1. LEARN THE ENTIRE ALPHABET

The student will be able to recite the entire alphabet.

 

2. WRITE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET

Students will use worksheets to trace both upper and lower case letters.

 

3. DEVELOP PRINT AWARENESS

The student understands that the printed words on a page are what we read and they have meaning.

• Students also understand that printed words consist of letters and that spaces appear between words.

• Students with print awareness recognize that words “printed” on a page or elsewhere, are organized in a particular way. For example, in English and other languages, printed words are read from left to right (→), and from top to bottom (↓).

 

4. TRACKING PRINT

Students will learn to read by using their index finger to point to each word in a book or story. As students point at the word, their eyes automatically move from left to right as each printed word is tracked.

 

5. RECOGNIZE 50 SIGHT WORDS

These are words that are recognized immediately when seen in a story.

• Students will recognize these words when they see certain letters in combination.

• Automatic recognition of these words is required for easy reading.

• Teachers use a WORD WALL and add one or more new sight words each week. Students should make a word wall at home to help them study their new sight words every day.

 

    6.  PHONEMIC AWARENESS

Occurs when students understand  that each letter has its own sound.

• Phonemic lessons are oral (hear it - say it).

• After they learn the complete alphabet, the students will be able to produce each letter sound.

• Students will known how to pronounce letter blends such as ch, ph, tr, etc.

• They will use beginning and ending consonant letters and sounds to "decode" unfamiliar words. (See below)

 

    7.  PHONICS

Refers to associating letters or letter groups on the page with the sound they represent.

• Phonics lessons are written (see it - say it).

• Students will learn vowels and the difference between short vowel sounds and long vowel sounds.

• Students will sound out the beginning, middle and        ending letters in a word.

• Students will count the number of syllables in each word.

 

    8.  DEVELOP DECODING SKILLS

Decoding is the ability to sound out a written word.

• Decoding skills will help students read unfamiliar words and comprehend the meaning of the sentence.   

• Teachers will often begin decoding lessons by introducing the students to “word families.”

​

9.  KNOWING WORD FAMILIES

These are usually one-syllable words containing 3 letters with a vowel in the middle.

• They are also called CVC words:

(consonant-vowel-consonant)

Examples are “pat” or “dot.”

• Once students identify the letters and their sounds,  they will add “members” to the family by changing the first letter of the word to make several other words.

(pat→ mat and hat; or dot→ pot and cot)

• Word families are fun and easy for the students to learn because all of the word members in each family will rhyme!

 

10. UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF WORDS

Students will be able to use their experiences to give a definition for different words.

• For example, if they see the word “cat” “tree” or “house,” they will be able to name and give the meaning for each item.

• This is because most students have seen a cat, tree or house sometime in their past.

​

11. DEVELOP COMPREHENSION SKILLS

Students will be able to describe the story they just read. They can also answer comprehensive questions such as:

“Why is this picture in the book?”

“What do you think is going to happen next?”

“Who was your favorite character? Why?”

“Was this a funny story? Why or why not?”

​