5 Big Ideas in Reading
1. Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with
the individual sounds in spoken words. Before children learn to read print,
they need to become aware of how sounds in words work. They must understand
that words are made up of speech sounds, or phonemes. Phonemes are the
smallest parts of sounds in a spoken word that make a difference in a word's
meaning.
Classroom phonemic awareness practices
I plan to use the spelling lists from Words Their Way each week.
Mini-lesson topics for phonemic awareness at our level will include
manipulation of phonemes. Specifically we will:
blend phonemes to make words
segment words into phonemes
delete phonemes from words
add phonemes to words
substitute one phoneme for another to form a new word
Example of phoneme segmentation:
Teacher: How many sounds are in grab?
Children: /g/ /r/ /a/ /b/ Four sounds.
Teacher: Now let's write the sounds in grab.
/g/ write g /r/ write r /a/ write a /b/ write b.
2. Phonics Instruction
Phonics instruction teaches children the relationships between the
letters(graphemes)of written language and the individual sounds(phonemes) of
spoken language. It teaches children to use these relationships to read and
write words. The goal of phonics instruction is to help children learn and
use the alphabetic principle----the understanding that there are systematic
and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds.
Classroom Phonics practices
We will be using the spelling lists from Words Their Way. It includes
carefully selected sets of letter-sound relationships that are organized into
a logical sequence. Specifically we will:
identify spelling patterns
sort spelling words according to their patterns
sort words from other sources according to patterns
apply knowledge of patterns into reading of words
apply knowledge of patterns into writing
have on-going assessment
3. Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When
fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group
words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers
read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as
if they are speaking. Readers who have not yet developed fluency read slowly,
word by word. Their oral reading is choppy and plodding. Fluency is
important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and
comprehension.
Classroom Practices for Fluency
Research shows students who read and reread passages orally as they
receive guidance and/or feedback become better readers. Specifically we will:
participate in guided echo reading
participate in guided choral reading
participate in timed oral readings
chart progress
tape record, listen to, and rate oral readings
identify prepostitional phrases to aid in chunking phrases
have on-going assessment
4. Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively.
In general, vocabulary can be described as oral vocabulary or reading
vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use in speaking or
recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or
use in print.
Vocabulary contributes much to reading comprehension. Readers cannot
understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean.
As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meanings
of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.
Classroom Vocabulary Practices
We will learn new words indirectly and directly this year. Specifically
we will:
engage daily in oral language
listen during read aloud
read extensively
read many different genres of literature to promote wide vocabulary
learn specific words before reading
work actively with words
use and work with words in many contexts
use reference aids
study word parts and their meanings
use context clues
have on-going assessment
5. Comprehension
Comprehension is the reason for reading. As they read, good readers are
both purposeful and active.
Good readers have a purpose for reading. They may read to find out how
to use a food processor, read a guidebook to gather information about state
parks, read a textbook to satify an assignment, read a magazine for
entertainment, or read a classic novel to experience and share great
literature.
Good readers think actively as they read. To make sense of what they
read, good readers engage in a complicated process. Using their experiences
and knowledge of the world, knowledge of vocabulary, and knowledge of reading
strategies, they make sense of the text and know how to get the most out of
it. They know when they have problems with understanding and how to resolve
those problems as they occur.
Classroom Comprehension Practices
Research has shown that instruction in comprehension can help students
understand what they read, remember what they read, and communicate with
others about what they read. Specifically students will be guided to:
be aware of what they do understand
identify what they do not understand
use appropriate "fix up" strategies
re-state difficult sentences in own words
look back through the text
look forward in the text
use graphic organizers to understand text structure
use graphic organizers to visually represent relationships in a text
use graphic organizers to write summaries of a text
work in cooperative learning groups
ask questions about text while reading
summarize parts of texts
predict what might occur next in texts
THINK, THINK, THINK