Reading

Before children begin to read, they first develop oral language (listening and speaking) skills. Eventually, their reading and writing skills will further advance their oral language. 

The Reading Process 

Young children start to recognize that print carries meaning. Children get excited when they recognize letters and words. Once they learn the sounds of words, they are ready to start putting those sounds together. This is when they start to read phonetically. Blending sounds to read is a strength for many children. Reading "sight words" or words that have been memorized is easy for other children. Students are most successful when they use a combination of blending and sight words to read. 

Reading and writing are interconnected so children often learn to read and write their names at around the same time. Each child is different, and one thing might be easier than the other: Writing can be physically exhausting (for example) if children don't have good hand-eye coordination and muscle strength (of hands and fingers, and even core muscles).  For more, please see the page on Physical and Social Development.

If your child is struggling with print, you might consider an eye exam. Around mid-year, the district provides a screening, but not a complete eye exam. Boys are checked for color blindness. Because of privacy laws, teachers are not given the results of the screenings. 

"Reading the Pictures"

Even before students read print, they make sense of stories using pictures. They can follow along with sequential stories like Goldilocks or they can pick up a picture book and tell their own story. When students are engaged with books, they are more motivated to read. Many children are fascinated by informational books. They might love looking at photographs and simple diagrams of animals such as dinosaurs, insects or pets. They might enjoy learning about volcanos, the solar system, vehicles, or more. When children are exposed to a wide variety of text (inclding music books, recipies, and so on), they develop a wide range of concepts as they expand their vocabulary. 

Reading at Home

Please do the best you can to make daily reading a part of your child's routine. Your child might have trouble listening to a story, but be interested in talking about the pictures. Mabye your child just wants to ask question after question. Your child might only be able to listen to a couple of pages before their attention wanders. With ongoing reading practice, your child's ability to pay attention, sit and listen, retell stories, ask and answer questions, predict what might hapen next, recall details, and have discussions about the reading will grow. 

Reading is a foundational skill: All other school subjects require reading skills.

Reading is instructed throughout the day. These are some components of the program:

Buddy Reading provides a great opportunity for students to learn from each other. We see students pointing out letters and words to one another. Students take turns reading to a buddy. Pre-readers usually do some reading of the pictures, but their buddy reading often ends in conversation (which is fine!). When students are reading, we encourage them to choose books with text at their reading level. 

The Listening Center has books on cassette tape (yes, cassette, haha!) and CD for students to listen to. 

Listening to books increases reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency as students listen and follow along. Other benefits inclue reinforcing concepts of print: Students need to know that letters form words and that words make sentences which have meaning. Other print awareness includes the direction of reading (left to right & top to bottom) and turning pages from front cover to back covers.  

Helpful Links:

Phonological Awareness (This site provides information on pre-reading skills)

Public Library (Use your library card to access an incredible amount of resources for children and adults)

Starfall ABCs (A fun, educational site with many free activities for preK-3rd grades)