Below you will find important information regarding the Grade 1 literacy program components. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Dear Families, As you may well know, literacy development is a major focus for the grade one students this year. The program is made up of several different components, each playing an important role in helping your children grow as readers and writers. In addition to participation in regular language skill lessons and shared reading group work in the classroom, all students will be expected to complete some practice “jobs” at home. These components will begin at different times throughout September and October, you will be updated as each component is introduced to your child. Please see below for details about each component.
SIGHT WORD PROGRAM Begins: Friday, September 20th Regular practice of sight words is proven to be of great value in the development of emergent reading skills. All of our students are working towards the goal of learning to recognize several sets of sight vocabulary words. These are taken from a standard list of basic words that are frequently used in early reading materials. There are many ways to practice these words with your child. Creating homemade flash cards, asking your child to find certain words, making the same words out of scrabble tiles or magnetic letters are just a few examples. The intent is to make it fun!
Some children will learn the word sets quite quickly while others may take a few weeks or longer for each set. Be accepting of your own child’s ability and comfort level. Remember that all children learn at their own individual rates and cannot be expected to learn on another student’s schedule.
FAMILY / HOME READING PROGRAM Begins: Friday, October 4th Each child should be encouraged to spend 10-15 minutes reading at home each day. Some of this time should be allocated to their home reading leveled book. While it might seem that the books are quite simple, be assured that they have been carefully chosen to fit your child’s literacy needs and are at their appropriate instructional level. Your child will bring home one book each day and up to two on a weekend. It has been proven that regular practice of reading books written at the appropriate instructional level helps to develop sight vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing skills. This is where parental support becomes a key factor in the success of every child. Please listen to your child read on a daily basis. Encourage him/her to use his/her own knowledge of letters and sounds to “guess” words that they don’t know. Help him/her to “figure out” hard words by looking at the pictures or the first letters for clues. Above all, be relaxed and positive about any effort to try new materials. We encourage you to supplement their home reading leveled books with other reading materials at home or from the library - story books, magazines, chapter books you read orally to them and they follow along. It is important for them to explore a variety of print, hear an adult read aloud for fluency and pace; as well as to keep reading as interesting as possible. You will be amazed at how much your child will improve with regular practice.
WORD STUDY PROGRAM Begins: Friday, September 20th This years spelling will be differentiated – each student will work at their own pace. These words were chosen as each list is arranged sequentially by spelling stage.
Families are encouraged to work with their child to spell these words several times each week, one list at a time. Practicing these lists of words will assist with spelling in their writing activities, as well as increase their phonetic knowledge in reading. *Please refer to the WORD STUDY tab on this website for full details
SHOW AND SHARE Begins: Friday, September 20th Show and share is a crucial part of our literacy program, it focuses on writing skills, oral speaking skills, listening, questioning, developing a positive self-image and responsibility to complete a work task.
Each weekend students will complete a sharing journal based on a weekly theme. Sharing journals will come home on Fridays and must be returned on Mondays. Students will share throughout the week in no particular order. Students will not bring a physical item (unless specifically requested in the weekly theme). In the journals, with the support of families, students will draw and colour a picture, as well as complete a writing piece. Students abilities will vary and I will provide a variety of examples to help you determine where you child may want to start and milestones to work towards over the course of the year.
I sincerely hope you can help your child complete their show and share journal each weekend, as well as rehearse their oral language skills at home. *Please refer to the SHOW AND SHARE tab on this website for the theme each week.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help your child practice the skills necessary to grow as a reader and a writer. I hope that it will be a rewarding experience for everyone. If you have any questions about my literacy program please feel free to call or write a note in the planner.