1St grade reading skill

First grade is critical for reading skills, but some kids are way behind

AUSTIN, Texas — Most years, by the third week of first grade, Heather Miller is working with her class on writing the beginning, middle and end of simple words. This year, she had to backtrack — all the way to the letter “H.”

“Do we start at the bottom or do we start at the top?” Miller asked as she stood in front of her class at Doss Elementary.

“Top!” chorused a few voices.

“When I do an H, I do a straight line down, another straight line down and then I cross in the middle,” Miller said, demonstrating on a projector in a front corner of the classroom.

Her 25 students set to work on their own. Some got it right away. One student watched his tablemate before slowly copying down his own H’s. Another tested her own way of writing the letter: one line down, cross in the middle, then another line down. “Your paper is upside down, let’s turn it,” Miller said to a student who was trying to write letters while leaning sideways, almost out of her seat.

In classrooms across the country, the first months of school this fall have laid bare what many in education feared: Students are way behind in skills they should have mastered already.

Children in early elementary school have had their most formative first few years of education disrupted by the pandemic, years when they learn basic math and reading skills and important social-emotional skills, like how to get along with peers and follow routines in a classroom.

While experts say it’s likely these students will catch up in many skills, the stakes are especially high around literacy. Research shows if children are struggling to read at the end of first grade, they are likely to still be struggling as fourth graders. And in many states with third grade reading “gates” in place, students could be at risk of getting held back if they haven’t caught up within a few years.

40 percent — The number of first grade students “well below grade level” in reading in 2020, compared with 27 percent in 2019, according to Amplify Education Inc.

First grade in particular — “the reading year,” as Miller calls it — is pivotal for elementary students, when their literacy skills “really take off.” Kindergarten focuses on easing children from a variety of educational backgrounds — or none at all — into formal schooling. In contrast, first grade concentrates on moving students from pre-reading skills and simple math, like counting, to more complex skills, like reading and writing sentences and adding and subtracting numbers.

By the end of first grade in Texas, students are expected to be able to mentally add or subtract 10 from any given two-digit number, retell stories using key details and write narratives that sequence events. The benchmarks are similar to those used in the more than 40 states that, along with the District of Columbia, adopted the national Common Core standards a decade ago.

Teachers often see a range of literacy skills, and that could be more pronounced this year due to the pandemic

“They really grow as readers in first grade, and writers,” Miller said. “It’s where they build their confidence in their fluency.”

But about half of Miller’s class of first graders at Doss Elementary, a spacious, bright, newly built school in northwest Austin, spent kindergarten online. Some were among the tens of thousands of children who sat out kindergarten entirely last year.

More than a month into this school year, Miller found she was spending extensive time on social lessons she used to teach in kindergarten, like sharing and problem-solving.   She stopped class repeatedly to mediate disagreements. Finally, she resorted to an activity she used to use in kindergarten: role-playing social scenarios, like what to do if someone accidentally trips you.

“My kids are so spread out in their needs … there’s so much to teach, and somehow there’s not enough time.”

Heather Miller, first grade teacher

“So many kids are missing that piece from last year because they were, you know, virtual or on an iPad for most of the time, and they don’t know how to problem-solve with each other,” Miller said. “That’s just caused a lot of disruption during the school day.” 

Her students were also not as independent as they had been in previous years. Used to working on tablets or laptops for much of their day, many of these students were also behind in fine motor skills, struggling to use scissors and still working on correctly writing numbers.

Related: What parents need to know about the research on how kids learn to read

Instead of working on first grade standards, Miller was devoting time on this Friday morning in early September to forming upper- and lowercase letters, a kindergarten standard in Texas and the majority of other states. As students finished practicing the letter H, they moved on to the assignment at the bottom of the page: Draw a picture and write a word describing something that starts with an H.

“H-r-o-s” one student wrote next to a picture of a horse standing on green grass in front of a light blue sky. “H-e-a-r-s” another student wrote next to a picture of a strip of brown hair, floating in the white picture box. “You should draw a face there,” suggested his tablemate, pointing at the blank space under the hair.

Miller’s first graders are a case study in the scale, depth and unevenness of learning loss during the pandemic.  One report by Amplify Education Inc., which creates curriculum, assessment and intervention products, found children in first and second grade experienced dramatic drops in grade level reading scores compared with those in previous years.

In 2020, 40 percent of first grade students and 35 percent of second grade students  were scoring “well below grade level” on a reading assessment, compared with 27 percent and 29 percent the previous year. That means a school would need to offer “intensive intervention” to nearly 50 percent more students than before the pandemic.

