GOALS FOR BEGINNING READERS

1.  REVIEW ALL KINDERGARTEN SKILLS

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2.  QUICKLY RECITE AND WRITE THE ENTIRE ALPHABET

Usually, at the beginning of the 1st grade class, teachers will review each letter and its sound.

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3.  RECOGNIZE 100 SIGHT WORDS

Students are able to recognize a greater number of sight words.

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4.  RECOGNIZE MORE WORD FAMILIES

Students will identify other word families in reading.

 

5.  UNDERSTAND FIGURES OF SPEECH 

A figure of speech is a means of describing something or someone in a more interesting way. Types of figures of speech include:

 

• Alliteration - The repetition of a beginning consonant sound. For example: She sells seashells down by the seashore! Alliterations are commonly called “Tongue Twisters.”

 

• Onomatopoeia - a word that sounds like the noise it describes. For example: gargle, roar, clap, zap, oink, and pitter-patter.

 

• Similes – a phrase comparing one thing with another thing of a different kind. Similes usually contain the words “as” or “like.” For example: brave as a lion; busy as a bee; swims like a fish.

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6.  CONTINUE TO DEVELOP PHONEMIC AWARENESS & PHONICS

Students will know about:

• Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word in order to give it a new meaning. Prefix “un” + happy > unhappy.

Suffixes are added to the end of a word to change its meaning. Suffix “ly” after slow > slowly.

 

• Homophones

Are words having the same pronunciation but different meanings (red and read; blue and blew)

 

• Homographs

Are words that have the same spelling but different meanings. For example “ring:” a piece of jewelry or the sound of a phone. Or “bow:” is use with an arrow or loops made with ribbon.

 

• Antonyms

These are words that are opposites: hot and cold; first and last

 

• Synonym

A word that means exactly or nearly the same as another word. For example: afraid and scared; car and auto; mad and angry; quick and fast.

 

• Parts of Speech

A part of speech is one of the 8 categories of English words:

noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

 

• Types of Punctuation

Punctuation is the use of symbols to divide written words into sentences and clauses. The 4 common punctuation marks are:

1. period .

2. comma ,

3. question mark ?

4. exclamation point !

 

• Capitalization

Students will know when to use an uppercase letter.

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7.  CONTINUE TO DECODE UNFAMILIAR WORDS

Students will be able to decode or “sound out” unfamiliar words.

• They should also be able to guess the meaning of a new word based on how it’s used in the sentence.

 

     8. DEVELOP FLUENCY

“Fluency” is the ability to read words smoothly without pausing or stopping between words.

• Students develop greater fluency as their ability to immediately recognize words improves.

• They will be able to read simple stories with one or two sentences per page.

 

     9. IMPROVE COMPREHENSION SKILLS

The students’ ability to comprehend and understand what they are reading will improve as they learn the definitions of new words.

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