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One of the first few steps to supporting students with and without exceptionalities is creating a safe environment where trust and respect is established. When children know they are safe to ask questions or even safe to fail, it is because they know we will have constructive feedback and provide the resources and tools they need to thrive or succeed. Creating this safe learning environment that is predictable and consistent allows students to prepare themselves for the tasks at hand and focus on what is being asked of them. Understanding the learning preferences and needs in a classroom and home is crucial to appropriately and effectively supporting children as they learn and grow. Having great communication is also important to supporting our children; this communication is important between teacher and student and also teacher and parent. Presenting knowledge and topics in various ways such as  having visual examples, hands on experiences or learning tools, and one-on-one learning time so that students with diverse learning needs are represented. Making our students and children as confident as we can in their learning ability is crucial to facilitating their growth.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2N0ZyxkPLo

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxMxvezmALE&feature=youtu.be

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Naeyc.org is a great resource across various topics, including early childhood reading, that offers articles created by professionals on how to support a child throughout their early learning experiences. This website offers incredible insight on how children begin to learn how to read, how to facilitate it at home, and important signs or milestones to look out for.

Reading Rockets.org is another great online resource that offers parents and educators informational articles and outside resources to support young readers. The website offers informational videos explaining topics, offers examples of what a struggling reader may look like, and how to support children in the many stages and milestones of reading.

The Read-Aloud-Revival is a podcast that helps teach parents how to read to their kids and what books are the best for different goals. This podcast features professionals talking about topics that many parents need information on such as “Reading to Kids with Special Needs”. When you click on a topic or a title, the webpage brings you to a description of what is being read and the topics that will be discussed so that you know the podcast is exactly what you are looking for! This is a fun and exciting podcast series that offers a lot of relevant information to parents with diverse learners.

Oxfordowl.co is a great online resource for parents with readers from the age 3-11. This website offers completely free books to read, audios to listen to, children’s activities, and phonics games. There is also a blog where parents can post or read about different situations of new readers, advice on how to support new readers, and excellent books to introduce. This is a great resource for any type of reader as the book library is categorized by levels of reading, ages, book types, and more. A more advanced reader can choose a higher level of reading choice and new readers can choose an easier read.

Readbrightly.com is an online resource for parents that guides them in choosing the right book for their child. The website features information and books from baby and toddler years all the way to teens of 13+. There are various topics and informational articles on where to find other great resources that support your child’s reading adventure. This website features popular topics such as diverse books to connect with thousands of families.

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ESL Gold is a great online resource for diverse multilingual families with new readers! This online resource allows children of many different first languages to read side-by-side english adaptations of childrens books, features audio readings, vocabulary games, and fun family activity ideas. This website also features great information for parents too!

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Utilizing books that feature diverse vocabulary such as "Stacey's Extraordinary Words" by Stacey Abrams, is a great way to strengthen a child's vocabulary. You can choose specific books on various topics to meet the vocabulary goal you are trying to achieve! Children's books are a great outlet for curiosity and imagination and offer many opportunities for conversations and questions that will also widen vocabulary.

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Vocabulary is the understanding of the words we use and hear and there are four types of vocabulary (Reading, writing, listening, and speaking). Writing vocabulary is the ability to understand words that we are writing out. Listening vocabulary is the ability to understand words we hear. Speaking vocabulary is the ability to understand words we use in conversation. The one we are going to focus on is reading vocabulary which is the ability to understand words that we are reading (Reading Rockets, 2013b). We use our vocabulary to be able to pull important elements or details from what we are reading (among many other situations such as listening to others and speaking to others).  There are three tiers of vocabulary that children go through: at the basic level, children can understand frequent words they are exposed to, at the second tier, children can understand more challenging words that are frequent across different topics, and at the top tier, children can understand low frequency words that are topic or content specific. Without a strong vocabulary, children will find themselves confused with what they are reading and may shy away from reading as a result. We want to strengthen our children's vocabulary so that they feel confident in their reading skills and build an interest for learning new words.