Data analyzed by McKinsey & Company late last year concluded that children have lost at least one and a half months of reading. Other data show low-income, Black and Latinx students are falling further behind than their white peers, leading to worsening achievement gaps.

Experts say it’s now clear families who had time and resources to help their children with academics when schooling was disrupted had a tremendous advantage.

“Higher-income parents, higher-educated parents, are likely to have worked with their children to teach them to read and basic numbers, and some of those really basic early foundational skills that kids generally get in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade,” said Melissa Clearfield, a professor of psychology who focuses on young children and poverty at Whitman College.

“Families who were not able to, either because their parents were essential workers or children whose parents are significantly low-income or not educated, they’re going to be really far behind. ”

What Miller has observed in the first few weeks of the school year is likely taking place in classrooms nationwide, experts say. In April, researchers with the nonprofit NWEA, which develops pre-K-12 assessments, predicted how the pandemic’s disruptions would manifest among the kindergarten class of 2021: a wider range of ability levels; large class sizes with more diverse ages because some parents held children back a grade; and students unfamiliar with in-person classroom routines.

“We predicted that there would be a lot of diversity in skills,” said Brooke Mabry, strategic content design coordinator for NWEA Professional Learning. That includes skills related to academics, social-emotional learning and executive functioning, she added.

The varying experiences children had with school last year also impacted fine motor skill development, independence, ability to navigate conflicts and the “unfinished learning” teachers are now observing, she added.

Related: Remote learning a bust? Some families consider having their child repeat kindergarten

While switching to remote learning was hard on many students, younger students were generally unable to log themselves on to a computer independently and focus on virtual lessons for extended periods of time. Teachers, who usually rely on small, in-person groups for  early literacy skills, instead had to teach letters, sounds and sight words via online platforms.

Miller had the unwieldy task of teaching kids both in person and online, spending her year pivoting between students in front of her and students on her computer screen, using her projector to display books to students at home and teaching reading skills via virtual groups.

Now, with students in front of her again, Miller was finding that those online lessons weren’t as useful as many had hoped.

Miller, 30, is a calm, confident teacher who is in her eighth year of teaching and her second at Doss. She usually has students with a wide range of ability levels at the beginning of the year, although Doss is relatively affluent. Nearly 62 percent of students at the school are white, and fewer than 20 percent are economically disadvantaged, compared with the district average of nearly 53 percent. In 2019, 95 percent of Doss’ students passed the state reading assessment.

But this year, Miller saw larger gaps in reading skills than ever before. Usually, her first graders would start with reading levels ranging from mid-kindergarten to second grade. This year, the levels spanned early kindergarten up to fourth grade.

“My kids are so spread out in their needs,” Miller said. “I just feel like — and I’m sure every teacher feels like this — there’s so much to teach, and somehow there’s not enough time.”

She’s also seen higher literacy levels for kids who went to school in person last year. To her, it speaks to the immense benefits kids get from all aspects of in-person learning. “It just shows how important it is for these kids to be around their peers and just have normalcy,” she said.

Related: Summer school programs race to help students most in danger of falling behind

To catch kids up, Miller is relying on, among other things, one of the staples of the early elementary classroom: center time. For two hours a day, she works with small groups of students on the specific math and reading skills they are lacking.

On a recent October morning, Miller divided her class into five groups to rotate through various activities around her room. She gave her students a few minutes to finish a writing assignment as she pulled out several sets of small books at various reading levels; colorful plastic, hollow phones so her students could hear themselves read; and for a group of struggling readers, a matching game featuring cards showing various letters and pictures.

“I feel like I’m teaching four grades,” Miller said as she arranged the materials on her desk.

Several minutes later, seated at a table in the back of the room with five of her grade-level readers, Miller handed them each a phone, a small book and a green witch’s finger to help them point at the words in the book. “Today we’re going to talk about our reading tools,” Miller said, holding up a blue plastic phone. “These are called whisper phones. You whisper so you can hear yourself sound out the words,” she said. “Do these go on our heads?”

“No!” the students said, giggling.

“You know what these are for?” she said, holding up a rubber finger.

“Um, they’re for reading,” one student said. “’Cause I had them in kindergarten.”

“Very good. Are these for picking your nose?” Miller asked.

“No!” the students said, laughing.

She placed a book in front of each child and walked them through a series of exercises, including looking at the cover and predicting what the book would be about.

Then, they opened their books and began to read in a whisper. Miller turned from one side of the table to the other, listening as students read to themselves, pointing at each word with their green rubber fingers. She helped them sound out challenging words, like “away.” One by one, the students finished the book. A few read it several times in the minutes allotted.

