Literacy Program Parent Brochure / Type of Questions Assignment

Phonemic Awareness Phonological awareness is a key skill for beginning readers. “Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to focus on and manipulate phonemes (Bullard, 2017)”. It’s the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words, and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds. An effective instructional program contains eight types of phonemic awareness instruction. The eight types of phonemic awareness are phonemic isolation, phonemic identity, phonemic categorization, phonemic blending, phonemic segmentation, phonemic deletion, phonemic addition, and phonemic substitution. The two most critical skills that young children need to acquire to be successful with phonemic awareness are oral blending and segmenting. “Oral blending refers to the ability to put spoken sounds together to say a word and oral segmenting refers to stretching out a spoken word and being able to say each sound heard in the word (Bullard, 2017)”.

“Researchers and research reports have long demonstrated the importance of young students’ phonemic awareness for getting reading off to a good start. It is estimated that roughly 20 percent of young children lack phonemic awareness. It is certainly an essential component of early reading instruction (Bullard, 2017)”. This indicates that phonemic awareness tasks are the best predictors of students’ success with reading acquisition. Phonemic awareness is important to teach because it is the primary predictor of early reading and spelling skills for students in kindergarten through 2nd grade. “It requires readers to notice how letters represent sounds. It primes readers for print. It gives readers a way to approach sounding out and reading new words. It helps readers understand the alphabetic principle (University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning, 2018)”.

In my classroom, these are a few ways I will be teaching Phonemic Awareness:

 Rhyming activities is a good way to go. Using singing and reading rhyming words will help students pay attention to the sounds of words.

 To work on letter sounds, letter sound bingo is the way to go. This activity makes learning sounds and relating them to objects and things much easier.

 Match game. Matching beginning sounds is a very efficient way to introduce phonemic to your children. Use the beginning sounds of foods and animals to match together.

 Beginning sound tic-tac-toe is a good way to go to build beginning sounds. Students say the beginning sound for each picture and then cover it with their marker.

At home, there are many fun ways you can reinforce this skill at home. A few examples are:

 Practice at home with everyday activities. Example, on a car ride or neighborhood walk, try a twist on the game, “I spy with my little eye.” Take turns pointing out things you see, but break the mystery words into individual sounds (phonemes).

 Use objects your child can see and touch to stand for sounds in words. For instance, line up three blocks of different colors—red, yellow, blue. As you say the individual sounds in a word, point to one of the blocks.

 Use objects your child can see and touch to stand for sounds in words. For example, line up three blocks of different colors—red, yellow, blue. As you say the individual sounds in a word, point to one of the blocks.

 Kids love sports, use a ball. Play a version of “horse.” This works best with four-phoneme words like p-o-n-y. Each basket earns one sound in the word. The first player to collect all four phonemes wins.

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Phonics “Phonics is a teaching method that helps students relate spoken sounds to written (letter–sound relationships), and how this knowledge can be used by readers to decode words in print (Bullard, 2017)”. Phonics help students comprehend text and help them decode words, which is a crucial element in reading success. When teaching phonics, two important concepts need to be taught to students and that is decoding and word recognition. “Decoding relates to the phonics and other word-level skills students learn that help them figure out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word encountered in print (Bullard, 2017)”. “Word recognition, on the other hand, relates to instantly identifying a word and its meanings without having to first decode it into its smaller parts (Bullard, 2017)”. An additional skill that needs to be talked about is the Alphabetic Principle. “The alphabetic principle is a term that means children develop an understanding that specific letters or letter combinations represent specific speech sounds in spoken words (Bullard, 2017)”.

“Research in phonics for young students with reading and writing development have shown that phonics instruction is helpful for all students, harmful for none, and crucial for some. A recent brain research study out of Stanford explained how beginning readers who focus on letter–sound relationships, or phonics, instead of trying to learn whole words, increase activity in the area of the brain best wired for reading. (Meeting the Challenges of Early Literacy Phonics Instruction 2019)”. In my classroom, these are a few ways I will be teaching phonics:

 Play a Sight Word Sticky Note Match by writing different words on the class whiteboard and make sticky notes of each of those words

 Play Sight Words Fly Swat, make flashcards with the required alphabet or words written on them. The children will then swat a particular word with a fly swatter

 Match and cover, students will identify the letter with the corresponding letter sounds on the game board

 Pocket chart activities, these will be used in large group for introducing a letter, a whole group sorting activity, or students can use this as a center. Students can use a pocket chart to sort the pictures or complete the activity on the floor.

 Can You Find the Uppercase/ Lowercase Letter A? The letters are hiding. Student will try to find the hidden letters. Can you find the uppercase letter A and the lowercase a? After all, mastering the skill of letter identification is the first step towards fluent reading.

At home, there are many fun ways you can reinforce this skill at home. A few examples are:

 Rainbow hop letter sounds game, transforms your living room into a life-sized board game. Use colored paper, one die and a marker to create a stepping-stone for every letter of the alphabet. Next roll the die, take the allotted number of hops and say and pronounce the letter that they land on.