Classroom Activity: Vocabulary bingo is a great way to incorporate relevant vocabulary while having fun! The teacher can pick from a specific topic and then set up the bingo accordingly. The teacher will model how to find the correct square that matches the vocabulary word that was described and place their marker on the square. Once the line is filled with markers, the teacher will yell BINGO and recheck their card. The main object of this game is to ensure the students are listening to the definitions of the words and then able to make a connection to the picture or written word on their sheet. This activity can be modified to fit various learning needs as well. The bingo sheet can be created with pictures and words to help students recognize the word, the bingo sheet can be limited to 3-4 squares in a row instead of five for students that cannot sit as long or have limited vocabulary. This can also be done in multiple groups based on different abilities as well; if you have a group of students that have a more advanced vocabulary, those students can be placed in a separate group and bingo game.

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A great way to extend reading comprehension skills at home is by doing an at-home book club! This can be done a few times a week and can be a great bonding experience for the family. The child can pick a favorite book, everyone can come together and read the story and then have an open discussion at the end of the book about the elements. This is great for diverse families because books that are chosen can feature specific cultural elements that are relatable and the books in the house could also feature their first language. By reading to or with a child and then talking about the book after, a child can begin to understand the importance of the details in a story and how they relate to the book in its entirety. The best part about this activity is that it’s done in the comfort of your home for free and can be scheduled in a way that works for the family!

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There are many websites that feature absolutely free printable reading comprehension worksheets that can be used for any story that is read. These websites sort the worksheets by grade level so that the students are within their age-appropriate ability. This is a great resource to keep at home in a reachable spot next to the book shelf so that children can take one out and do it themselves after reading their favorite stories. An even more fun approach would be to do them together! Have the children read a book, or read one together, and then answer the questions on the worksheet. If a printer isn’t available at home, a public library is a great place to utilize computers and printers for either free or less than a dollar per page. If those options do not work either (as many families have diverse schedules and affordability) having a reading comprehension journal works just as well! Fill a journal with questions that can relate to any book so that your child can fill in the questions after they read!

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Reading comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret what is being read; this includes skills such as decoding or sounding out words, making connections between what is being read and background knowledge, and thinking deeply about what was read and what the main point or moral was (Reading Rockets, 2013). Within reading comprehension is the ability to answer relevant questions to the story such as who were the main characters, what was the conflict in the story, how was it solved? When a child can answer these questions in response to the story they read or heard, it allows teachers to gauge whether or not they understood the events in the story.  Being able to retell a story, in proper sequence, is also crucial in reading comprehension as it allows students to think back and make connections on how the story took place.
Classroom Activity: A five finger retell allows students to recall important elements of a story, strengthening their comprehension skills. Using an anchor chart, draw a hand leaving spaces above each finger to write information. Then explain to the students how they can memorize a story based on the five fingers on their hand; the thumb represents characters, the pointer represents the setting, the tall finger represents the beginning events of the story, the ring finger represents the middle of the story, and the pinky represents the ending of the story. Choosing a simple story to read together, we can then follow up that story with filling in the anchor chart/five finger retell together so that the students have a physical example of what each element of the story is and how it was represented. After modeling how to do the five finger retell, have the students read another story and present examples of an appropriate five finger retell. This activity is great for all learning abilities as it breaks down the story easier for students who may struggle with comprehending all the pieces of a story but also allows more advanced readers to think deeper about the connections between events in a story. This five finger retell can also be turned into a flash card with pictures of a hand and symbols/written explanation of what each finger represents. This activity helps children focus on one part of the story at a time to build a better understanding and not be overwhelmed by the information being presented.

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Fluency Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayNwLuzT7S8

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Phonics Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XP0Qr3sJA

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Phonemic Awareness Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5PeK2jSTBs

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Reading books that can incorporate the idea of performance reading can help students that may be struggling with fluency. Performance reading is when students read a book that has memorable phrases or gestures throughout the book that make the story easy to act out; the students can then read or listen to the story, and then act out the story as it unfolds (Reading Rockets, 2012). “We’re Going On a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen is a great example of a book that uses repeated phrases that are easy to read and act out. These stories are great to read at home with family members as children can interact with the story and become engaged with reading. English Language Learners can also use performance reading to increase their fluency in reading by making physical connections to the words they hear and see; they will be able to remember the words and their meanings when they act them out. Because the phrases are also repeated many times throughout the story, the child will be able to practice those sight words and increase their speed and accuracy with those words and sounds as well.

