Literacy Skills and Strategies
There are many reading strategies and skills we will develop this year. These help students read accurately, read with expression, expand their vocabulary and comprehend what they have read.
Comprehension
I understand what I read. Check for understanding Back up and reread Make connections Make visualizations Ask questions Make predictions Confirm predictions Infer and support with evidence Use text features Retell the story Summarize text Determine the main idea Transform thinking Recognize and explain cause and effect relationships Determine the author's purpose Compare and contrast within and between text Recognize literacy elements ( genre, plot, character, setting, problem, resolution, theme) |
Accuracy
I recognize and read the words. Cross checking Use pictures to match words Use beginning and ending sounds Recognize short and long vowels Blend sounds Stretch out sounds Flip sounds Chunk letters and sounds together Skip the word, then come back |
Fluency
I read smoothly in phrases and with expression. I read the words quickly and easily, and understand what I read. Voracious reading Find a just right book Reread text several times Practise common sight words and high-frequency words Change voice and speed to fit the text Use punctuation to enhance phrasing and to add expression |
Expanding Vocabulary
I look for interesting words. I also know, find and use these words when speaking and writing. Tune into interesting words Use new vocabulary when speaking and writing Use pictures, diagrams and illustrations to help with meaning Use prior knowledge and text to predict and confirm meaning Ask someone to explain the meaning of a new word Use dictionaries Use glossaries Use thesauruses |
As it is very important that your child reads at his or her level, each child has been taught the I PICK strategy and the 5-finger rule. As your child reads, he or she puts up one finger for each word on the page that they do not know how to read or struggle with. If all five fingers are up by the time your child reaches the end of the page, that book is too hard for him or her to independently read at this time.
Reading ideas have come from Miriam P. Trehearne's Grade 1-2 Teacher Resource Book and Miriam P. Trehearne's Comprehensive Literacy Resource for Grades 3-6 Teachers, Jean Roberts Primary Success, The Daily Five and the Café Book written by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser and School District #23's newly revised Primary Screener.