Miller’s next group, all of whom were reading far below grade level, required a different activity. Rather than handing out a book, Miller pulled out a letter-matching game at the table, using materials she had from her days as a kindergarten teacher. She placed two small laminated cards on the table, one showing the letter D and a picture of a dog, and one with the letter B and a picture of a ball.

“We’re going to do your letters today,” Miller said to the group. “What letter is this?” she asked, pointing to the B.

“Ball!” one student responded.

“What letter?” Miller asked again. There was a pause.

“B!” another student responded.

“What sound does it make?”

“Buh,” a third student said.

The students ran through the activity, looking at pictures of items starting with B and D like a doll, ball, dog and dolphin, and sorting them into piles based on the starting letter.

Experts like Clearfield say finding new or different strategies to help students learn grade-level content after the last 18 months will be critical, even if that means pulling out activities typically used by lower grade levels, as Miller did with her lowest reading group.

It also may mean recruiting help from outside the classroom. Miller said Doss already had a strong team of interventionists to rely on, and several of her students receive extra reading help during the day.

Miller has also found it helpful to work with her fellow first grade teachers to solve a shared academic challenge. This fall, the first grade teachers all discovered that many of their students were behind in reading sight words. They began meeting regularly to share tips and strategies to combat this.

Despite the obvious need to catch kids up, Miller has been mindful of not coming on too strong with remediation efforts. “I don’t want to push them so hard where they get burned out,” she said on an October evening. “They’ve been through so much.”

Related:  We know how to help young children cope with the trauma of the last year— but will we do it?

Mabry, of NWEA, said while catching students up is important, society needs to view the recovery process as a multiyear effort. “In previous years, when looking at unfinished learning and finding ways to get students to accelerated growth, we never expected that we would get students who need support to meet those accelerated goals in one year. We would never approach it that way,” Mabry said. “Now, we’re so frantic. I think we’re frantic because we feel it’s this larger population.”

It’s a daunting task, but experts say there is hope.

“Kids will catch up eventually,” said Clearfield from Whitman College. But to get there, society may need to re-evaluate expectations, she added. “If most children in our community are behind by, like, a year or two, then our expectations for what is typical, it’s going to have to match where they are,” Clearfield said. “Otherwise, we are going to be constantly frustrated … we’re going to have expectations that don’t match their skills or abilities.”

By mid-autumn, Miller was heartened by what she was seeing in her classroom. Students were becoming more confident and independent. Their writing was stronger. There were fewer conflicts.

One morning, Miller stood by her desk as students effortlessly transitioned from one activity to the next during center time. They quietly buzzed around, cleaning up activities and putting their notebooks away in cubbies as she prepared to work with a new group of students at her desk.

“It kind of gives me hope that we’ll be OK,” she said. “Even after last year, we’ll be OK.”

This story about reading skills was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.  

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How To Help 1st Grader Read Fluently

When our children are first learning to read, we want them to be successful. As a parent, you are likely to try to find out how to help 1st grader read better.  By first grade, kids are learning to read full-length books and are able to read longer, more complex sentences.

This means that your child is reading at a more challenging level and might be struggling. Their reading fluency is likely a factor in how well they are understanding a text. 

What should a 1st grader be able to read?

By 1st grade your child should have at least the following variety of reading skills:

1. They should be able to recognize about 150 sight words or high-frequency words.
2. They are able to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction texts. 
3. They should be able to recognize the parts of a sentence such as the first word, capitalization, and punctuation.  
4.  They are able to understand how a final “e” will change the sound of the vowels within a word. 
5.  They are able to answer questions and recall details from a reading.
6.  They are able to read fluently meaning with speed, accuracy, and prosody.

Your first grader should be able to begin reading the first few levels of graded reader books. A graded reader book is a book that is set at a certain reading level. These books are often used in schools to help measure student progress. 

What is fluency in reading?

Reading fluency is the ability to “read how you speak”. This means that your child is reading at a conversational pace with appropriate expression. Reading fluency is important because it is directly related to reading comprehension. The more fluent a reader is the better they understand the text. 

Fluency in reading relies on speed, accuracy, and prosody. These factors make for a fluent reader and help your 1st grader not only to recognize words but to actually understand and comprehend text.

• Speed – Fluent readers read at a speed that is accurate for their grade level which is 60 words per minute for 1st graders. 
• Accuracy – Fluent readers are able to recognize words quickly and have the skills to sound out and decode words they are unfamiliar with. 
• Prosody – Fluent readers use expression and intonation to bring meaning into their readings. This is not just recognizing words, but also recognizing that expression also plays a part in understanding. 

