closed in by one or more consonants such as "shed, tub, grass, shed" Phrasing: Reading groups of words fluently such as "I went to the store/with my mom/ to help her get a gift/for my dad."
Reading fluency develops over time. At the end of second grade, students need to be able to read nintey words correctly in one minute ,in order for them to be profecient in reading fluency. Reading research supports repeated readings of material that is at or slightly above a child's "Just Right" reading level. Research has found repeated readingsto be one of the most effective strategies in increasing reading fluency. The "4 Minute Fluency" graphs and stories that are sent home with your child on Mondays will also help to build his or her reading fluency. Please make time to do this important nightly activity with your child at home!!
Third Grade Readers: Currently, the focus of reading instruction is on phonics, vocabulary, reading fluency and reading comprehension. It is important that these components of reading begin to meld together for third grade readers. At this time during the first part of reading class, phonics and vocabulary instruction consists of making multi-syllabic words and identifying their syllable types. There are six syllable types that make-up the words of the English Language. Vocabulary is taught with a "Word of the day" and when making and breaking new words.
The Read Naturally Program is giving my third grade students thirty minutes of systematic reading fluency practice daily. Reading fluency is the bridge to reading comprehension. Third grade students must be able to read 110 words in one minute at the end of the school year, in order to meet the benchmark goal. You may want to check-out the "Read Naturallly" website listed below. Reviewing this site will help you have better idea of how this program works. The "4 Minute Fluency" graphs and stories that are sent home with your child on Mondays will also help to build his or her reading fluency. Please make time to do this important nightly activitiy with your child at home!!
Syllable: A part of a word that can be pushed out in one breath such as "cat or lunch" Multi-Syllabic Words: Words that have more then one part (syllable) The Six Syllable Types: Closed Syllable - Ends in a consonant and has only one short vowel sound as in "up, hat, ship, last" Vowel-Consonant-e Syllable - Has the vowel-consonant-e combination as in "bike, ape, stove" Open Syllable - Syllable ends with a single long vowel sound as in "I, be, shy, hi" Consonant-le Syllable - Contains a consonant-le at the end of a word as in "cradle, little, bubble" R-Controlled Syllable - Contains a vowel combined with an r (ar, er, ir, or, ur) as in "start, fir, hurt, art" Vowel Digraph/Diphthong "D" Syllable as in "feel, eight, new)
Here are some commonly used reading terms:
1. Phonological Awareness - A broader category, includes awareness of the larger parts of spoken language, as well as awareness of the smaller parts. Phonological awareness activities can be done in the dark because they involve only the sounds in language. 2. Phonemic Awareness - Is a subcategory of "Phonological Awareness". Phonemic Awareness is focused more narrowly on manipulating the individual sounds within words. 3. Phoneme - The smallest unit of sound within our language system. A phoneme combines with other phonemes to make words. Example: The sound /C / is the first phoneme of the word /C/ /A / /T/. 4. Alphabetic Principle - The concept that letters and letter combinations represent individual phonemes in written words. 5. Phonics - The study of the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent; also used to describe reading instruction that teaches sound-symbol correspondences. 6. Fluency - The ability to read text quickly (a speed that doesn't interfere with reading comprehension), accurately, and with proper expression. Fluency provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. 7. Comprehension - Understanding what one is reading, the ultimate goal of all reading activities.
Read Naturally This is the program we use in Fluency Lab
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