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Summer Learning
Summer Learning
Preparing Your Incoming First Grader for the School Year
Preparing Your Incoming First Grader for the School Year
Summer is quickly coming to an end, which means back-to-school season is upon us. Stores are rolling out this years trends in school supplies and clothes, and your incoming first grader is probably oohing and ahhing over all the shiny new items. Your child may have their new backpack, shoes, and clothes, but are they academically prepared for first grade? How about you?
First grade is quite a jump from Kindergarten. Your student will be challenged with new expectations and more challenging curriculum. These last few weeks of summer are the best time to start preparing your first grader for the upcoming academic challenges. Read below for one key way to prepare your child for first grade reading.
Utilize your local library
Public libraries are filled with opportunities for growth and learning. Most libraries have a summer-reading program for children (and adults too!), which is a great way to instill the habit of reading in young learners. Did you know that libraries also have leveled books? Reading instruction looks different district-to-district, however most districts use some form of leveled-literacy system in the primary grades. Take a trip to your local library and look for the leveled books. They are usually small, with only a few pages, and will say "Leveled Reader", or something similar, on the back. Look for the level indicator on the back or inside cover of the book to choose the book that's best for your child. See below for the North Kansas City Schools reading level expectations.
Reading instruction in first grade is foundational to the success of your student in all subject areas. First grade is when we see the most growth in reading level in our students, and this comes from small group reading instruction, whole group phonics instruction, and independent activities. Reading leveled books with your child at home will prepare them for the types of books they will read at school. You can mimic what we will do in the classroom by picking up books at your child's level and encouraging them to read to you at home. Follow these important rules when your student is reading to you:
Pre-read the book before your child. You will be much more prepared to help your child read if you've read the book yourself first. This gives you a chance to determine if the book is an appropriate level for your child, and will prepare you for questioning them at the end of their reading.
Do not interrupt the reader. It can be tempting to jump in and help your child when they are stuck on a word, but this actually stops their brain from doing the work! Allow your child to productively struggle through the words. If your child becomes frustrated, take a break. We never want reading to be associated with frustration.
Ask questions after they've read. Comprehension is the most important part of reading. In first grade, we teach students not only how to read the words, but also to understand what the words mean. Ask questions like, "what happened on this page?" "What is the character feeling?" "What do you think will happen next?"
Before summer ends and you're packing your child's backpack for the first day of school, take a trip to your local library and let your child pick out 2-3 leveled books. Try out the strategies I listed above, and take a mental note of how prepared your child is for first grade. Next time, I will be sharing essential phonics skills every first grader needs to know.
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Essential Phonics Skills Every First Grader Needs to Know
Essential Phonics Skills Every First Grader Needs to Know
In my last post, I shared how essential reading is to first graders, and I provided tips on using your local library to help give your child a head start this summer. Now, let's dive into some of those foundational skills that make reading possible.
What is reading, anyway?
The act of reading requires a multitude of foundational skills, as pictured in Scarborough's Reading Rope (Scarborough, H.S. 2001). The rope is composed of two main strands; Language Comprehension, which includes things like vocabulary, background knowledge, and language structures, and Word Recognition, which is where phonological awareness comes in. ALL of these skills work together to develop a skilled reader; if a student is lacking one or more of these foundational skills, then they are less likely to become fluent readers.
What is Phonological Awareness?
Phonological awareness, or phonemic awareness, in short, is the ability to understand that words are made up of phonemes, which are the smallest units of sound. For example, we know that the letter P makes the /p/ sound, and the vowel A can make a short sound "ah" or the long sound "a". One of our main focuses in first grade is building student's phonemic awareness. This prepares them for reading by helping students identify the phonemes in words, which they can then read as individual sounds. The process of breaking words into their smallest parts is called decoding.
What does my first grader need to know?
There are over 20 phonemic awareness skills taught in first grade - that is a LOT for a parent to have to learn and remember! I've broken down for you 3 skills to practice at home. These are the earliest skills taught in first grade, and mastery of these will prep your first grader for success when they start learning the more complex skills in school.
The difference between a vowel and a consonant
This skills is taught in Kindergarten, but we always review this at the beginning of first grade. In the English alphabet, there are 26 letters, 5 are vowels, and the other 21 are consonants. The vowels are: a, e, i, o, and u. Every word must have a vowel. Each vowel makes a short sound, these are the "standard" sounds each vowel makes. For example, in the word cat, the letter a says "ah".
The long vowel sounds
Each of the 5 vowels also has a long sound that is made when the vowel is paired with a silent e or special vowel team. The long vowel sounds are when the vowels say their name in a word. For example, in the word plane, the letter a says "a". This is because of the silent letter e at the end of the word. When practicing these skills at home, ask your child to identify if the vowel sound is short or long. Don't worry about asking them why - we'll take care of that at school!
Digraphs and Blends
Digraphs are when two letters combine to make one sound. The common digraphs are: sh, th, ch, wh, and ph. Blends are when two or more consonant sounds blend together when spoken in words. In first grade, we focus on L blends, R blends, S blends, and ending blends. It is important for first graders to recognize blends when decoding, because these sounds are not isolated when spoken. For example, in the word blend the b and l sounds "smush" together when spoken, to make the "bl" sound. When readers can identify these digraphs and blends, decoding becomes easier.
How do I support my student at home?
I asked my teammate, Darcie Johnson, to share tips for parents on how they can support their early reader with phonics at home. Here is what she had to say:
One way that parents can help enforce phonics skills at home is by reading frequently with their child. They could even play games while reading such as I Spy. For example, the parent might spy a word that starts with the digraph "sh". Then their child would find a word within the book that fits that pattern.
Children are typically more engaged in a game/activity like setting. Working with phonics can be challenging for children, so when they are turned into a game they are more likely to want to participate. Parents can give their children words to write that practice phonics skills they are working on at school (digraphs, blends, vowel teams, etc.). Instead of just writing them with paper and pencil, they could write them in shaving cream, with chalk, or in rice. They could also build words with magnets or pipe cleaners.
Whatever your methods for practicing at home, remember to make the learning fun!
Additional Resources for Parents:
WHAT'S TO COME:
decodable readers
math games/worksheets
science/social studies at-home explorations
writing prompts
TIPS - how to help your student ____
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