As part of our IRLA reading program, your child will be expected to engage in 30 minutes of independent reading each day at school and 30 minutes per night at home as well. The goal of this initiative is to not only enhance your child’s fluency and word attack skills, but to boost your child’s confidence and help him or her discover the joy and excitement that literature can offer!   

Recording you child’s home reading steps: 

Each 15-minute block of reading amounts to one step. Please note that each book is not considered a step; rather, a child only earns a step when he or she is engaged in independent reading for 15 minutes. To record a step, simply locate your child’s “IRLA Step” chart in his or her take-home folder, circle the picture of the home, and write your initials in the box (see attached sample). Please strive for two steps per night, which amounts to 30 minutes. The steps do not need to be completed in a single session. In fact, I recommend having your child complete one step as part of his or her homework and another before bed as a calm-down activity.

The more steps your child completes, the more his or her reading skills will grow! And, as an additional source of motivation, your child will earn a medal when key milestones have been reached: 100, 200, 300, 400, and even 500+ steps! Hooray!

Helping your child select appropriate reading materials:

Some of the materials your child may use to complete his or her steps include:

• American Reading Company books-these texts should be brought home and returned to school on a nightly basis (will have the color-coded star tag on the bottom corner; see image above)

• “Power Word” flashcards

• Monthly “letter-sound fluency”, “beginning sound fluency”, and “nonsense word fluency” practice sheets

• Any books that your child wishes to read and can do so independently (or with some adult help, especially at the yellow levels)!

Your child can and should read texts multiple times until they are fast, fun, and easy! Repeated reading helps to build fluency and confidence in young readers.

Please be sure that your child returns his or her American Reading Company books each day as we utilize these texts extensively in the classroom.

I would like to thank you in advance for your support with these endeavors. It is my goal to make the home reading process as fun for the children and manageable for parents as possible! Please contact me with any further questions, comments, or concerns. Thanks again!