Building Life Long Readers
Foundational reading skills are the building blocks upon which all reading comprehension is built. These skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary, are essential for decoding words. When children have a strong foundation in these skills, they are better prepared for understanding and interpreting text. Without these skills, reading can be a frustrating and challenging experience. By building foundational skills, we can help children develop the confidence and skills they need to become lifelong readers.
Reading Strategies
Phonemic Awareness:
Rhyming: Encourage rhyming games and songs.
Blending and Segmenting Sounds: Break words into sounds and blend them together.
Phoneme Isolation: Identify individual sounds in words.
Phonics:
Sound-Symbol Correspondence: Teach the relationship between sounds and letters. Focus on recognizing digraphs (th, ch, wh).
Decoding: Practice sounding out words.
Encoding: Practice writing words by sounding them out.
Fluency Development:
Repeated Reading exercises: Read books repeatedly to build fluency and accuracy.
Reader's Theater: Practice reading aloud with expression.
Implement timed letter-sound fluency drills.
Encourage reading aloud with appropriate speed and expression.
Comprehension Skills:
Identification: Teach students to identify main ideas and important details
Comparison: Practice comparing different characters, events, or texts
Story Structure: Use graphic organizers to help students understand story structure
Predicting: Encourage your child to guess what might happen next in a story.
Questioning: Ask questions about the story before, during, and after reading.
Visualizing: Help your child create mental images of the story.
Connecting: Relate the story to personal experiences.
Summarizing: Retell the main events of the story.
Read Aloud: Read aloud to your child daily.
Shared Reading: Read together, taking turns reading aloud.
Guided Reading: Help your child read books at their instructional level.
Independent Reading: Encourage your child to read independently.
Word Work: Practice phonics and spelling activities.
Student Choice: Allow your child to choose text that are personally meaningful (Allington & Gabriel, 2012).
Create a Reading-Rich Environment: Surround your child with books and reading materials.
Visit the Library Regularly: Let your child choose books they are interested in.
Talk About Books: Discuss the characters, plot, and themes of books.
Celebrate Reading: Make reading a fun and enjoyable activity.
References
Allington, R. L. & Gabriel, R. E. (2012, March). Every child, every day. Educational Leadership, pp. 10-15.
Newkirk, T. (2012, March). How we really comprehend nonfiction. Educational Leadership, pp. 28-32.
Not So Wimpy Teacher. (2022, April 29). Close reading strategies that keep kids engaged.
Shanahan, T., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2012, March). The Challenge of challenging text.
Educational Leadership, pp. 58-62).