Becoming Successful Readers!

Dear Parents!

We want every child to enjoy and love to READ!  Each kindergarten student has been tested by the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment).  This assessment determines an appropriate reading level for each student.  Your child is working on reading strategies to enhance their fluency.  Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.  In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently.  A fluent reader can read smoothly and with expression. 

Your child will bring home a “READER” each Monday to practice reading with you.  Please return the book along with the homework folder by Friday.  Your child will receive a new book each week to practice.  Your child’s book will be coming home in a plastic Ziploc bag.  Please be sure to keep these books in the baggie in order to protect the book from being damaged.  These books will need to be used for several years.   We want you to focus on several reading strategies in order for your child to become a fluent reader! 

Reading Strategies

Picture Walk:  Have your child look at the pictures and tell you what they think is happening in the story.

Word Walk:  Have your child go through the book and look for words they know.  They might be sight words, or words they can blend.

Discuss/review reading strategies: What are we going to do if we get to a word we don’t know?  Do not skip it, use the pictures to help you, sound it out, figure out a word that makes sense, get your mouth ready to say it, look for a little word in the big word

Model Fluent Reading:  Have your child finger point as you read a page. Tracking the words with their finger as they read is a very important step in learning to read fluently.  Then have your child reread the page without you!

Read Chorally: Have your child finger point as they read together with you.  Continue reading each page.

Individual Reading: Have your child read pages while you listen. As you listen to your child provide support and encourage looking for word clues if they stumble on a word they do not know!(EXAMPLE: what letter does it begin with…….so what sound will it begin with?  Is it a sight word? )

Thank you for your support in helping your child become a happy, excited, fluent reader!