Over the past several weeks I have been placing much emphasis on reading. The series began by examining the various aspects of reading and reading instruction. I then began taking a closer look at reading in the primary grade levels. The most recent reading articles pertained to reading at the kindergarten and first grade levels. In this article I will wrap up the primary reading classroom instruction with discussion about second and third grade reading. By the time that a child reaches the second or third grade, reading has become much more complex. The children should be able to read … Continue reading →

Previously I gave some insight into the first grade classroom. I discussed listening, speech, books and print and writing. All of these are very important to the development of a child’s reading skills. Students in the first grade should be able to quickly name the letters and sounds of the alphabet. They should be using these skills when carrying out their writing and spelling. The teacher should instruct the students on appropriate times to use uppercase and lowercase letters. Segmentation, blending, phoneme addition and deletion, and phoneme substitution should all be carried out in the first grade classroom. The teacher … Continue reading →

I have been placing a major emphasis on reading in last several articles. Reading is a very important aspect of education, especially in the primary years. My last reading articles focused on reading and the kindergarten classroom. I will now turn my attention to the first grade level of reading. At the first grade level students are ready to take part in more intense reading instruction. At this level students and teachers will work with listening and speaking skills, books and print, alphabet, phonics, spelling, writing, vocabulary, and comprehension. Students in the first grade need many opportunities to speak and … Continue reading →

My huge focus thus far for education has been on reading. There is much more to reading and reading instruction than many parents and some teachers realize. Reading is an integral part of a child’s success and education. In previous articles I have described various areas of reading such as phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. I then began taking you for a look into reading at different grade levels. In one of my more recent articles I gave you some insight on how reading should be carried out in the kindergarten classroom. I also began listing some reading skills that … Continue reading →

Now that you understand the importance of reading and what your child’s kindergarten classroom should look like, how can you tell is your child is on track for successful reading? This article will give some focus on particular skills that your child should be able to carry out by the end of his or her kindergarten year. Books Kindergarten children should be able to recognize the parts of a book and demonstrate how to properly hold a book to be read. Children at the age should be able to locate the title and identify the purpose of the author and … Continue reading →

My last several articles have focused on reading and aspects that go along with reading. I have focused some many articles on this topic because reading is so crucial to a child’s success in life. While many parents work with their child on reading aspects at home, the early years in school is vital to a child’s reading success. So how does a parent know when his or her child is or is not receiving adequate reading instruction at school? My next few articles will help parents determine what skills children should be learning at particular grade levels. The following … Continue reading →

Previously we have discussed the steps to beginning to read and factors that lead to better readers. However in many cases I will hear parents or teachers complain that the child reads but does not know or cannot answer questions about what has been read. Understanding the text that was read is reading comprehension. Many feel that reading comprehension is something that must come natural to a child. However reading comprehension can also be taught and strengthened through instruction. Research has indentified six areas that can help improve reading comprehension. Monitoring comprehension: In this area students learn to monitor their … Continue reading →

In a previous article I discussed the importance of reading fluency. The article gave insight into how teachers can instruct students on increasing their reading skills. In the article I discussed reading fluency was not best increased through silent and independent reading. What about silent reading? Fluency is better gained from direct contact with a teacher or other adult. However, most teachers feel that silent reading is important for readers. So how should teachers teach fluency but still keep a handle on silent reading? Use silent reading during times of independent class work time but in the place of reading … Continue reading →

My last article began a discussion on teaching reading fluency to students. At the end of the article I began describing some activities that can be carried out to increase fluency and encourage repeated reading. I have a few ideas left to share. Echo reading: In echo reading the teacher (or other adult) reads a line or a passage from a book. The students echo the teacher. The teacher should read with expression. Most students will echo the text with the same expression. Recorded reading: Many teachers have reading centers set up with headphones and books on tape. The child … Continue reading →