Developing a strong reading foundation is crucial in order for students to succeed in all aspects of learning as reading is a part of learning about science, social studies, and even math! There are many aspects when it comes to learning how to read. It is important to have a strong understanding of each layer or level before moving onto the next.

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There are five main areas that all must be taught in order for a child to become a successful reader:

• Phonemic Awareness

• Phonics

• Vocabulary

• Fluency

• Comprehension

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We hope that students have a solid understanding of print concepts and letter recognition when entering First grade. Students should be able to identify each letter by name when presented, and share what sound the letter makes. We begin the year by reviewing the short vowel sounds, consonants, and reading CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant, such as dog, cat, hot, rat, etc.) We then teach increasingly more complex phonics skills and patterns. These increasingly more complex phonics skills and patterns are much more difficult to understand and retain without the proper print concept and phonemic awareness foundation.