The primary goal is to develop proficiency in the skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The reading program incorporates a balanced literacy approach that includes the following components: read alouds, shared reading, guided reading, literature study, and independent reading. A wide range of literary genres and other materials are used, and instruction varies from full class to small groups to individualized work. Reading Strategies: The following five reading strategies will be focused on this year. The ultimate goal is for your child to use each strategy independently. 1. Look at the Picture Students should:
look at the picture on each page
notice what is important in the picture
think about what is happening in the picture
make a meaningful guess on the word you are unsure of in the sentence
2. Go Back and Get Your Mouth Ready Students should:
go back to the beginning of the line when they come to a difficult word
re-read the line
when the student comes to that difficult word again, they should get the first part of the word started out loud and think about what would make sense
3. Make Sense? Sound Right? Look Right? Students should:
ask themselves if what they are saying makes sense with what is happening in the story
ask themselves if what they are saying can be said that way in the English language
ask themselves if the words they are reading looks like it can truly be that word based on the letters they see in the book
4. Break It Up Into Chunks That You Know Students should:
NOT look at a word letter-by-letter
look for smaller chunks they know first to help decode the rest of the word (examples: at, is, ay)
look for smaller words they know first to help decode the rest of the word (example: catching or toothpick)
5. Hop Over It and Go Back Students should:
“hop” over a difficult word until they reach the end of the sentence
use the context of the sentence and story to determine what would make sense there
re-read the sentence with their guess in order to confirm that their guess makes sense, sounds right, and looks right