1st Grade Reading Strategies

 

 

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Print Awareness

Reading lesson plans for print awareness.

Demonstrates an awareness of books, print, and reading process.

1) Identifies where the reader would begin and end; points to a letter and a word

Use different types of pointers to follow along with the reader. Example: The student may paint their index (pointer) finger red or use a Halloween witch finger to help follow the written material.
Use a variety of motions with the body to identify a left and right movement (e.g., follow line from left to right with the tip of your nose).
Place pictures or symbols in different positions on a page and ask students to identify correctly. Example: Where is the picture of the cat? (in the top right corner of the page). Touch the flower on the lower left side. Draw a tree in the top left corner, etc.

2) Demonstrates knowledge of concept of word boundaries and letter

Direct the use of motions to identify sentence beginning and end. Example: Clap beginning of a sentence, snap the end of the sentence, slap left knee for beginning, slap right knee for the end of the sentence.
Use color coding to learn visual concepts of written words and sentences. Color all spaces between words, color sentences on page, color paragraphs, color quotations, etc.
Have students to count all the words in a paragraph. Count the spaces, sentences, paragraphs, etc.
Write a sentence on a long sheet of butcher paper. Ask students to step on each word, following along from the beginning of the sentence to the end. Next, tiptoe from the right side to left side and begin again, this time using expressive dance movements, skipping, etc..
Show the students the top part of a letter or word and ask them to guess the correct word. Great with rhyming words.