How can I help my 1st grader with reading fluency?

There are a variety of things you can do at home to help your 1st grader read more fluently:

1. Model reading – Children learn best when they have a model showing them the skills they are meant to be learning. Reading to your child regularly provides a model of fluent reading for them. 
2. Echo Reading – As you and your child read a text, read one sentence then have them read the same sentence out loud. This form of repeated reading helps them see you model fluency then lets them practice it. 
3. Reader’s theatre – Turn a book into a script and have your kids bring the story to life. This will help them practice their expression and intonation when they read. 
4. Practice sight words – The more words your child recognizes, the more fluent they will become. Use word games and flashcards to help them learn sight words to help them read less choppy. 
5. Extensive reading – The best way to help your 1st grader to read fluently is to get them to read a lot! Provide lots of books of their choice at home and get them to enjoy reading so that they practice often. 
6. Utilize reading apps – Most kids play with technology already such as tablets and smartphones. Why not incorporate reading into this game time by downloading some reading apps? 

Which reading app is helpful for improving fluency? 

Readability is an app that helps improve fluency for emerging readers. The app is a great way to increase fluency for your 1st grader because it uses A.I. technology and speech-recognition to recognize errors your child might be making when reading out loud.

Readability provides a large library of original content that your child can read and is constantly being updated with new stories. The app works like a private tutor by actually listening to your child read out loud and recognizing their errors. It then provides feedback to help them improve. It can also read the material to your child as they follow along.

These forms of repeated reading can help your 1st grader practice their fluency wherever and whenever they want. Try Readability for free!

standards for grades and quarters

Reading is a key skill that opens the gate to the land of knowledge for a child. Thanks to this skill, children learn about the phenomena and events of the world around them, get acquainted with the characters and actions of people, meet new problems and ideas. This skill helps them to broaden their horizons and ideas about the world, develops critical thinking and trains cognitive abilities - attention, imagination, memory. Reading is the foundation for further successful learning. nine0003

To understand how well a child develops this skill, it helps to check the reading technique. Reading technique is a multifactorial test that characterizes the development of a skill from different angles. In the technique of reading are evaluated:

• reading speed,
• reading method,
• reading awareness,
• correct reading,
• expressiveness of reading.

A difficult reading skill consists of both a technical and a semantic component and is aimed at achieving the main goal - understanding and assimilation of the information read. nine0003

Reading technique parameters

Let's consider all the components of reading technique in more detail.

1. Reading speed - the number of words read in a certain period of time. Often, parents focus on the formation of fluent reading, while the child makes many mistakes, does not understand and does not remember what he read. It is not necessary to force only speed, slower conscious reading and a gradual increase in tempo are better than fast mechanical reading with errors and inaccuracies. nine0008
2. Way of reading — syllabic reading or reading the whole word, smoothly. With the development of the skill, the child has a gradual transition from syllabic reading to smooth reading in whole words.
3. The correct reading of is characterized by the absence of errors and hesitation. Inattention, problems of diction lead to inaccurate reading, indistinct articulation and, as a result, to a distortion of meaning. Pay attention to the correct reading - this will be the key to competent writing. nine0008
4. Reading awareness involves reading comprehension, awareness of the idea and meaning of the text, and in the future - this is the ability to catch the subtext, humor, irony, the attitude of the author. Interfering with reading comprehension can be low reading speed, distorted reproduction - guessing words, changing the shape of words, not reading endings.
5. Reading expressiveness - the use of pauses, finding the right intonation, the correct placement of stresses. The expressiveness of reading is inextricably linked with awareness. When understanding what is read, it is easier for the child to observe the necessary pauses, select the correct intonation and place logical stresses. nine0008

Reading speed standards for elementary school

GEF standards determine the desired reading speed for a child by a certain point in learning, help to understand whether the development of a skill is successful or whether additional attention is required. Standards - indicative values; it is important to take into account the individual psychophysiological characteristics of each child and evaluate the growth of his personal indicators.

Grade 1 reading speed standards

Reading speed standards in grade 2

Reading speed standards in grade 3

Reading velocity

Reading speed, to which it is necessary schools, is reading at the speed of conversational speech, 110-120 words per minute. The human articulatory apparatus has adapted to this speed over time. And most importantly, the reading should be conscious, correct, expressive. nine0003

Other parameters of reading technique

Grade 1

At the end of the first half of the year. Reading is smooth syllabic, conscious and correct, with a clear pronunciation of syllables and words.

At the end of the second half of the year. Reading is conscious, correct, simple words are read as a word. Words with a complex syllabic structure can be read syllable by syllable.

