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The Alphabetic Principle is the first and most basic area of reading. This area constitutes knowing the twenty-six upper/lower case letters, and the sounds that go with each letter. This area is important because this is where reading print begins. Children have to recognize the letters and their associated sounds if they are going to continue developing their literary knowledge. To assess how much they know in this area, the caregiver can ask for the names of the letters he shows to the student, and ask her to pronounce the letter sounds. There are a variety of instructional tactics to teach or help students learn this area. This can include bringing out letter identification cards for the students to name, provide “letters of the day” where the teacher not only presents the letter but also goes over its attributes, and practice pronounce letters through songs.
These tactics are a few that I am a fan of and I plan on using them with students who need help. One other strategy I will work on with my students is letter comparisons. Many young children have a problem with recognizing similar looking letter like b and d. In games that I do I will usually always include letters like these. Games are a good way for students to learn. I wish my Head Start would take advantage of using games to educate children. This Head Start does not allow structured learning. It needs to be play-based. So in order to do that we as teachers can come up with games such as the letter match game. The teacher flips at least seven sets of letter over and the kids have to find the matches. I can add rules such as they have to name the letters they turn over to continue.
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Phonemic Awareness elevates slightly in difficulty. This tactic is similar to The Alphabetic Principle however the main focus here is being able to recognize and blend the sounds of letters into different patters. This becomes very helpful because words are made of different blends and patterns of letters. A tricky part to this also has to do with different combinations of words making the same sounds (i.e. know and no). There are many different assessments for Phonemic Awareness. Simple assessments include having students recognize vowels/consonants and produce rhyming words. Assessments that increase in difficulty include asking the students to pick out the which word rhyme out of a group (ex. fix, far, car, can), pick out different choose words that are not like the rest (ex. an, at, fish), and even deconstruct word into sounds (ex. bat = “b”-“a”-“t”).
There are a lot of ways to teach this tactic that range from formal teaching such as explaining what constitutes as a rhyme and give examples to less formal methods. As a first grade teacher I plan on using both methods but I feel as if I instruct by using play-based activities, the information will resonate with the students more. For example instead of simply stating examples of rhymes, I might make a rhythm by clapping my hands and having the students do what I do. It might be something like “’toe’ rhymes with ‘no’ (clap)(clap), ‘scrub’ rhymes with ‘rub’ (clap)(clap)”. This activity would work well in groups or one-on-one and both ways are beneficial.
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Oral Reading Fluency is a skill that helps the students prove to their teachers that they are able to read aloud. The definition What K-3 Teachers Need to Know About Assessing Children’s Reading states, “Fluency includes reading text quickly, accurately, and with intonations. I repeated this definition because before I summarize this skill I want to make special mention of an important word that is left out. The word is smooth. Fluency reminds me of a similar sounding word fluid. Like fluid a key part of fluency is that the words spoken are supposed to “flow” smoothly. Pauses or breaks detract for reading aloud and also listening to someone reading. I do not believe reading fluently can happen without reading smoothly.
Being fluent in reading is arguably one of the most important aspects of reading. It is a central measure in Curriculum-Based Measurement, and is a popular/ important way for teachers to assess how far along a student is in reading. By listening to students teachers get a good idea if the words are not only coming out correctly but also being processed in the mind as well. The simplest way to assess how fluent a student is in reading is to simply have the student read to the teacher. As far as instructing an individual on how to read fluently, a teacher can have the student read along with the class, repeat the teacher, and read a passage silently followed by reading the same passage aloud. Like the previous two skills, I think students would be helped more by practicing this skill in groups and one-on-one with a teacher. Personally I feel one-on-one practice will allow the skill to resonate more with the student. An example of an activity that I might do to help reading would be to have the student repeat what and how I say something. For example I would say a sentence and the student would repeat. Then I would say the same sentence in a high voice and the student would do the same. I would do a few more voices then end on saying that sentence in our normal voices. I feel like this activity would be a little fun and memorable.
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Memorizing and repeating words are not enough when it comes to learning how to read. A student has to Comprehend or understand what the text is trying to say. Without connecting to the text being read, the information in the text will not be of any use. Comprehension is not a simple concept when it comes to young readers. However teachers can assess if the students are on the right path to comprehension by asking the students to retell what is written, discuss key ideas in the readings and answer questions about what has just been written.
This can be tricky for teachers not only when it comes to dealing with students who are not able to grasp the context as well as the other students, but also when it comes to a student not enjoying what is being read. As teacher I feel we should try to always find something interesting for them to read. That is the kind of things that stick in a person’s mind. I really like what the reading suggested. It suggested teaching this by using analogies. I could have a student read, “The classroom was empty.” Then I would ask the student to say that statement in a different way. Using picture books is also a good way to build comprehension because it has the students step into the place of the characters and become aware of their motives and actions.
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The last skill What K-3 Teachers Need to Know About Assessing Children’s Reading talks about is vocabulary. The essential skill entails that the students be able to identify, know the meaning of, and be able to use words. In my mind comprehension is not possible without this skill because in order to connect and understand text, a person has to know the words that make the story. Teachers do urge kids to practice this skill so that the students can increase their ability to read more difficult texts. To assess how much a student knows in this area, the teacher can have the kids take word-recognition tests either aloud, on paper, or on the computer.
When thinking about how to teach vocabulary a teacher can use formal-based methods or activity-based methods. Personally I think it is equally important to use both methods to teach this skill. Using methods such as posting words on the walls and having the students repeatedly recite the definitions is a good way to get them started in learning the vocabulary. This is a direct and simple method. However after this, the teacher has to try to keep the students interested in maintaining the information by using activities. Some examples of activities include giving the children crossword puzzles, or ask them to write poetry using certain vocabulary words.
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