Heart to READ Time

We are always working to become better readers and writers in first grade. During our afternoons, we focus heavily on literacy with our Love to READ Time. Love to READ Time is an approach to teaching literacy independence and building literacy stamina. This approach has five components:

· Ready for Fundations - This is our opportunity to practice first grade trick words and phonics concepts. Children will engage in independent practice activities as well as partner practice activities. Mastery of the words practiced during this time supports both reading and writing automaticity. 

· Electronic Books - Students listen to fluent reading independently on Tumblebooks and Bookflix. 

· Author Time- This is a daily opportunity for children to write freely on topics of their choice and/or topics provided by the teacher. Each child has their own writing journal. Children will learn to date their writing work, write on a topic, illustrate a topic and add details to their work.

During this time, our focus is on getting ideas down on paper, without worrying about correct conventions and spelling. Of course, we will expect those skills to come, but our desire is for our first graders to build writing stamina. Allowing students to write phonetically and encouraging them to “use their sounds” empowers first graders as writers! Encourage phonetic spelling of unknown words at home, while practicing correct spelling of first grade trick words.

· Digging into Books- During this time, the children read books of their choice independently or with a buddy. Students will read from their own book bins that they can fill with 5 books of their choice from my classroom library. They are encouraged to read three ways: read words, read pictures and retell familiar text. 

Teacher Time - While students are working hard in the rotations, I am super busy meeting with small reading groups. I create flexible reading groups to meet needs and teach strategies to all students whether they’re beginning readers or tackling more complex texts. Students will read decodable texts with me based on their level of proficiency in phonics or other texts that will benefit their fluency and comprehension skills. The students will also learn about vocabulary, trick words, literacy/language concepts, (such as contractions, sentence compositions, answering text questions), and much more. Ultimately, this is a time when I will be able to work with students on the skills they need help with. This time allows me to tailor instruction to meet their individual learning needs! This will also be the time of day when students get to engage with our Geodes decodable texts.

Homework

Fundations homework will be sent home at the start of each unit, and you can work with your child on it throughout each unit. Please see the "Homework" tab for more details.