The Reading Rover
Literacy Lessons with Mrs. Andrew
Grades 1 and 2
Reading-In Grade 2 we are proving words using HEC Horizons Intensive Phonics Instruction Program. So far we have learned~
So far we have learned short vowel rules:
Skill 1:
When a word has 1 vowel and 1 guardian (consonant following the vowel) it is short.
Skill 2:
When a word has 1 vowel and 2 guardians (consonants following the vowel) it is also short.
Skill 3:
When a vowel has no guardians it is long
Skill 4:
When e is at the end of most words it is silent and the first vowel is so strong it says its name or is long. The guardian is not a guardian because the e has more power and makes the first vowel talk.
Skill 5:
When 2 vowels are adjacent, most of the time the second vowel is silent and the first vowel is long.
Here is a list of the skills we are working on so that you can reinforce these habits at home:
First, all good readers use a 3 cue system to read:
Use your eyes to determine if what you are saying represents the letters you are seeing.
Use your ears to determine if what you are saying is a familiar word or sound.
Use your brain to determine if what you said makes sense in the sentence.
Visual cueing-
If your child reads spitting for spilling say, “You said spitting, does that look like the word in the story?” or, “It looks like spitting, look again at the middle of the word and read it again.”
Cueing listening-
If your child reads crat for crab say, “Does that sound like a word we know? Have you heard that word before?” “Can you use it in a sentence?”
Cueing sense-
Many picture books include higher level vocabulary that can only be determined through the pictures for younger readers. If the sentence reads The students ate lunch, and your child is struggling over the word students, skip the word and decide what would make sense? Kids, children- ask, “Can you think of a word that would begin with the sounds we see? St? students. “Let’s see how that sounds in the sentence.”
Unless the word your child is trying to decode has multiple syllables, try not to provide the word directly, but cue the child to make the connections on his/her own. If you want to try multi-syllabic words, have your child highlight (flashlight) the vowels first to determine how many beats they should hear. Remember when vowels are adjacent they make 1 sound and silent e does not count.
Grade 4 and 5 Students Practice their Reading Detective Skills for Writing
Kindergarten Students Explore the Alphabet
Kindergarten students will soon be reading, but first we need to know each uppercase and lowercase letter as well as the sound of each. You can help by having your little reader listen to you model the sounds and guide their understanding of how to identify and shape the letters. The kids feel so confident when they can show what they know in school, so thank you for all of your time in supporting literacy at home.
Here are some great sites:
For ABC Mouse-Use the code I sent home in your parent letter on 11/11/14
For Reading Eggs use your school 224 number