For most children, reading is not a skill that comes naturally. It must be explicitly and systematically taught. Current research shows there are five "pillars" to early literacy development. Below, you will find a helpful infographic and link that goes over the five pillars.

• Five Pillars of Reading Resource

Our first pillar of literacy is a skill called phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words. In order to become a strong reader and writer, children must first be able to hear the sounds in words. Below is a quick one minute video describing phonemic awareness and short exercises.

• What is Phonemic Awareness? (YouTube Video)

• Phonological Awareness Activities You Can Do at Home (YouTube Video)

Down below are the one minute drills you can use with your child. As stated in the video, complete the drills in the following order:

1. Deleting compound words (left)

2. Deleting the first syllable in a two-syllable word (top middle)

3. Deleting the onset in a one syllable word (top right)

4. Substituting the onset in a one syllable word (bottom left)

In class, we implement a phonemic awareness curriculum called Heggerty's. Down below, you will find weekly Heggerty videos for your child to participate in.

Phonics is the key to decoding new words. Phonics instruction is to help children learn the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters represent the sounds of spoken language — and that there is an organized, logical, and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.

Articles Reviewing Phonics

• Article reviewing phonics

• Article reviewing writing development

Phonics Activities:

• Read your child's weekly word sheets everyday

• Write sounds at home in sand or sugar

• Write a letter to a family member or friend

• Making words activities

• Make a grocery list to shop with

Reading to our children is important. It is a good model for how fluent reading should sound, and it's great for comprehension. However, what types of books should your child be reading? We recommend "decodable books" or "decodables". This is a type of text that has been carefully sequenced to progressively incorporate words that are consistent with the letter-sound relationships that have been taught to the newest of readers. Please check out a list of awesome decodables below! Click on the names and it will direct you to their website.

• Bob Books

• Whole Phonics

• Half Pint Readers

• Flyleaf

• Dandelion Launchers