Grade 2

At the end of the first half of the year. Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. Compliance with logical stresses. Compound words can be read syllable by syllable. nine0003

At the end of the second half of the year. Reading meaningful, correct, in whole words. With observance of logical stresses, pauses and intonations. Syllabic reading is undesirable.

Grade 3

At the end of the first half of the year. Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, with the help of which the child expresses an understanding of the meaning of what is being read.

At the end of the second half of the year. Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, through which the child expresses understanding of the meaning of what is being read. nine0003

4th grade

At the end of the first half of the year. Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With the help of observed pauses and intonations, the child not only expresses an understanding of the meaning of what is being read, but is able to express his attitude to what he has read.

At the end of the second half of the year. Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, through which the child expresses an understanding of the meaning of what is read, and his attitude to the content of what is read. nine0003

How can I test my child's reading skills on my own?

Have your child see how well they read already. Children usually love to know how many centimeters they have grown, and they may also be interested in knowing their progress in reading. Warn about the upcoming test and ask the child to read quickly.

The control of reading technique in sensitive children who, due to their temperament, can hardly tolerate various tests, can be carried out imperceptibly or in the form of a game. Do not create unnecessary excitement around the upcoming test, do not arrange a test in the form of an exam. If the child is worried, stutters, transfer control to another time. nine0003

Verification process:

1. Prepare a clock with a second hand or use the stopwatch on your phone, and choose the appropriate text.
2. Ask the child to take a seat.
3. Show him the text and ask him to read it aloud.
4. Track the time from the moment your child starts reading. Not all children are able to immediately start reading on command, which leads to inaccurate results.
5. Usually, one minute is noted for checking, but some experts recommend taking 2 minutes for monitoring, since not all children are equally quickly included in the work. Divide the result obtained in 2 minutes in half. nine0008
6. Do not correct or interrupt while reading. It is better to discuss the mistakes made after the child has finished reading.
7. Assess the speed, correctness, awareness and expressiveness of reading.
8. Retest and compare results. Reading technique may differ depending on the child's fatigue, health status and mood.

Which text is suitable for verification?

Both fiction and non-fiction texts appropriate for the child's age are suitable for this purpose. The text should be unfamiliar, but understandable to the child, have educational and educational value. The texts of V. Bianchi, L. Tolstoy, N. Nosov, B. Zhitkov, K. Ushinsky, V. Dragunsky are suitable. The text for verification can be found in special manuals or in a textbook on the Russian language and literature. nine0003

You should find the text that is located on the spread of the book so that the child does not have to waste time turning pages. Choose text without an abundance of punctuation marks and distracting illustrations. It is not desirable that the passage contains common complex sentences and dialogues. The font must be large enough and legible. The text should not have a technical focus and contain terms incomprehensible to the child.

Test score

Speed ​​score

Count how many words the child read in one minute. When counting words, pay attention:

• prepositions, conjunctions, particles of 1-2 letters are counted as one word;
• when wrapping, the word is counted as 2 words;
• if the word is written with a hyphen, look at how many letters are on both sides of the hyphen: if there are more than three, we count it as 2 words, for example, "long, long", if less than three, for example, "somehow", - as one .

Compare your score with the recommended range and your child's previous performance. nine0003

Comprehension score

Determine how well the child understood what they read. If the student reads slowly and has read only a couple of sentences, let him read the passage to the end. Ask your child a few questions about the text. Ask what or who he read about. Ask the child to identify the main idea of ​​what they read and retell the text.

For a deeper check of the meaning of the reading and learning, use special teaching kits. nine0003

Correctness assessment

Pay attention to whether the child reads what is written correctly, whether he pronounces words clearly, whether there are hesitations and corrections, whether he alters words, whether he changes endings, whether he places stresses correctly. Discuss the mistakes with the student.

Evaluation of expressiveness

To assess the expressiveness of reading, the child is offered a familiar text. Listen to whether the child observes pauses and other punctuation marks, whether he changes intonation, whether he highlights the main idea. nine0003

Improving reading technique

Poor results in reading technique are not a reason to be upset, but only a signal that additional efforts need to be made to improve the skill. You can work with the child on your own or contact a specialist who will analyze the weak points and select the appropriate exercises. Conduct additional activities with the child in the mode of "sparing reading" without pressure. It is more important to observe the regularity and frequency of classes: 10-20 minutes daily. nine0003

How can you motivate your child to read:

1. Reward your efforts with stickers, stars.
2. Mark progress visually - create a success board so your child can visually see their progress
3. Conduct activities in the form of a game, such as "going to the library" or "reading to your favorite toys. "
4. Choose books and texts that are interesting for your child.
5. Let the child read to pets, they are grateful and accepting listeners. Reading to them, the child is not afraid to make a mistake, he relaxes and overcomes the fear of failure. nine0008
6. Have a reading competition between peers and siblings.

