Our reading curriculum for first grade is divided up into a total of 5 books, with each book consisting of two related concepts. 

Weekly Process:

• Monday:
  The concept of the week and "Amazing Words" will be introduced through a song and related poster.

• Students will develop their listening comprehension and oral vocabulary as they listen to and discuss a selection.

• The reading strategy and skill will be introduced for the week. 

• Introduce phonics focus for the week. 

• Homework:  Word Fun practice page.  This assignment is optional for students to complete and return.

• Tuesday:

• Students will work in small guided reading groups at their instructional level to develop vocabulary and read text related to the concept.

• We will also meet as a whole class to review the concept, practice skills and strategies, and phonics work.

• Homework:  Words and sentences leveled practice.  Return to school on Thursday.  Your child will be assessed on the words and sentences read.

• Wednesday and Thursday:

•  Students will continue to work in their guided reading groups.  Groups will begin reading their selection of the week and practice the reading skills and strategies. 

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  We will also read a selection from our student reader together as a class.  Once we have completed reading the stories in the text, it will be sent home for your child to read to you.

• Homework:  Continue working on Words and Sentences leveled practice.  Return to school on Thursday.  Your child will be assessed on the words and sentences read.

• Friday:

• Students will conclude work with their guided reading groups, sum up the big ideas of the week, and complete a practice page related to the reading skills.

We will also review the selection read from our student books, complete sequencing and summarizing activities, then conclude the week with a selection test.  The selection test assess our vocabulary, comprehension of the selection, reading strategy, and skill use of the week.

Homework:  Cut out word wall cards, add to bags, practice words.  Look at the word wall or spelling page for creative ways to practice.

The goal of a balanced literacy approach to literacy is to foster life-long interest and growth in all areas of language arts: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, representing, and spelling.  Our purpose is for learners to have the ability to discover language patterns, rules, and strategic principles for reading and writing.  In addition, students need to be able to construct meaning and make connections through the use of fiction and nonfiction text.  This literacy curriculum must appropriately meet the needs of all learners through a balanced literacy framework.  This framework consists of: shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, writing, and word work.

This will be an exciting year for us as we continue to grow and develop as readers!

Shared Reading:

• All students read the same piece of text.

• The teacher models and demonstrates strategies.

• Students have the opportunity to practice strategies with teacher guidance.

• Thinking aloud helps to develop metacognitive skills.

Read Aloud:

• The teacher provides a good model of oral reading.

• Reading aloud develops students' listening skills.

• Students become engaged in quality literature.

Guided Reading:

• Small groups of students read material at their instruction level.

• Small groups provide opportunities to practice and demonstrate understanding of strategies.

• Small groups enable teachers to provide individual assistance to students

Independent Reading:

• Reading material is self selected.

• Material is at the student's independent level which means student can read it fluently with 95% accuracy.

• Students practice strategies learned in shared reading lessons.

Word Work:

• Students work with the skills associated with reading in small or large groups.

Writing:

• Students respond to reading through writing.

• Writing provides opportunities to strengthen phonetic skills.

• Developing communication is the purpose of writing.

Connecting:
Enhancing text understanding by relating text to background knowledge and information.  There are three types of connections: text to self, text to text, and text to world. 

In Student Terms:
Making connections can help me understand a story better because I connect that story to something I already know about myself, another book I have read, or about the world around me.

Questioning:
Asking questions before, during, and after reading to focus attention on significant concepts in text and deepen understanding.  Questioning is used to clarify meaning.

In Student Terms:
Asking questions helps me understand the story better because I am reading to find answers to questions I am curious to know the answers for.  It helps me keep focused.

Summarizing:
The continuous process of determining important events or information from text.

In Student Terms:
Summarizing a story helps me focus on the key points the story was about, so I can retell just the most important details to a friend.  Perhaps telling them enough to get them interested in reading the same piece.

Inferring:
Using clues in the text and background knowledge and experience to create an understanding and interpretation of the text.

In Student Terms:
Making inferences helps me understand the story better because I am using my schema to take thing I know about the story and use clues from the story to put it all together like a mystery and gain a better deeper understanding of the text.

Predicting:
Thinking about what one knows and using text features to make guesses about text and making adjustments as new information is presented.

In Student Terms:
Making predictions helps me understand the story better because it gives me a goal to read for in my mind.  Then when I am reading I read to see if my prediction was close, right on, or way off.

Imaging:
Using details of text to create sensory images which enhance comprehension.

In Student Terms:
Creating mental images helps me understand the story better because I am using my senses.  This helps me remember the story better because I can remember the way things looked, smelled, tasted, etc...and this helps me connect better to the story as I think of similar uses of sense in my life.

Vocabulary acquisition:
Learning and remembering new words encountered in text through thoughtful word selection and multiple meaning opportunities for use.