Your First-Grader and Reading
In Your Child's Classroom
An independent reader
In first grade, your child is becoming an independent reader. Your first-grader is learning strategies to decode unknown words. He typically has many opportunities to read - independently, in groups, with a partner - and listen to books being read aloud. He will also reread stories to increase his speed and understanding. He will learn that there are different purposes for reading: for pleasure, to get directions and to gather information.
Books and print
First-graders are exposed to many different kinds of texts - such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry and songs - to foster a love of reading, and experience the rhyme and rhythm of language. Your first-grader will learn to identify the title, author and illustrator of a book. She should be able to recognize the parts of a book, such as the cover, title page and table of contents. She will recognize that sentences begin with capital letters and end with punctuation.
The letter-sound relationship
Your first-grader is getting repeated practice working with letters and their sounds. He is learning how to decode new words by applying the letter-sound relationship for single letters, pairs of letters, such as sh or er, and short and long vowel patterns, such as the silent e. He may sort objects and pictures by the beginning sounds he has studied. He practices blending sounds together to make words, perhaps by playing a game to blend s-a-t to make the word sat. He practices breaking words into separate sounds such as breaking hop into h-o-p. He will replace sounds in words, such as substituting the s in sat with c to make cat. He will clap out the syllables in words. First-graders read books that include the letter-sound relationship they are learning as well as frequently used words that they have been taught.
Reading for meaning
Your first-grader is learning to derive meaning from what is read to her and what she reads. You can expect her to recognize the sequence of events in a story, and their cause and effect, as well as to anticipate the possible outcome. She is learning to retell familiar stories, summarizing the main ideas and plot, and identifying the characters and settings. She is able to use illustrations, text and her own prior knowledge to grasp the meaning of the story.
Your first-grader is likely to be using diagrams or pictures to organize and show understanding of the information she has read. She may fill in a diagram that sequences the main events from a story. A Venn diagram, made up of two overlapping circles, may be used to compare similarities and differences in characters and stories.
Reading aloud
Listening to books read aloud gives first-graders models of fluent reading and helps them develop a positive attitude toward books. It also helps them understand vocabulary and language patterns in texts. Books read aloud are often discussed before, during and after the reading to increase involvement and understanding. Your child should also have opportunities to read aloud in a group or with a partner to help build his reading fluency.
Shared reading experience
Your first-grader may take part in shared reading, an interactive reading experience. Your child joins in the reading of a big book, one with enlarged text that the whole class can see, guided by his teacher. During the reading, children are actively involved. The teacher may pause in the reading to introduce print conventions, teach vocabulary, introduce a reading skill, encourage the students to predict what comes next, and more. The book is typically read multiple times over several days.
Guided reading groups
In first grade your child may take part in guided reading, a practice in which the teacher interacts with small groups of students as they read books. The teacher introduces reading strategies, tailoring the instruction to the needs of the students. As students read, the teacher provides support as needed. "At all grade levels, teachers should use flexible grouping rather than fixed reading groups. This allows each child to progress when ready, in developmentally appropriate material," explains reading specialist, Jennifer Thompson.