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“Say Zoop!” by Herve Tullet is a fun book that has the readers interact with the words they see and hear on each page and by interacting the book then takes crazy, fun turns. This book features various font sizes that make students use appropriate expression when reading such as speaking loudly when they see the large word “OH” and speaking softly when they see the little word “oh”. Students practice using emotion while reading by observing what the dot in the illustration is doing or saying. This book uses short, silly words that are easy to decode and recognize again and again. Children have fun and strengthen their fluency while reading this book and will want to read it multiple times which will help with the accuracy of their reading as well!

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Fluency is the ability to read with accuracy, speed, and accurate expression that matches the words being read (Reading Rockets, 2013a). Fluency is important as it allows a child to fully understand what they are reading instead of reading in a choppy or awkward way; when a child gets stuck on a word or is not confident in their reading skills, they will not be able to mentally piece of the sentence or meaning of the sentence together (Reading Rockets, 2013a). One reason a child would struggle with fluency would be a weakness in decoding; if a child cannot quickly or accurately decode a word in a sentence, they may not be able to understand the rest of the sentence. Accuracy comes with knowledge of phonics, the ability to decode, and having a growing vocabulary. Speed of reading is built with practice and ability to decode quickly. Expression or prosody comes with understanding what is being read, the vocabulary that is involved, and understanding how punctuation works (knowing when to pause at a comma or period or how to change pitch or tone with a question or exclamation mark). (FIveFromFive, 2022).

Classroom Activity: A great activity that can increase a child’s fluency in early childhood education is rereading “classroom favorite” books; this can be done once a day, a few times a week, or even just once a week over a long period of time (Reading Rockets, 2020). Having the same book read to a child allows them to build a connection with the words being read and helps them remember the relevant vocabulary that is within the book. They can observe the illustrations, make connections to the words they are hearing and then try to read the story on their own. Even if they are just remembering the words rather than reading them, it makes the students excited to read and more confident in their literacy skills. They can begin to recognize the sight words within the story and become more fluent in reading them. This is great for students that are on different reading levels as the story can be specifically picked based on level of difficulty; if a child is at a lower level of fluency, they may need a shorter and more simple worded book or if the student is more advanced they may be more comfortable with a more challenging book with longer sentences. Setting aside time each day (whether it be at the end of the day or at morning circle) allows the children to build reading expectations and work daily on their fluency skills. The more they read, the more accurate they will become, the faster they can read, and more expression they can add as they learn the story and vocabulary.

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A World of Language Learners.com is a great resource to utilize for families that have English Language Learners. This website features easy and age-appropriate at-home activities for families that have cultural or language barriers. This website not only provides completely free resources for ELL families, but also has blogs written by professionals in the field and literacy topic specific articles. These activities that are featured include magnet letters and flash cards, easy to decode books, and fun coloring sheets (among many others!)

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A great resource that parents can utilize at home is the free app ABCmouse- Early Learning Academy. This app features age appropriate games, stories, and videos that dive students into learning about the alphabet, phonics, literacy skills and many more topics. This app is good for ages 2-8 years old and features online curriculum for Prekindergarten through Second Grade. This app is a fun way for students to learn skills in phonics and learn the relationship between letters and sounds; many of the games feature both audio and video examples of the letters and their sounds. As the grade levels increase, so does the challenge and skill level for decoding and letter patterns to meet the diverse learning needs of various students.

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Another great resource to utlize at home, particularly in homes with language or cultural barriers is using picture flash cards. These flash cards can help parents/caregivers see the picture, read the word, and then help the child identify the phonemes within the word. To make reading these words easier for the parents, there can also be the first language counterpart of the word written on the flash card. The parents can then use these flash cards to help manipulate the phonemes within the spoken word that matches the picture.

