First grade is critical in a child’s journey of learning to read. Reading Coaching explains four ways you can support your child: coach decoding; select books for independent reading; continue to read aloud; and integrate reading and writing into daily life.
“Reading researchers have determined that children need to see and decode a new word between four and fifteen times before they can develop ‘automaticity’ with that word.”
Key Strategies
- Coach decoding
- Listen patiently to your child—and celebrate progress!
- Help your child sound out words they have probably encountered before
- Read unfamiliar words to your child and ask them to repeat after you
- Select appropriate books for independent reading, such as:
- Dr. Seuss books with limited numbers of words and lots of rhyming
- “I Can Read Level 1” books from publishers like Scholastic
- Picture books with which your child is already familiar
- Continue to read aloud with books that engage your child.
- Integrate reading and writing into daily life. Leave notes for your child and get their help with daily reading and writing tasks.
Additional Resources
Book: Straight Talk About Reading, Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats, EdD
Book: Language at the Speed of Sight, Mark Seidenberg (more technical)
Reading Coaching: 1st through 2nd Grade