Foundational Skills Instruction
Reading on grade-level by the end of third grade is one of the most critical milestones in education. Shelby County Schools' Academic Office will engage in several strategies focused on improving early literacy instruction and increasing reading proficiency and growth across the district. One of these strategies is getting teachers, students, and parents to understand not only the importance of foundational skills, but how to effectively teach them at school and at home!
What is Foundational Skills instruction?
Below is a breakdown of what your child will be learning in my classroom this year. As students grow in language arts, I will gradually continue these steps up the reading ladder! By the end of Pre-K, I expect 80-90% of my students to have reached the comprehension milestone. With your help at home, we can make it happen together!
Alphabet
Students need to know that the English language is based on 26 letters, each associated with one or more sounds. They must be able to recognize, name, and form these letters in order to read and write.
Print Concepts
When teachers introduce students to written language, students must understand the basic organization and concepts of print: Words have meaning, left-to-right and top-to-bottom hierarchy; letters create words and words create sentences; words are separated by spaces, and punctuation controls the pace and expression of print. Children frequently come to understand these concepts through owning their first books.
Phonological Awareness
This foundational skill is about recognizing the sounds of language. It begins with word awareness and the ability to recognize, for example, the number of words that make up a spoken sentence. Secondary mastery of these skills includes recognizing rhyme and syllables. At the most detailed level, the phoneme level, students can discern the sounds that make up a word. They can segment the sounds within a word, blend sounds together to make a word, and substitute sounds to make new words.
Phonics
Students must match a unit of sound (a phoneme) to the letter or letters that make the sound. Separating the written word into its individual sounds and blending the individual sounds of letters to make words are the foundation of reading.
High-Frequency Word Recognition
Students must be able to recognize and read a collection of high-frequency words — many of which cannot be decoded by sight — and be able to do so with increasing automaticity.
Fluency
Students must be able to read and comprehend text on-level accurately, at the appropriate rate, and with the correct expression. This is best accomplished by repeated readings of text passages of increasing complexity while reporting the reading rate and accuracy.
Comprehension
Students must be able to understand and comprehend what they are reading. Comprehension is where students are reading for understanding. Understanding the text allows students to be able to work independently, find areas of text, and begin researching information to be independent in the future.
Students need to know that the English language is based on 26 letters, each associated with one or more sounds. They must be able to recognize, name, and form these letters in order to read and write.
Print Concepts
When teachers introduce students to written language, students must understand the basic organization and concepts of print: Words have meaning, left-to-right and top-to-bottom hierarchy; letters create words and words create sentences; words are separated by spaces, and punctuation controls the pace and expression of print. Children frequently come to understand these concepts through owning their first books.
Phonological Awareness
This foundational skill is about recognizing the sounds of language. It begins with word awareness and the ability to recognize, for example, the number of words that make up a spoken sentence. Secondary mastery of these skills includes recognizing rhyme and syllables. At the most detailed level, the phoneme level, students can discern the sounds that make up a word. They can segment the sounds within a word, blend sounds together to make a word, and substitute sounds to make new words.
Phonics
Students must match a unit of sound (a phoneme) to the letter or letters that make the sound. Separating the written word into its individual sounds and blending the individual sounds of letters to make words are the foundation of reading.
High-Frequency Word Recognition
Students must be able to recognize and read a collection of high-frequency words — many of which cannot be decoded by sight — and be able to do so with increasing automaticity.
Fluency
Students must be able to read and comprehend text on-level accurately, at the appropriate rate, and with the correct expression. This is best accomplished by repeated readings of text passages of increasing complexity while reporting the reading rate and accuracy.
Comprehension
Students must be able to understand and comprehend what they are reading. Comprehension is where students are reading for understanding. Understanding the text allows students to be able to work independently, find areas of text, and begin researching information to be independent in the future.