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Phonics is the understanding that letters or letter patterns represent sounds in the spoken language; within phonics is the ability to decode, which is sounding out words using the knowledge of phonics (Reading Rockets, 2013). For example, a child who knows the letter T represents the sound |t|, the letter O represents the sound |o| and the letter P represents the |p| sound to make the word “Top.“ The child decoded each phonic to create a spoken word. Phonics instruction includes the alphabetic principle which is the idea that letters represent the sounds that make up spoken language and that there is a predictable relationship between letters and sounds to help children learn new words and strengthen their recognition of words they already know (Reading Rockets, 2013). Children need to learn the “sound-letter correspondence” to be able to decode words (Reading Rockets, 2013).

Classroom Activity: A simple phonics activity that can be done in the classroom is grouping the students into small groups of 4-5 students and playing a phonics dice game. The teacher will roll the alphabet dice (this can be dice with alphabet stickers on them as well!) and whatever the dice lands on, a student has to identify the letter and the sound that matches that letter. To make the game a little more challenging, the student can name a word that begins with that sound/letter. This is a great way for students to learn from each other and learn through repetition of matching letters to sounds and words. This activity can accommodate for various learning levels by limiting the letters that are found on the dice to only letters that have been introduced, or adding letters or letter patterns that have not been introduced or ones that are fairly new. If the students are not able to identify words that start with that letter or sound, they can be asked just to identify the letter and the sound it makes.

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A great resource for phonemic awareness to have at home that can be a fun way to recognize sounds, rhymes, and alliteration is the book “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” by Dr. Seuss. This book features silly rhymes and words that can be utilized to teach the initial sounds that are being heard in the words of the story. Not only will the children laugh along with the silliness of the story, but they will also practice their phonemic skills as well.

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Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize that there are individual sounds (phonemes) in the spoken language and that these sounds can be manipulated in ways such as isolating, substituting, blending, or subtracting (Reading Rockets, 2014). Understanding and recognizing these phonemes allows a child to strengthen their oral language skills and blend sounds to form new words; this builds their oral vocabulary immensely! Part of phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize words that rhyme (and what sounds of those words rhyme) such as “bat” and “hat”, isolating the beginning or ending sound of a word such as “|b|at is bat” or “ba |t| is bat” or segmenting the word into separate sounds such as |b| |a| |t|. When children learn the significance of these individual sounds and how they can manipulate them, they can move onto phonics which allows them to make a connection between the sound and its written counterpart. Phonemic awareness builds the necessary foundational skills needed for reading later on in life.

Classroom Activity: An easy classroom activity that can be implemented to work on phonemic awareness is having the students identify the initial sounds of the words that are shown illustrated on a picture card in front of them. I will model showing the picture card and saying what the picture is outloud and then point to each letter of the word and speak the sounds. For example, if I see a picture of a hat, I will point to each letter and say "H-A-T". Then I will say that the intial sound I hear is "H". When the picture card is shown, the students will be asked what the picture is of and what is the first sound they hear when saying that word. For example, if the picture card shows a fish, the student should say “f-f-f-f-fish". This correlates with the phonemic awareness sequence of skills pictured above; the child will isolate the initial sound they hear and then when they add the ending of the word they are blending the sounds together. As the game goes on, and the child becomes more comfortable with hearing the initial sound of a word, you can have the child choose a picture card for the next part of the game. In this section of the game, the child will be told to pick a picture and segment the word sounds; for example, the word “fish” would sound like “f-f-f-I-I-I-shhhh".  A harder level of this activity would be asking a child to substitute the initial sound with another; this may make a silly word but that is part of the fun of manipulating sounds! For example, if the student chooses the fish card again, we could tell them to substitute the “f” sound with an “m” sound so the new word would be “m-m-m-mish". This may be a more difficult task for some children as it is on the scale of phonemic skills. This activity can accommodate for various learning needs in the classroom as it can be modified to only focus on specific levels of phonemic skills; if a student is not at the ability to segment or even blend sounds, then the game can only focus on isolating the initial sound that is heard and a student can work on this until they become proficient in the skill and ready to move onto the next. If a student is more advanced in phonemic skills, they can be asked to do more complex manipulations like adding or substituting sounds in a word.