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Learning to read is one of the most important things we learn in first grade.
Learning to read is a complex human activity. There are many inter-connected components, but here are some of the basics you can work on at home:
- Phonemic Awareness: Play with the sounds of language. Explore rhyme through poetry, nursery rhymes and Dr. Suess. Play rhyming games, beginning sound games, and ending sound games. Parents can learn more about these games at http://www.righttrackreading.com/paactivities.html
- Alphabet Names and Sounds: Read alphabet books together. Buy some magnetic letters and encourage your child to move them around on your refrigerator as he practices learning them both in order and out of order. Sing this letter and sound song together with Mrs. Stuart at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHIpMaWOne0
- Read Aloud to Your Child Every Day: Sharing reading time with a parent is a remarkably valuable activity for a child, even after he learns to read for himself. Listening comprehension, vocabulary and background knowledge of the world improves with every story you read to your child. A mommy blogger lists her top ten reasons to read aloud at http://www.momsinspirelearning.com/2012/03/top-10-reasons-to-read-aloud.html
- High-Frequency Words: Some people call these "sight words." No matter what you call them, they are the small words that glue our language together. Please click on this link to find the words your child needs to know upon sight (not to be "sounded out"): http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/assets/extras/0000/9912/High-Frequency_Word_Scope_and_Sequence_FINAL.PDF
- Fluency: Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with
expression. Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between
word recognition and comprehension. Learn more about helping your child to become a more fluent reader by clicking on this link: http://www.readingrockets.org/atoz/fluency/
Our reading/language arts program is called California Treasures.
You may find enrichment activities that tie together the learning we engage in at school with web-based learning. After clicking the link below, click on the picture of the Student Edition book we are currently working on in class. This will open a page with many activity choices.
http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/california/students
After creating your own free account, you can access tons of free books at:
Another important component of our classroom reading culture is Accelerated Reader.
Several students in Katherine Finchy's 2011-2012 First Grade Learning Team read and passed comprehension tests on over 200 books through participation in this program. To learn more about this wonderful program, please click on the Wikipedia article below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated_Reader
The US Department of Education offers reading helps, ideas and tips for students and their parents at:
http://www2.ed.gov/parents/read/resources/edpicks.jhtml
Other fun reading links:
