F A L L

2 0 1 6

The Benefits
of

Reading
At School and Home

Components of
Learning to
1) Word Identification
a) Phonics sounding
out words

Newsletter to Parents:
The Importance of
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Reading
Hi my name is Aaron Devine, I will be teaching the grade
1 class this year. I am writing this letter to inform you of
the emphasis on reading that will be taking place in our
classroom. Reading should be fun as it develops and
strengthens our imagination, it helps us discover new
things, and it helps expand our communication and
listening skills.
The ability to read effects performance in all subjects in
school and affects all facets of life. I strongly believe that
learning how to read establishes a firm foundation and is a
keystone for success in and out of school.
My goal is to set a strong literacy foundation for all my
students and to ensure a great grade 1 year. In order to
achieve this goal I need your help. With encouragement of
reading at home your childs literacy foundation will be
effectively reinforced.
Regards,

b) Phonic Awareness
identifying sounds
2) Vocabulary
Development
3) Fluency reading
smoothly & easily
4) Comprehension

understand, remember,
& explain

Comprehension
Here some of comprehension
strategies that are going to
incorporated in my classroom and
can be used at home as well

High 5!

1) Activating background knowledge.

Activate prior knowledge or make connections to
background knowledge.
2) Questioning
Encourage the reader to make and answer
questions before and during reading
3) Analyzing text structure
Looking at keywords, subheadings, and other
structural features
4) Creating mental images
Creating mental images of what is being read or
how texts are structured
5) Summarizing
Condense main ideas and connect major themes.

Comprehension Strategies
1) Word Wall include important words, to assist with
sight word identification and to focus on how key
words are spelled and used.
2) Choral Reading - using poetry or other texts to
practice reading and re-reading in small groups to
increase fluency.
3) Making Words provide letters and students
practice using/manipulating them to create words
and learn to attend to spelling and meanings.

4) Story Sequencing Activity - Describing the events

and characters of the story

The ultimate purpose of reading is

to understand what authors have to
say, to make meaning from texts, to
comprehend. (Block & Pressley, 2002;
Liang & Dole, 2006)

FALL 2016

Enhancing Reading Development

The Daily 5
1) Read to Self - practice reading each day to become a better
reader.
2) Work on Writing practice writing each day.
3) Partner reading read with someone.
4) Word work expanding vocabulary increases fluency and
comprehension.
5) Listen to reading hear fluent and expressive reading.

Examples of Available Books in Class

Red: A Crayons Story
By Michael Hall
Fiction, Inclusion
My Princess Boy
By Cheryl Kilodavis
Non-fiction, LGBTQ
One Family
By George Shannon
Picture book, Diversity

Sick and Stone

By Beth Ferry
Picture book, Friendship and
bullying
On the Shoulders of a Giant: An
Inuit Folktale
Retold by Neil Christopher
Picture book, FNMI; Folklore
Something Extraordinary
By Ben Clanton
Picture book