When children are in the emergent reading stage, they learn about authors and illustrators, that print carries meaning, and that words are read from left to right. This concept of print awareness is important as children progress to the independent reading stage. Teachers need to read aloud to the class every day, asking the children to identify the title page, the first word of a sentence and end punctuation. These technical aspects of reading are essential for fluency.
Before children start reading, they should recognize most letters of the alphabet and associate sounds with each one. Teachers review letter names and sounds daily while introducing middle and ending sounds. When children understand that words are made of individual sounds, teachers begin segmentation activities. For example, the teacher says a word like "cat," then asks the class to say each sound separately. Emergent readers should be able to segment many CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.
Teachers need to guide emergent readers as they begin to recognize high-frequency words. Knowledge of these sight words is critical for successful reading. Teachers should keep sight words displayed on a word wall that grows as words are introduced. They can practice sight word knowledge with classroom board games or online activities.
Comprehension is a natural next step for young readers after they learn to decode words and read simple sentences. Students will need strong instructional support when learning how to understand text. For example, when reading aloud to the class, the teacher will demonstrate how to use pictures as clues for making predictions. Teachers should also model how to connect the story to prior experiences. When children can make a connection between real life and the events in stories, comprehension is enhanced tremendously.