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Comprehension - The ability to fully understand and making meaning from a text using different strategies (Moats, 2020).

Classroom Activities:

Think-Pair-Share - Each group/table of students will be given a text. They will make predictions regarding the text based on the cover. They will then read and discuss the outcomes.

Differentiation - Sentence stems will be provided for students struggling with speech or writing skills.

Map the Story - Students will work as a team to complete a graphic organizer that maps out their story (e.g., characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end).

Differentiation - Some students will be given sentence stems and visual pictures for cues.

At-Home Activities:

Book Chats - Encourage your student read you their favorite book. Then ask the student questions about the text (e.g., characters, setting, problem, solution, etc.). Guiding them through their comprehension of the text will build upon their literacy skills (Hein, 2024).

Additional Resources:

https://www.ixl.com/ela/topics?partner=google&campaign=179162755&adGroup=8821323475&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=179162755&gbraid=0AAAAADrr3ApGD788TKtdZYORKZGqdEQNN&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzt_FBhCEARIsAJGFWVldJ88Cmb0qvCVCg3bXvamrpvUtGgVn2OQnOyh6-JFHVA0os7_XG9YaAjRFEALw_wcB

This resource provides practice on reading comprehension skills. It is interactive and engaging.

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IXL Language Arts | Topics for pre-K to 12th grade

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See all of the language arts topics available on IXL! From phonics to grammar, reading to writing, there’s always something new to learn.

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Fluency - One's ability to read with accuracy, speed, tone, and expression (Moats, 2020).

Classroom Activities:

Repetitive Reading - A teacher will read a text using correct tone, accuracy, and speed. Students will repeat back using similar components.

Differentiation - The length of the passage/text will depend on reader ability.

Reader's Theater - Students will be grouped together to study and decipher a text. They will then perform for the class by reading scripts (correctly) with fluency.

Differentiation - roles and length of script will depend on a student's fluency skills.

At-Home Activities:

Read Aloud as a Family - Take turns reading as a family. Discuss and practice the differing components of fluency (e.g., tone, speed, accuracy, etc.). This builds upon the student's fluency skills without the pressure of the classroom environment (Lane et al., 2025).

Additional Resources:

https://www.getepic.com

This resource offers a plethora of leveled readers and different books to practice literacy/fluency skills.

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Vocabulary: necessary words students need for both communication and comprehending written text (Moats, 2020).

Classroom Activities:

Read Aloud - Read a story to students and pause to explain the important and new vocabulary words. This allows students to hear the words using context.

Differentiation - For ELLs and students with language struggles/delays, provide visual aids such as vocabulary cards with photos.

Word Maps - Students will explain the vocabulary word's definition in their own words, draw a corresponding picture, and use the word in a sentence (correctly).

Differentiation - Some students make require sentence stems.

At-Home Activities:

Family word wall/fridge - write down and discuss words that might be unfamiliar or interesting.

This allows students to make connections with vocabulary words using context clues (Hein, 2024).

Additional Resources:

https://kids.wordsmyth.net/we/

This resource allows students to review new vocabulary words using child-friendly explanations with illustrations.

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Designed for children K-2 and for young English Language Learners, ( WILD is Wordsmyth's most exciting, colorful, and interactive dictionary. WILD comes free with your Wordsmyth subscription. Read more...)

New! WILD Word Learner is an educational game app that is a companion to the WILD dictionary. Children choose from among 12 topics that cover nearly 200 lists of words from WILD.

For kid-friendly definitions and example sentences for older children, try Wordsmyth's Word Explorer Children's Dictionary, containing over 14,000 entries, each with human-voiced audio pronunciations. The dictionary also includes synonyms and antonyms, word histories, geographical entries with maps, and abundant illustrations.

Unique to our Children's Dictionary is the Word Explorer, a word-finding and knowledge-exploration feature. It is an index of related words, integrated within entries, that allows a child to find words connected with multiple topics and to explore whole networks of words and their meanings. Check out the Word Explorer topics below!

Word Explorer topics list and keywords

For middle school and high school students, Wordsmyth offers its Advanced Dictionary with nearly 60,000 headwords, integrated thesaurus, and an abundance of example sentences and images. The Advanced Dictionary is part of our Comprehensive Dictionary Suite, which also contains both an intermediate level (Children's) as well as a beginner level for older English language learners. The linking of the three dictionaries allows for easy navigation between the levels.

