Journeys Reading Program
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Journeys
Journeys is a reading program designed to meet the diverse needs of all students by using a balanced literacy approach. Students will progressively learn and develop different skills related to phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension.
Balanced literacy is an approach in which teachers support each reader’s development. The teacher will utilize materials from the program that allow for differentiation, whole group or small group instruction. The teacher can support the student which leads to the ultimate goal of independent reading.
Some of the reading terms you may hear from our Journeys program include:
- Read aloud - the teacher reads to the students exposing them to various types of literature and develop reading strategies.
-Shared reading - children participate in reading with the teacher and classmates and learn critical concepts of how print works.
-Guided reading - students are reading independently at their instructional level while discussion is facilitated by the teacher.
-Independent reading
Through this balanced literacy approach the teachers will be evaluating students in several ways.
- Observation
- Running records
- Small group instruction
- Weekly phonics, vocabulary, and spelling tests
- Cold reads
- Unit tests
- Benchmark tests
The balanced literacy philosophy is an effective way to help children improve their skills one step at a time. The better your child learns to read, the more successful they will be in years to come.
WHY READ FOR 20 MINUTES A DAY?
So, how do you make a child a better reader?
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