1. Reading Strategies
By Kristen Keller

2. Why is reading Important?
In order for Kindergarteners to move on to first grade, they have to be able to read. A good reader knows letter sounds and recognition, blends, vowels, and how to figure out unfamiliar words by using reading strategies. Kindergarten is probably the most important time of a child’s life. This is when they learn all of the fundamentals to become a good and fluent reader and comprehend what they have read.

3. Decoding Must be able to sound out words
Knowledge that letter represent an individual sound
Phonics instruction
Know CVC words
Know letters one by one and their sound
Know sight words
Phonemic awareness

4. Context clues Help children comprehend what is being read
Improve vocabulary
Teach by pausing at an “unknown word”
Use pictures to figure words out
Use previous knowledge to figure out words

5. Shared reading Improves reading fluency
Echo reading is an excellent strategy
Improves sight word vocabulary
Teaches concept of print
Left-to-right progression
Sentence structure

6. Guided reading Help students in small group One-on-one time
Differentiate instruction
Meet individual needs of students
Use techniques depending on level
Reinforce decoding
Reinforce comprehension skills
Use books that are leveled in complexity to the reader

7. For the struggling readers
Letter naming fluency
Phoneme segmentation
Letter tiles
CVC Words
Magnetic letters
Use different methods until student understands
Flash cards
Review and focus on sight words
Identify and produce initial sounds
Students must know these because the cannot be sounded out
Say it, spell it, say it again
Point to sight words while reading

8. Strategies to increase comprehension
Read aloud
Predicting
Questioning
Retelling

9. Fluency strategies for parents
Model fluent reading
Echo reading
Recorded reading
Vocabulary flash cards
Rehearsed reading

10. Basic literacy skills that should be mastered in kindergarten
Letter recognition
Reading
Writing
Sight words

11. Comprehension exercises
Read-alouds
Think-alouds
Choral Reading
Hands-on activities

12. overall
As you can see, we have many things that we are responsible for teaching our students before they move on to first grade. Every extra second of the day should be spent on struggling students and working to improve their knowledge.

13. Prerequisites for 1st grade
Phonics and phonemic awareness
Literacy
Recognize and know all letters
Know concept of print
Produce sounds for each letters
Read left to right
Know blends
Understand setting, characters and plot
Identify beginning, middle and end sounds

14. References Personal experience
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