Teaching literacy to students means giving them the ability to communicate clearly and participate with those around them. Starting literacy learning early readies students for department testing (STAAR), while also experiencing different genres and styles helps children understand language and how to share their thoughts and ideas. Below are some ways to help students succeed in literacy skill development:
- Introduce vocabulary during a read-aloud.
Select a few words to highlight and define for children before beginning the read-aloud. Choose works that are important to understanding the meaning of and then define the words as you read. Use the illustration to point out what shows the meaning of the word or other similar meanings to help students understand what they are learning.
- Slow it down.
Have students say the word that they are trying to spell slowly, sounding out each syllable, then have the students write down each letter that they hear within the word. Use other breakdown strategies to help students relate sounds to letters and letter combinations to strengthen their understanding.
- Read in small groups.
To get the most literacy learning out of a read-aloud experience, make sure you take the time to read to children in small groups. Research shows that children who hear stories in small-group settings develop stronger comprehension skills, ask, and answer more questions, and comment more on the text.
- Use Resources.
There are plenty of literacy resource sites to be utilized. Reading Rocket provides access to a wide variety of resources to help struggling readers build phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. Reading Bear provides educational resources to help kids learn to read. These include over 50 presentations covering numerous topics including phonics principles and over 1000 vocabulary items. Reading Eggs offers self-paced and easy to follow reading games, lessons and activities.
What are some ways you help teach literacy to children?
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