To improve the speed of reading will help:

1. Reading by syllabic tables.
2. Multiple reading. Read the same text several times, increasing the pace. From the second time the child will be able to read faster.
3. "Tug". An adult leads a finger along the line, setting the pace. The child tries to read at a given pace.
4. Tops and roots. The child reads the words, covering the upper or lower half of the letters with a ruler. nine0008
5. Reading in a book turned upside down.
6. Lightning. Alternating reading at a comfortable pace with reading at the highest possible speed for 20 seconds on the command "Lightning!".
7. "Sprint". Reading speed competition between classmates.
8. Work on expanding the field of view according to Schulte tables.
9. Reading with a window to eliminate "regression" - recurrent eye movements that lead to repeated reading.

For correct reading:

1. Work on clear diction, do articulation exercises.
2. Read tongue twisters and tongue twisters.
3. Invite the child to correct the deformed sentences: "The weather is good on the street."
4. "Imaginary word". When reading, the wrong word is pronounced, the child must correct it.

Reading comprehension

1. Wave Reading. First, the child reads aloud, then retells what he read.
nine0007 Drawing up a plan for reading.
2. The student reads to himself at a comfortable pace, tells what he understood and felt, what he thought about
3. Discuss unfamiliar words and expressions.
4. Invite the child to draw a picture of the passage they read.
5. Ask them to tell you what they liked about the text, what they remember.

For expressive reading

1. Role-playing, staging.
2. Put on a "radio show". nine0008
3. Expressive recitation of poems.
4. Voice flexibility training. The ability to speak quieter-louder, higher-lower.
5. Conducting reading indicating the tone or strength of the voice.
6. Live Picture. One reads, the other reacts with facial expressions.

Improving reading skills in elementary school is very important. It is fluent and meaningful reading that activates the processes of thinking, attention, memory and is the basis for a child's successful education in the future. This detailed instruction on reading technique control will help you track and improve your child's skill development. nine3 times a year: at the beginning of the academic year, at the end of the first half of the year and at the end of the academic year. But sometimes the teacher prefers to check the reading technique at the end of each quarter. nine0003

The reading technique test includes not only reading speed, but also reading accuracy, comprehension and expressiveness. I wrote about this in more detail in article "How to test a child's reading technique."

• Special texts are selected to test the reading technique.
• The text should be understandable to the child, but be unfamiliar to him.
• Sentences should be short, without any complicating constructions or signs. nine0008
• It is better if the text for checking reading is without illustrations and dialogues so that children are not distracted while reading.
• Text must be placed on one page.
• While reading the text, you can not interrupt the child, correct mistakes. After completing the reading, you need to return to those words that caused difficulty or were read incorrectly and ask the child to read them again. In the process of reading, a first grader can follow the text with his finger so as not to lose the line. nine0008
• To test reading comprehension, you need to ask a few questions about the text.

Reading technique norm in grade 1

1st half year
Reading should be smooth syllabic, conscious and correct, with clear pronunciation of syllables and words.
Reading speed - 25-30 words per minute.

2nd half year
The child reads whole words correctly, consciously. Words with a complex syllabic structure are read syllable by syllable. nine0317 Reading speed - 30-40 words per minute.

These texts can be used not only to test the child's reading technique, but also for retelling. How to teach a child to retell can be found in the article “Teaching a child to retell”.

Texts to test reading technique in Grade 1

Swallow made a nest. The sparrow saw the nest and occupied it. The swallow called her friends for help.

Questions:

1. What did the sparrow do?
2. Who did the swallow call for help?

Ant found a big grain. He couldn't carry it alone. The ant called for help from his comrades. Together, the ants easily dragged the grain into the anthill. (22 words)

Questions:

1. What did the ant find?
2. Why did the ant call his friends for help?

Summer

A warm summer has come. Currants ripened in the garden. Masha and Tanya collect it in a bucket. Mom will make jam from it. In winter, in the cold, children will drink tea with jam. (29 words)

Questions:

1. What berry is ripe in the garden?
2. What will mother do?

The fox suggested that the crayfish run a race.

