Thursday, December 20, 2007

Reading Objectives (Grade 1)

Students in the Emerging Phase of language development listen to and enjoy stories read to them in one-on-one and small group situations. They process favourite stories in reading-like ways, approximating book language. They imitate reading behaviours and "read" back short language experience stories developed by the class. They choose to return many times to favourite books and talk about books they like. They request rereading of favourites. Students in the Emerging Phase show an interest in alphabet and one-letter books. They discuss pictures and illustrations, and incorporate story elements, words, and phrases from books into their play. They respond to stories through drawing.


Students at the Early Developing Phase enjoy being read to and relate story events to their own experiences. They choose and discuss favourite books. They confidently share feelings about books and show enjoyment and understanding through talking, drawing, and dramatizing meaningful parts. They make connections between story events and their own experiences. They participate orally in shared reading of predictable books. They pretend read to other children or toys, using a familiar book and a simple retelling format, or an unfamiliar book and the pictures to construct a story. They read classroom labels, signs, and other environmental print. They recognize a few high frequency words within instructional contexts such as word wall activities and shared reading of predictable books. Students in this phase use the meaning of the story to predict what might happen next and view themselves as readers.

Students in the Developing Phase have basic book knowledge and story sense, distinguish text from illustrations, and can track a line of print in an enlarged text using word spaces. They know where a story starts and ends (physically) and often play at reading. They show an awareness that the text of favourite books is consistent or that the story stays the same across readings. When supported by a teacher framing words and sentences, they voice-print match (i.e., recognize a word as an individual unit, use left to right and top to bottom progression in order to follow words in the correct order as they are read, and match one-to-one a word being read and its printed form). They demonstrate book knowledge (i.e., cover, front/back, right side up, how to turn pages). They participate in framing and counting words in short morning messages and other meaningful texts. They can read key words in the context of poems, the morning message, rhymes, and songs. They recognize the name and sounds of most of the letters of the alphabet.


By the end of grade 1, most students read and understand a range of grade-level appropriate written texts including selected works of children's literature. They read their own writing, experience charts, and labels. They are interested in interpreting symbols and print in their environment. They recognize reading as a meaning-making process focused on what is being communicated. They are beginning to use phonics and word parts, draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies, and distinguish between fiction and nonfiction. They read aloud with fluency, expression, and comprehension any text that is already familiar and is at their independent reading level.

By the end of grade 1, most students match oral words to printed words and identify letters, words, and sentences. They are aware of the relationship between the letters and sounds of the English language. They distinguish initial, medial, and final sounds and long and short vowel sounds in single syllable words. They create and state a series of rhyming words, including consonant blends. They add, delete, and change a target sound to change words (e.g., cow to how; pan to an). Students blend two to four phonemes into recognizable words and segment single syllable words into their components. Grade 1 students generate the sounds from all the letters and letter patterns, including consonant blends and long and short vowel patterns (i.e., word families), and blend those sounds into recognizable words.

By the end of grade 1, most students identify the sequence of a text and respond to who, what, when, where, and how questions. They follow one-step written instructions. They confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text. Students relate prior knowledge to textual information, retell the central ideas of simple expository and narrative passages, and identify and describe elements of plot, setting, and character(s) in a story, as well as the story's beginning, middle, and ending. They have an interest in reading and discussing a variety of resources and accompanying Illustrations. Students recollect, talk, and write about books read during the school year. They understand that library materials have an organizational system. They respect their own culture and the various cultures, lifestyles, and experiences represented in literature.

Foundational Objective: Read a range of grade-level appropriate print texts in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes.

* participate in shared and guided reading experiences
* participate in individual, small group, and whole class reading of texts for emergent and early developing readers
* experience the work of Saskatchewan and other Canadian authors, including Aboriginal authors
* read many narrative and informational texts with supportive text features including poems, pattern books, predictable books, word lists, labels, experience charts, songs, and nonsense verse
* practise using expression and phrasing through oral reading
* read familiar texts aloud with some fluency and accuracy
* read to and with others
* read for enjoyment

Foundational Objective: Learn about and practise the skills and strategies of effective readers.

