Best Practices in Reading

After reading the chapter Best Practices in Reading, I discovered five important factors that can and will continue to play a large part in my reading instruction.  The first being comprehension being the main goal of reading instruction.  As a 1^st grade teacher, I have seen first hand the importance of understanding what you read.  We talk all the time in my room about what’s the point of reading if you don’t understand what you just read.  This is something I can continue to focus on and ramp up for next year.  I would like to include some more comprehension strategies and maybe even more find a way to focus more on comprehension during guided reading groups.  Another important factor is having lots of opportunities to hear books read aloud to them.  This is something that as a former Kindergarten teacher is extremely important to me.  I make sure to read aloud to the kids twice a day as well as having various books on CD available for them to listen to.  We also play a Tumblebook during snack time everyday.  Ample time to read is key for learning to read.  It has often been proven that the more kids read, the higher their achievement.  While we have silent reading everyday, I would like to experiment with literature circle next year.  This would be a great activity for my higher-level kids since they are able to choose their own books as well as lead the discussion relating to the book. I would simply be a facilitator in the process.  It is also extremely important that the kids receive phonics instruction.  In these early years, when kids are just beginning to learn to read, it is vital that they learn these skills.  If they are unable to “crack the code” reading will ultimately be a challenge for them.  Coming from a Kindergarten background, I focus a lot on phonics activities throughout the year.  We continue to work on blends and phonograms even up until the end of the year.  Next year, I would like to do even more small group instruction focusing on phonics skills.  Last but not least, children need many opportunities to interact with print on all different levels.  This is something that we can work on building wide as well.  In my classroom, we have done lots with listening to stories, partner reading, book buddies, writing stories and iPads.  Next year, I would like to incorporate both small and large group activities using more technology.  We just received iPads in January so they are still relatively new so I would like to come up with some more ways to include them in my classroom.  By incorporating all these strategies, children are sure to become successful readers.