 Alphabet ball, you call out a letter and the child respond with a word that begins with that letter. Then, throw the ball to the child and the child gives the adult a letter to find a word for, and on and on.

 Letter sounds race, Place letter magnet opposite any magnetic surface. While your kiddo stands near the magnet board, pronounce a letter sound, have them run to the letter magnets, pick out the corresponding letter and place it on the magnet board.

 Phonic photo scavenger hunt, have your child create a photo album, either physical or digital, with a photo of an item for every letter sound: “a” for anthill to “z” for zoo.

 Kaboom alphabet, Use craft sticks and a cup, each player will pull a stick out of the cup and say the sound of the letter written on the stick they draw. Then, they get to keep that stick. Pull the “KABOOM” and start over.

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Fluency “Reading fluency is characterized by (1) accurate, effortless, and automatic word identification (i.e., requiring little conscious attention); (2) appropriate age or grade-level reading speed or reading rate; (3) appropriate use of expression, or prosody, in the voice when reading aloud; and (4) correct text phrasing, sometimes called scooping or chunking (Bullard, 2017)”. Fluency, much like reading comprehension, needs to be developed across multiple text types such as poetry, narrative/fiction, and expository/nonfiction texts 181. Reading fluency is important as phonics and vocabulary. It is the key link between word recognition and comprehension. “You can help create optimal conditions for students to become fluent readers with an awareness of these six characteristics of effective fluency instruction and practice. They are model reading fluency, reading practice, access to appropriately challenging reading materials, use of oral and silent reading, monitoring and accountability, and wide and repeated reading (Bullard, 2017)”.

Reading fluency is necessary to increase reading comprehension and fluency leads to comprehension. “For many years, reading fluency has been acknowledged as an important goal in becoming a proficient and strategic reader (Bullard, 2017)”. The National Reading Panel’s (2000) analysis of the fluency studies showed that fluency practice is most effective when (1) the reading practice is oral; (2) it involves repeated readings of a text (more than three readings); and (3) students receive guidance or feedback from teachers, parents, volunteers, and peers. Stahl, Stahl, and Heubach reported investigations of the effects of fluency-oriented reading instruction (FORI) using two variations of reading practice: monitored, wide silent reading practice compared to oral repeated readings with feedback (Bullard, 2017)”. In my classroom, these are a few ways I will be teaching fluency:

 Letter naming fluency alphabet, Let your kids roll a number cube of your choice. Then have them locate the row that corresponds on the game board. Have them read the row that corresponds with the number on the dice.

 Sentence trees are terrific for building fluency in younger readers. They allow kids to focus on each word, improving accuracy and speed along the way.

 Put together poems and nursery rhymes. Breaking rhymes apart into individual words and putting them back together, kids see how words build into sentences and stories in a natural flow.

 Partner Reading! When kids read together, taking turns reading is a terrific way to get more fluent. When one reader is stronger, have them read the passage first and have the other reader echo it back.

 Reader’s theater in the classroom. When children are given specific sentences or lines to practice and read, they are more focused on the reading task at hand. The repeated reading of readers theater scripts implemented in the classroom can increase fluency as easily and effectively as poetry.

At home, there are many fun ways you can reinforce this skill at home. A few examples are:

 Parents can model fluency with read-aloud. Reading aloud to kids is important for so many reasons. It teaches kids what fluency sounds like. You can model expression, phrasing, pace, and so much more when they read to kids.

 Fluency involves lots and lots of reading and rereading. When kids read a passage over and over again, they build up their speed and accuracy automatically. One fun way to work on expression is to try rereading with different voices.

 Answer the fluency phone. Kids talk softly into the phone, and the sound is amplified in their ear.

 Reading buddy! Shy kids will especially appreciate the chance to practice reading out loud to a stuffed animal pal. Encourage your child to read as if their fuzzy friend can hear everything they’re saying.

 Pointing to words is good for building speed and accuracy, but scooping phrases takes things to the next level. This practice helps developing expression and comprehension.

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Vocabulary “Vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas, and content together, making reading comprehension possible for children. Vocabulary knowledge in reading is one of the “great predictors” of school success for English learners as well as native speakers of English (Bullard, 2017)’. There are for types of vocabulary that needs to be learned, they consist of listening, speaking, reading, and writing vocabularies. “Listening vocabulary, the largest, is made up of words we can hear and understand. All other vocabularies are subsets of our listening vocabulary. The second-largest vocabulary, speaking vocabulary, is composed of words we use appropriately when we speak. Next is our reading vocabulary, those words we can identify and understand when we read. The smallest vocabulary is our writing vocabulary—words we know and can use appropriately in writing (Bullard, 2017). When using best practices for vocabulary knowledge, “establish high quality classroom learning environment. Invest significant amounts of time (25-35 min), developing word consciousness boosts vocabulary learning, target vocabulary gaps, read wide and frequently, identify words relevant to readings and student’s needs (Bullard, 2017)”.

