The basic reading skills curriculum begins by teaching children about individual letters -- both uppercase and lower case, words and sounds, and how to apply this knowledge in order to read simple sentences. Teaching concepts about print matter will help children with identifying parts of a book, following words on a page in the right direction and understanding that print material provides information.
Learning basic reading skills give children the ability to count syllable sounds, move sequentially from sound to sound and respond to oral prompts. Word recognition skills will help children recognize that as words change so do the sounds. Vocabulary development should be age-appropriate, include word identification and sorting, and provide children with the ability to use general and specific language to describe common objects.
Basic reading skills include strategies to help children comprehend the most basic ideas and facts of what they hear, see and read. The learner is expected to demonstrate familiarity with a variety of books, a sense of story and an understanding of literary language. Children are encouraged to use prior knowledge before and while reading text, formulate questions that may be answered in the text, predict what may happen, understand sequence and know the difference between reality and fantasy.
Engaging children in listening activities will help them respond to grade-level appropriate stories about well-known characters, settings, themes and plots. The children will also learn to identify common print materials such as poems, storybooks, newspapers and signs.
For children to continue to develop their basic reading skills, education must continue each day at home. Parents can read to their children, choosing a familiar book with large letters. Listening to the child read aloud will provide the practice and confidence necessary for when the child reads aloud in school. Additionally, when parents read a wide variety of materials, it will introduce the child to different reading sources such as magazines and newspapers.