Developmental Reading Methods and Activities

Kindergarten through third-grade teachers will discover ways to engage students in flexible activities that teach and strengthen reading skills and promote literacy. The standards-focused instructional activities in this course range from developing phonemic awareness to fluency, all linked to children's choices in literature. The activities, which can be used with individual students, small groups, and the whole class, develop visual discrimination, oral communication, letter recognition, letter sounds, vocabulary, and much more. In addition, the teacher will be provided with ways to determine if their students are able to recognize and decode words as well as check for comprehension through listening, speaking, recalling, and predicting. Many of the activities are game-type in nature with the goal being that the students develop a zest for learning and the efficiency for remembering what was learned is enhanced. Teachers will be presented with ideas for integrating the activities and concepts into other curricular areas and are encouraged to explore reading content readily available on the Internet. Suggestions are also offered for using the activities in the home environment to support those students whose first language may not be English and those who may need extra reinforcement.

NOTE: Required book must be acquired separately.

This course is applicable towards the English Language Arts Teaching Certificate.