Questions:

1. What did the fox offer to cancer?
2. How did cancer outsmart the fox?

Cranes

Cranes live near swamps, forest lakes, meadows, river banks. Nests are built right on the ground. The crane circles over the nest, guarding it. At the end of summer, cranes gather in flocks and fly to warm countries. (33 words)

Questions:

1. Where do cranes build nests?
2. When do cranes fly to warm countries? nine0008

A little girl wrapped woolen threads around an egg. It turned out to be a ball. This ball she put on the stove in a basket. Three weeks have passed. Suddenly there was a squeak from the basket.

Questions:

1. How did the girl make the ball?
2. What happened to the ball after three weeks?

Mushrooms

The guys went to the forest for mushrooms. Dima found a beautiful boletus under a birch. Tanya saw a small butter dish under a pine tree. Ilya saw a huge boletus in the grass. In the grove they collected full baskets of various mushrooms. The children returned home happy and happy. (38 words)

Questions:

1. Who found the boletus?
2. What mushroom grew under a pine tree?
3. Where did the boletus hide?

Summer has come. In forest clearings, the grass is above the knees. Grasshoppers chirp. Strawberries turn red on the tubercles. Raspberries, lingonberries, wild roses, blueberries bloom. The chicks fly out of the nests.

Questions:

1. What is the grass in the meadows?
2. Which berries bloom?

Hedgehog

The guys were walking through the forest. We found a hedgehog under a bush. He curled up in fear. The guys rolled the hedgehog into a hat and brought it home. They gave him milk. The hedgehog turned around and began to eat milk. And then the hedgehog ran back to his forest. (39 words) (according to E. Charushin)

Questions:

1. Who did the guys find?
2. What did the hedgehog do with fear? nine0008
3. What did the guys give the hedgehog?

Bathing the cubs

A big bear and two merry cubs came out of the forest. The bear grabbed one cub with her teeth by the collar and let's dip into the river. The other cub got scared and ran into the forest.

Questions:

1. Who came out of the forest?
2. What did the second bear do? nine0008
3. Were the cubs satisfied with the bath?

In a dark forest, near a forest path, a beast lay down. This is a lynx - a cat the size of a large dog. Her tail is short, her ears are tufted, her skin is spotted. The lynx lies on a thick bough and waits. She will rush from the tree to her prey. (40 words)

Questions:

1. What is the tail of a lynx?
2. Where did the lynx hide?

Spring

The sun warmed the earth. Ran the streams. The rooks have arrived. Birds hatch chicks. A hare jumps merrily through the forest. The fox went hunting and smells the prey. The she-wolf led the cubs into the clearing.

Questions:

1. What is the hare doing?
2. Where did the she-wolf lead the cubs?
3. Where do butterflies and bees fly?

What does the woodpecker do in the forest? He lives and works in the forest. A bird with a red cap on its head sits on a tall pine and knocks on the trunk with a strong beak. Why is he doing this? Woodpecker saves trees from harmful insects. Therefore, he is often called the forest doctor. (43 words)

Questions:

1. What does a woodpecker have on his head?
2. Why is a woodpecker called a forest doctor?

Misha is walking along the alley of the old park. Suddenly, a small red animal runs out onto the path right at his feet.

Questions:

1. Who was walking in the park?
2. Who did Misha meet?
3. What did the boy treat the squirrel to?

The boys went to school. Suddenly a dog jumped out. She barked at the guys. The boys started to run. Only Borya remained standing still. The dog stopped barking and approached Borya. Borya stroked her. Then Borya calmly went to school, and the dog quietly followed him. (44 words)

Questions:

1. Where were the guys going?
2. What happened on the way?
3. How did the boys behave?
4. What did Borya do?

For a long time I sat with a fishing rod on the shore. Minnows do not peck at me. And grandfather is sitting under a bush and has already caught a bucket. I sat down in the shade. Immediately the minnows began to peck. It turns out that in a clean place the shadow of the fishing rod is visible. So the cunning fish did not go to the hook.

Questions :

1. Where did grandfather fish?
2. Why was he fishing?
3. Why didn't the boy bite the fish at first?

Cockerel

A cockerel walks around the yard: a red comb on its head, a red beard under its nose. Petya's tail is a wheel, there are patterns on the tail, spurs on the legs. Petya found a grain. He calls a hen with chickens. They did not share the grain - they fought. Petya the cockerel reconciled them: he ate the grain himself, waved his wings, shouted at the top of his voice: “Ku-ka-re-ku!” (49words)

Questions:

1. Where does the cockerel go?
2. What did the cockerel find?
3. Who did he call?
4. Why did the chickens fight?

Bats are very useful animals. They eat harmful insects.