“In reviewing recent research on vocabulary learning, one conclusion becomes crystal clear: Reading comprehension and writing composition are dependent on word knowledge (Bullard, 2017)’. Research states that children who enter with limited vocabulary knowledge grow much more discrepant over time from their peers who have rich vocabulary knowledge (University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning)”

In my classroom, these are a few ways I will be teaching vocabulary:

 Word of the Week. Introduces students to many new words throughout the school year by having a word of the week activity.

 Vocabulary notebooks gives students a place to record their new words so they can refer back to them in the future. When you introduce a new word into the classroom, thoroughly define it for the students and then have them write the word in a notebook specifically reserved to record vocabulary words.

 A word wall is a collection of words that are displayed in a prominent place in your classroom.

 One of the best ways to teach vocabulary in is through play. Short games engage children minds the same way playing does. It also teaches them new words they can add to their vocabulary.

 Talk about new words during read aloud. Talking to and reading with your students are two terrific ways to help them hear and read new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy ways to get new words into everyday talk.

At home, there are many fun ways you can reinforce this skill at home. A few examples are:

 Grocery store vocabulary! The produce section is a great place to hear new interesting words. Words like rhubarb, asparagus, artichoke, and kiwi are fun to say, and fun to eat. As you introduce each one, use descriptive words to help your child learn.

 Visits to a museum, the zoo, the botanical garden, historical sites, and even your neighborhood park are terrific opportunities to introduce your child to new words.

 "What’s another word for ..." This game helps your child learn there’s more than one word for everyday things.

 Reading books is the ultimate word frequency list. Reading is great because it allows you to learn and to reinforce vocabulary.

 Using a simple, inexpensive photo album, students create a visual dictionary of key words.

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Reading Comprehension “Reading comprehension is intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader. The content of meaning is influenced by the text and by the reader’s prior knowledge and experience that are brought to bear on it (Bullard, 2017)”. Children develop reading comprehension through schema theory and construction-integration theory. “Schema (the plural is schemata or schemas) can be defined as a kind of storage cabinet in our brains with file folders containing different information about concepts, events, roles, and events. Construction-Integration Theory (construct idea from previous knowledge and integrate ideas (Bullard, 2017)”.

“Teachers and researchers have known for many years that reading comprehension is positively affected when students are interested in the reading materials. Knowing how important student interest is in developing reading comprehension, many believe the first place to begin is assessing this factor (259)”. “Researchers confirmed that reading comprehension is more than just a reader extracting meaning from text. Reading comprehension involves (1) the reader, (2) the text, (3) one’s purpose for reading, and (4) the sociocultural context shaped by such things as the reader’s home environment, peer groups, and relationships within the school setting (Bullard, 2017)”. The Three Waves of Reading Comprehension Research concluded that, “students who were taught single comprehension strategies performed significantly better on a variety of comprehension assessments than students who were not taught to use a single comprehension strategy during reading.

In my classroom, these are a few ways I will be teaching reading comprehension:

 Socratic Soccer Ball: Write comprehension questions on a soccer ball. Want to be able to change the questions? Write the questions on strips of masking tape and easily add and change them on the soccer ball.

 Roll & Retell: In partner activities or small groups, students roll the dice, then retell based on what it lands on.

 Rhyming Riddles. Prepare a worksheet with riddles that the students should read in order to figure out the mystery word. The clues include words that rhyme with the mystery word.

 Scrambled Sentences. Write or print a text or a dialogue on a paper and then cut it into strips with one sentence per strip. Ask the students to assemble the sentences into coherent text or dialogue.

 Story maps are visual representations of the elements that make up a narrative. The purpose of a story map is to help students focus on the important elements of narratives-theme, characters, settings, problems, plot events, and resolution-and on the relationship among those elements.

At home, there are many fun ways you can reinforce this skill at home. A few examples are:

 I predict…. When you sit down for a read aloud, look at the book's cover together. Ask, "What do you think this book might be about? Why? Can you make some predictions?"

 Five Finger Retell! After reading a story together, have your child tell you five things about the story, using her fingers to talk about each one.

 Model active reading when you read with your child. Talk about what's happening as you're reading.

 Wordless picture books provide your child with practice using clues to create meaning.

 Retell. After you finish reading to your child, have them retell the important parts of the story.

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Reference Page

Blevins, W. (2018, November 30). Meeting the Challenges of Early Literacy Phonics Instruction. Literacy Leadership Brief. International Literacy Association. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED609797.

Bullard, J. (2017). Creating environments for learning: birth to age eight. Pearson Education Inc.

University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Big Ideas in Beginning Reading. Phonemic Awareness: Concepts and Research. http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/pa/pa_what.php.

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