( Subscribe to Wordsmyth to get Spanish and Chinese support, roots and affixes study feature, word-combining information, and marking of grammatical patterns in examples sentences. A parental filter is also available in the Settings with your subscription. Read more...)

The Comprehensive Dictionary Suite has a companion app available for both Android and iOS devices. The app provides for a better user experience on mobile devices and is accessible with or without the internet. ( Read the full description)

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Wordsmyth Word Explorer Children's Dictionary; WILD dictionary K-2 | Wordsmyth

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Best online English dictionaries for children, with kid-friendly definitions, integrated thesaurus for kids, images, and animations. Spanish and Chinese language support available

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Phonics - Making connections between letters and their corresponding sounds (Moats, 2020).

Classroom Activities:

Using Letter Tiles to Construct Words - I use magnetic tiles to build words and then change a letter to change the word (e.g., rat --> mat). Student then decode and read the new word.

Differentiation: For advanced/gifted learners, students will create words beyond the CVC realm. For emerging readers, picture cards are given.

Bingo - Students will mark out the words that are called and decoded.

Differentiation: Some students may require visuals or smaller boards.

At-Home Activities:

Labeling - Use sticky notes and have your student read and/or label the items.

This allows your student to make connections with curriculum learned in the classroom and home (Hein, 2024).

Additional Resources:

https://www.starfall.com/h/

Starfall is a great option to develop literacy through engaging and adaptable games (Lane et al., 2025).

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Starfall Education: Kids Games, Movies, Books & Music for K-5 and above

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At Starfall, children have fun while they learn - specializing in reading, phonics & math - educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for children K-5 and above.

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Phonemic Awareness - Manipulating and identify specific sounds in words (Moats, 2020).

Classroom Activities:

Sorting Sounds - Students would sort picture cards by their corresponding beginning sound (e.g., /a/, /k/, etc.).

Differentiation: students can use objects such as counters or letter boxes for visual supports.

Substituting phonemes - Change one sound in a word to completely change the word (e.g., dog --> log).

Differentiation: Use visuals (pictures) for students who need additional support.

At-Home Activities:

"I Spy" Game - This game consists of finding items that begin with a certain letter and having the student identify these items.

This will build phonemic awareness without need to purchase materials (Lane, et al., 2025).

Website/Additional Resources: https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness/articles/abcs-phonemic-awareness

This resource outlines the ins and outs of phonemic awareness. It provides details on how to support your learner and their abilities (with and without exceptionalities) (Hein, 2024).

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Adams, Marilyn Jager (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print. Cambridge, MA: Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, Inc. [ED 317 950]

Griffith, Priscilla, and Mary W. Olson (1992). "Phonemic Awareness Helps Beginning Readers Break the Code." Reading Teacher, 45(7), 516-23. [EJ 439 120]

Griffith, Priscilla, et al. (1992). "The Effect of Phonemic Awareness on the Literacy Development of First Grade Children in a Traditional or a Whole Language Classroom." Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 6(2), 85-92. [EJ 460 128]

Harris, Theodore L., and Richard E. Hodges (1995). The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. [ED 385 820]

Honig, Bill (1996). Teaching Our Children to Read: The Role of Skills in a Comprehensive Reading Program. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. [CS 012 479]

Lundberg, I. et al. (1988). "Effectiveness of an Extensive Program for Stimulating Phonological Awareness in Preschool Children." Reading Research Quarterly, 23(3), 263-84. [EJ 373 262]

Olson, Mary W., and Priscilla Griffith (1993). "Phonological Awareness: The What, Why, and How." Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 9(4) 351-60. [EJ 474 132]

Spector, Janet E. (1995) "Phonemic Awareness Training: Application of Principles of Direct Instruction." Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 11(1), 37-52. [EJ 496 026]

Stanovich, Keith E. (1993-94). "Romance and Reality (Distinguished Educator Series)." Reading Teacher, 47(4), 280-91. [EJ 477 302]

Yopp, Hallie Kay (1992). "Developing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children." Reading Teacher, 45(9), 696-703. [EJ 442 772]

Yopp, Hallie-Kay (1995). "A Test for Assessing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children." Reading Teacher, 49(1), 20-29. [EJ 513 301]

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With little or no direct instruction, almost all young children develop the ability to understand spoken language. While most kindergarten children have mastered the complexities of speech, they do not know that spoken language is made up of discrete words, which are made up of syllables, which themselves are made up of the smallest units of sound, called "phonemes."

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Defining Comprehension

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Defining Fluency

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Defining Vocabulary

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Defining Phonics

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Defining Phonemic Awareness