The night is coming. They fly out to hunt. Many harmful insects fly at night. Almost all birds sleep at this time. Therefore, the "work" of bats is especially important. nine0084 (51 words) (According to Yu. Dmitriev)

Questions:

1. What are the benefits of bats?
2. How do bats sleep?
3. When do bats hunt?

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Ducks

Vasya is sitting on the bank. He watches how the ducks swim in the pond: they hide their wide spouts in the water. Vasya does not know how to drive the ducks home. Vasya began to call the ducks: “Ooty-ooty-ducks! The noses are wide, the paws are webbed! Stop dragging worms, pinching grass - it's time for you to go home. Ducks Vasya obeyed, went ashore, go home. (52 words) (according to K. Ushinsky)

Questions:

1. What did Vasya do on the beach?
2. What kind of nose do ducks have?
3. What did Vasya call the ducks?
4. What did the ducks do?

---

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Winter

Frost bound the earth.

Rivers and lakes are frozen. Everywhere lies white fluffy snow. Children are happy with winter. It's nice to ski on fresh snow. Matvey and Lera are playing snowballs. Andrei and Sasha are making a snowman. Only animals have a hard time in the winter cold. Birds fly closer to housing. Guys, help our little friends in winter. Make bird feeders! (55 words)

Questions:

1. Who is happy about winter?
2. Who has it hard in winter?
3. How can you help the birds?

---

---

Four butterflies

It was spring. The sun shone brightly. Flowers grew in the meadow. Four butterflies were flying above them: a red butterfly, a white butterfly, a yellow butterfly, and a green butterfly. Suddenly, a large black bird flew in. She saw butterflies and wanted to eat them. The butterflies got scared and sat on the flowers. A white butterfly sat on a chamomile. Red butterfly - on poppy. Yellow - on a dandelion, and green hid behind a leaf of a tree. A bird flew, flew, but did not see butterflies. (56 words)

Questions:

1. What butterflies flew over the flowers?
2. Why didn't the bird see butterflies?

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If the child's reading technique is below the norm, then it is necessary to read a lot (which is very difficult with poor reading quality) and does not always bring results. It is better to use special techniques and exercises, because. The reasons for bad reading can be different.

Slow readers and children who are struggling to improve their reading speed can be helped by using syllabary reading or, much more effectively, by using an integrated approach that includes various professional techniques. nine0003

To do this, I suggest you use the books:

THE BIG BOOK OF SYLLING TABLES is

• a ready-made tool for training reading and speed reading skills;
• 200 syllabic tables of different levels of complexity;
• professional spreadsheet technique.

The most effective methods will allow each table to be used repeatedly several times, increasing the child's interest in reading. nine0003

Working with these syllabic tables the child will receive:

• improvement in reading skills;
• reading speed increase;
• improved diction;
• reading comprehension;
• development of thinking and attention;
• expansion of vocabulary;
• increased self-confidence.

The child will stop stumbling over difficult words while reading. The reading process will become natural and painless. nine0003

You can easily print the pages you need. All pages of the book can be used separately.
THE BIG BOOK OF SAYLING CHARTS is suitable for those who are just taking their first steps in reading, and for those who want to significantly improve the quality of reading.

Syllabaries help children develop their speed reading skills. But it often happens that a child gets stuck at a reading speed of 10-20 words per minute. It is important to track this moment in time and start immediately performing the necessary exercises. nine0003

I have created a training that will help you overcome this barrier without much difficulty. It is convenient to use both at home and when working with the whole class. A variety of tasks will not let children get bored, and parents and teachers will not have to select the necessary material for a long time and torment children with an exhausting, incredibly difficult process at this stage - reading.

Download TRAINING "Speed ​​Reading and Speech Development"

Together with the training, you will receive a small book as a gift - 20 syllabic tables for practicing reading skills (they do not repeat the tables of a large book). nine0339

Reading texts grade 1 print with tasks

O.

Naumova "Noisy texts for reading and retelling"

The skill of high-quality reading and writing depends on the state of visual perception and attention of the child.
The better the child recognizes visual images, the better he reads and writes more competently.

Working with noisy texts engages the child's brain to the maximum and increases the productivity of classes many times over. At the same time, there is a development of figurative thinking, attention, memory, the ability to understand what is read. nine0084

In the book you will find:

• Noisy texts with questions;
• Texts with questions for reading, retelling, checking reading technique;
• Method of working with noisy texts;
• High productivity options;
• Exercises for the development of speech and reading comprehension.

As a result, the child:

• read speed increases;
  
• attention and memory develop;
  
• conscious reading skills are developed;
  
• develop self-control skills;
  
• speech develops;
  
• the number of writing errors decreases;
  
• the process of writing summaries and essays is facilitated;
  
• improving academic performance.

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