Literacy Information

  • There are five dimensions of early reading that we will focus on over the course of the year so that your child may become a proficient reader. This comprehensive and balanced literacy program includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

    1) Phonemic Awareness-This is the understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes. The area of emphasis is on phonemes/sounds, the spoken part of language, is mostly auditory, and students are asked to manipulate sounds.

    2) Phonics-The area of emphasis is on letters and their corresponding sounds, is the written part of language/print, is both visual and auditory, and students are asked to read and write letters using their sounds and what they know about spelling patterns.

    3) Fluency-The ability to read a text or passage using phrasing, expression, accuracy, and rate. Increased fluency allows a student to make meaning and apply comprehension to what he/she reads.

    4) Vocabulary-Students are able to understand the meaning of words within a sentence by using their schema and textual/pictoral clues.

    5) Comprehension-Students are able to explain and retell elements within a story that is read aloud or a grade-level appropriate story he or she read. In doing so, students are able to answer questions beginning with who, what, where, when, why, how, if, etc. Further, students can make connections, infer, and visualize.