As I mentioned in my previous emails, Children's Reading Partners surveys teachers at the beginning and the end of our programs to see where students need help and how they have improved. Over the next few weeks, I'll continue sharing tips to address the areas where our students need the most help, based on the results of our fall evaluations. I want to thank you for taking the time to read these emails, as these tips are designed to specifically target your students' area of literacy needs.
Our fall 2016 Elementary Express survey found that over 65% of students in kindergarten through second grade need improvement in their phonics/decoding skills. Phonics has to do with a student's ability to understand the relationship between letters and their sounds. Decoding involves the ability to apply this understanding to correctly pronounce words.
A quick disclaimer: As a reading mentor, you are not responsible for teaching a child direct phonics and decoding skills. In fact, giving a child direct phonics and decoding instruction can actually interfere with the instruction he or she is receiving in class. That said, there are still many facets of your reading session that indirectly contribute to your student's phonics and decoding skills development
During reading aloud/shared reading: Children often tend to focus on the illustrations when you read to them. While illustrations help to engage children in the story, you should also guide your student's attention to the printed words and letters. This will help set the stage for reading individual words. For example, by asking your student to point to each word as you read together, you can help him or her learn basic concepts about print - a crucial prerequisite to learning to read. (I'll discuss concepts about print in more detail in a later email.)
During independent reading: By setting aside a portion of your reading session for your student to read to you, you allow valuable practice time for the phonics/decoding skills he or she is learning in class. Ask your student to bring an "independent reading book" along to your reading session. This should be a book he or she is reading in class. As your student reads to you, he or she will most likely get stuck on pronouncing some words - and there are strategies you can use to help with this. I highly recommend reading
this blog entry by "Growing Book by Book," which lists ten strategies to help a child in this situation.
As a reading mentor, you may not be responsible for teaching students phonics skills - but you can surely help your student improve this area of reading over time.
Happy reading!
Alana
Alana Butler
Director, Children's Reading Partners
860.727.6152
