Reading and Writing

1. Reading and Writing The major goal of the reading program this year will not only be to teach your child to read, but to develop confidence in his/her ability to read. It is also important to instill such a love for reading that he/she will choose to read as a method of learning and as a means of enjoyment. This year we plan to teach reading by giving time to several different methods; the basal reader approach, literacy groups (which emphasizes individual reading levels), classroom literacy centers such as read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, word work and Writer’s Workshop. Reading conferences, leveled readers and whole language experiences will also be included. Writing will be a regular extension of the reading curriculum. Teachers will regularly conduct reading a writing conferences with students as well The focus during the first few weeks will be on oral experiences, stories, small and whole group discussion sessions, listening skills, and following oral and written directions. It is important to establish routines. We begin creative writing the first day of school. The children “write” in their journals almost daily Some of the children are drawing pictures, some are adding words to their pictures, and others are writing sentences. The idea is for the children to be excited about putting down their thoughts and proudly sharing them with others. We will be working in Writer’s Workshop throughout the year also. This will better our story writing. We will be using graphic organizers and the 6+1 Writing Traits vocabulary. \Language \ Composing sentences, capitalization and punctuation, as well as rhyming words, naming words (nouns) and action words (verbs), and abc order will be covered often throughout the year. Our Word Wall and word work will also help the children to develop a braod reading, written and oral vocabulary. During the second semester, we will introduce the “Shurley Method,” a program to teach grammar suing jingles. It will continue where kindergarten left off, focusing on identifying parts of speech in a complete sentence format. The Shurley Method is used progressively throughout all grade school levels. I Love to read!! I love first grade!!