My new Kindergarten buddy is five years old. When my reading partner and I met her for the first time, she was extremely quiet and seemed shy. We talked with her a little before reading her a book called “Ella Sarah Gets Dressed.” She drew a picture for us with a house and two girls. She told us that one of the girls was her and the other was her sister. I was a little surprised at the effort it took to get her to talk with us. I haven’t read to very many children or spent much time trying to get to know kindergarteners. I am not sure why, but I thought she would be more talkative. Upon reflection, I can see how it could be intimidating to have a couple of adults whom she had never met, take her aside and start asking her questions.
Our Kindergarten buddy knew how to write some letters and a few small words. She has had this book read to her before. She knew the ending and other parts of the story. I am not sure if she could read some of the words or if she could figure things out because of the pictures and her familiarity with the story. I will find out more about her abilities next week when we read with her and administer the Emergent Literacy Profile.
The Fox readings were interesting and educational. They definitely helped me understand that children learn to read in specific stages and the extreme importance of phonics in learning to read. I did not know that the basic principal for phonics teachers is that learning to read happens in a predictable sequence before children ever pay attention to actual words in books. Knowing phonics is a critical basic skill for becoming fluent. Instant word recognition develops as children use phonics to read and learn new words. It was amazing to me that by the end of first grade the good decoders will read twice as fast as the poor decoders. It follows that the good decoders will read twice as much in the same amount of time, and this will greatly enhances their fluency.
Studies show that high-fluency readers at the end of first grade will be high-fluency readers at the end of second grade. Low-fluency readers at the end of first grade will likely be low-fluency readers at the end of second grade. Once this trajectory is set, it usually remains and the gap between reading fluency increases. Developing good phonics skills as a base for learning is critical in the very early years of literacy development.
I have found that kindergartners are quite an interesting age! You honestly don't know if you'll have a lot of energy from them or if they'll be on the shy side. I think it really depends on their social life at the time. Did they go to preschool? Do they have a big family? Do they attend daycare? All of these helps them develop an interaction with people and, I believe, on how outgoing they will be in their first year of an elementary school. Then oc course... a lot just depends on personality!!
ReplyDeletePhonics are so important and helps students make the connection of understanding what a letter, or word, means. Then when they make that connection it is so fun to watch them as they begin to actually place those letters together and make words!
I also realize that studies show the high-fluency/low-fluency readers thing. But I still have a hard time "labeling" that reader. Sometimes when kids know they are on the low end, they give up and tell people, including themselves that they don't like to read. That's why heavy on phonics with a lot of encouragement is so important at this age.