From the time an infant is able to hold a book and flip through the pages to the time he is sitting in his first day of kindergarten, he may have already listened to hundreds of stories and tales. Reading aloud to a child has shown to help improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills. During read aloud lessons, the teacher and students can discuss the characters and events of the story, as well as describe and explain newly learned words. Read aloud lessons allow for discussion and interaction amongst all the students and the teacher, and helps reduce any anxiety a child may feel when he cannot identify words or letters.
Phonics lessons typically focus on teaching a child that each letter makes a sound and that the letters sounded out together can create a word. Within the realm of phonics lessons, there are various types of instructional approaches. Each approach varies depending on the type of analysis or how the letter-sound combinations are presented. Although various phonics lessons are widely marketed, it is important to take into account the teaching style of the teacher as well as the reading background of the students. Research-based lessons are sometimes targeted for specific audiences and if the general population is not found in a particular classroom, the phonic lesson may not be appropriate.
Reading strategies are key components to comprehension and test taking skills. When students are taught reading strategies they learn to quickly scan the text, visualize the events occurring, ask questions, make connections, and summarize the passage. With higher standards in state assessments, it is important to build these reading strategies at an early age. Kindergarten students cannot only learn to become independent readers by the end of the school year but also learn to summarize and answer questions about a story.
Informal research-based reading inventories are necessary tools to building a powerful reading foundation. The inventories assess the level of reading readiness of a student to help plan future lessons. Kindergarten reading inventories can help determine if a student recognizes letters, letter sounds, and words. They also help determine a student’s reading fluency and comprehension skills. The reading inventories can be administered on a one to one basis or as a whole group lesson.