READING
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This page consists of documents that contain the tools and strategies we use in class with students to teach them to decode, blend and read. These are additional documents that you can use with your child besides the ones given by the teacher in class and for the homework folder.
Phonics
Definition: Method for teaching to read and write using letter sounds.
The following documents contain a phonemic explanation of each of the letters that students will be learning this school year.
High Frequency Words (AKA Sight Words)
Definition: These are words that good readers may instantly recognize without having to "figure them out." There are two reasons why high frequency/sight words are an essential component of good reading: First of all, many of these words do not sound like their spellings might suggest, so "sounding them out" would be unproductive. Also, a good reader really can’t afford the time to dwell on too many words, or she/he may lose the speed and fluency necessary for determining the author’s message.
The following documents contain the HFW/Sight Words for each of the themes in First Grade. Students will have these documents in their Homework Folders. Parents may print them out if needed.
Word Families
Definition: Word families (also known as phonograms or "chunks") can really help your child "crack the code" of our inconsistent language by providing some predictable patterns within words. As you and I learned to read, we picked up these patterns effortlessly, and they still help us when we try to decode new words. When we direct our child’s attention to these same patterns, they too will be able to untangle the seemingly unrelated sounds of English.
The following documents contain the Word Families for each of the themes in First Grade. Students will have these documents in their Homework Folders. Parents may print them out if needed.
Extra Reading Activities
The following documents contain activities and games for students to work. These are not homework assignments and do not need to be turned in to the teacher. Each of these documents contains several pages. I recommend that parents print out the pages that contain sounds, word families and spelling patterns that students have covered in class to avoid student frustration.