Before Reading:

* activate and build upon prior knowledge and experiences
* predict what the text is about based on title, pictures, and background information presented by teacher
* determine question(s) to be answered by reading text
* set purpose for reading

During Reading:

* attempt and practise reading behaviours
* make connections between text, prior knowledge, and personal experiences
* make and check predictions using prior knowledge and text features (e.g., illustrations, titles) to understand information
* use a variety of strategies to construct and confirm meaning (e.g., ask questions, reread, read ahead)
* use the cueing systems to construct meaning: pragmatic (e.g., home vs school language), textual (e.g., beginning, middle, and ending patterns), syntactic (e.g., differentiating between sentence structures), semantic (e.g., "does it make sense?"), and graphophonic (e.g., recognize key sight words, sound-letter relationships, initial and final consonants, word families) to construct meaning
* use pictionaries and word wall as aids
* begin to self-correct
* identify ideas and information to make sense
* recognize a variety of forms of texts such as poetry and plays
* recognize that individuals adjust language use according to situation
* appreciate repetition, rhyme, and other interesting uses of language
* practise skills of effective readers

After Reading:

* retell simple narrative stories and informational texts (e.g., story maps, pictographs)
* compare texts
* reread favourite stories
* discuss and explain response to how, why, and what-if questions
* recall details, events, characters, setting, and sequence of events
* compare stories
* relate aspects of stories and characters from print texts to personal experiences
* share feelings evoked by particular texts
* explain why a particular text is a personal favourite
* represent and tell key facts and ideas
* respond to texts in various ways (e.g., discussing, creating dramas or songs)
* answer questions
* tell what they enjoyed or did not enjoy
* tell own stories that relate to topic of text being read
* enjoy reading texts independently

Foundational Objective: Assess personal strengths and set goals for future growth.

* reflect upon own reading skills and strategies including checking for meaning and sounding out words

Assessment Techniques for Reading (Grade 1)
Sample assessment techniques include:

* observation and developmental reading checklists (p. 143-144)
* anecdotal records
* letter recognition and letter-sound assessment (p. 156)
* graphophonic checklist (p. 157)
* sight word assessment (p. 158)
* reading interview (p. 145)
* running records and reading inventories (p. 148-151)
* oral reading and retelling assessment (p. 152)
* reading conference record (p. 159)
* reading records (p. 160-161).

Instructional Suggestions for Reading (Grade 1)
"There is not a single method or single combination of methods that can successfully teach all children to read. Therefore teachers must have a strong knowledge of multiple methods for children in their care so they can create the appropriate balance of methods needed for the children they teach."
(International Reading Association, 1999)

Sample instructional activities include:

* read to children often (and reread) a variety of texts (fiction, nonfiction) such as prose, poetry, lists, and signs
* demonstrate book handling
* have children look at and represent texts
* plan shared reading experiences for the whole class and small groups
* draw children's attention to letters and letter sounds in their own names and in environmental print (e.g., guess my letter, one-letter books, sensory exploration of letters)
* support play activities (e.g., reading messages in post office centre)
* encourage children to experiment with reading behaviours (e.g., read around the room)
* create a print-rich environment
* demonstrate the concept that what can be said can be written and read (e.g., morning message, creation of short language experience chart stories)
* talk about reading and what readers do
* encourage children to talk about why they enjoy particular authors, illustrations, characters, and stories
* create and maintain classroom libraries
* show an interest in reading for one's own enjoyment and talk with children about personal reading interests
* have students join in with familiar phrases, verses, and repetitive parts
* explore the alphabet and the relationships between sound and print
* use terms such as letter, word, and sentence
* encourage students to participate in choral activities (e.g., rhymes, verses, songs, chants)
* encourage students to participate in oral cloze activities (e.g., filling in missing phrases, words, and word parts)
* have students respond to texts in a variety of ways (e.g., talking, role play, art, drawing, miming)
* regularly discuss and demonstrate print-related concepts (e.g., basic book knowledge, story sense, ability to track print, letter naming, letter groups, letter-sound relationships)
* brainstorm with students vocabulary associated with the topic/idea
* give students opportunities to rehearse and read orally to a variety of audiences (e.g., reading buddy)
* invite students to self-select reading materials for reading alone time and to browse through classroom and school library collections for titles and authors of personal interest
* draw attention to connections between students' experiences and those of characters in books
* develop graphophonic knowledge and concepts of print in activities that move from whole, to part, to whole
* demonstrate key features of reading behaviours through problem solving out loud as students read (e.g., "We need to start here on the page and move from left to right as we read.")
* model and discuss a variety of reading/thinking strategies (e.g., predicting, confirming, thinking aloud).

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