# data[].attributes.body
Phonemic awareness is the readers ability to identify and manipulate sounds (phonemes) in a spoken word. Manipulating sounds includes blending, stretching, and changing the sounds in words (Reading Rockets, 2023). Examples of the reader demonstrating phonemic awareness skills are, recognizing which words in a set of words begin with the same sound, isolating and saying the first or last sound in a word, combining, or blending the separate sounds in a word to say the word, and last but not least, breaking, or segmenting a word into its separate sounds (Reading Rockets, 2023).

The following activities are tailored to Kindergarten students:

Activity 1: Segment a sentence into words. In a small group differentiated reading instruction, the teacher can instruct students to break down a sentence to individual words. Students can each be given a word from a sentence. The teacher will say the sentence aloud and students will have to work together to create the sentence. For gifted learners, they can build a sentence independently by writing a sentence on a sentence strip. For ELL's, visuals of the words can be provided under the written word for simpler comprehension. In general, students with disabilities should be given tasks appropriate to their developmental needs and abilities.

Activity 2: Say it, write it, build it. In a large or small group instruction, students can be given a CVC word to echo, then write by themselves, and then build with letters. The teacher will model the activity and work alongside them. For gifted learners, they can be given challenging words appropriate to their decoding skills. For ELL's, visuals can be provided, words can be spoken to them more clearly and slower than normal, and more time can be given to them to complete the activity. In general, students with disabilities should be given tasks appropriate to their developmental needs and abilities.

At home activity: As a daily reading task, parents/guardians can practice clapping out syllables of words. Children can also identify words that rhyme. For students with exceptionalities, they can simply be read to on a daily basis, repeat words that are spoken to them, or point to pictures of words that rhyme or have a specific number of syllables. Nevertheless, the tasks should be appropriate to their needs and abilities. For students without exceptionalities, the tasks are developmentally appropriate. Therefore, for both students with these different learning needs, their reading needs are met.

Phonemic Awareness Activities for Parents

This online resource provides information for parents and families to build phonemic skills at home. The recommendations are culturally appropriate, are doable for all family types, and are developmentally appropriate; therefore they will meet their reading needs. They can be differentiated to their child's needs and abilities.

# data[].attributes.body
Phonological awareness is a critical early literacy skill that facilitates the readers ability to identify and produce sounds in a spoken word. They are made of a subset of skills, such as being able to, "identify words that rhyme, counting the number of syllables in a name, recognizing alliteration, segmenting a sentence into words, and identifying the syllables in a word" (Reading Rockets, 2023).

The following activities are tailored to Kindergarten students:

Activity 1: Students can play a game of "I Spy" first sounds. As a whole group instruction, the teacher will state a word with an easy to distinct sound. The teacher will choose a student to identify the sound. For gifted learners, the teacher can have the student attempt to spell the CVC word such as cat, man or fin. For ELL's, the teacher can provide images of words and model the  process of identifying the initial sound. For gifted learners, students can

Activity 2: Students will identify word families. As a whole group instruction, the teacher will display the word and its visual for students to repeat. Students will be asked to identify the word families of the word. When given the word, cat, students will identify words such as bat, fat, mat, and sat. For gifted learners, students can identify for families for more challenging words, such as CVCC or CCVC words. For ELL's, students can match a set of images of words. They can be given 3-5 images, as needed, and match the word families.

At home activity: Rhyming words on the go. At home, in the grocery store, or on the road, the young child can identify rhyming words of objects spotted on the go. This activity is developmentally appropriate for students with exceptionalities, therefore it will meet their reading needs. For students without exceptionalities, the child can simply repeat rhyming words spoken to them or sing nursery rhymes at home. Because it is tailored to their abilities, it will meet their reading needs.

Phonological Activities for Parents at Home

This online resource provides information for parents and families to include phonological awareness activities at home and when needed. The recommendations are culturally appropriate, are doable for all family types, and are developmentally appropriate; therefore they will meet their reading needs.

# data[].attributes.body
https://youtu.be/puf6OQkALlA

# data[].attributes.body
Vocabulary is critical for building skilled reading. It is important to reading comprehension because readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean (DESE, 2023). Having skills in vocabulary comprehension enables fluency in reading, comprehension, and growing phonological skills. For young readers, understanding word parts is essential for literacy development and becoming successful readers in general.

The following activities are tailored to Kindergarten students:

Activity 1: The teacher will carefully select non-fiction books for the small group differentiated reading instruction. The book will include appropriate vocabulary and will be explicitly taught to students before they read the story. As they read the story, they will stop and identify the word and its meaning.

Activity 2: The teacher will focus on a word of the week. Students will be introduced to the word at the beginning of the week and will complete related tasks/activities focused on the specific word. Students will review that word the following week before being introduced to a new vocabulary word.

At home activity: The parent will use rich language with their child in everyday conversation. It is important that the parent is patient with their child's reading skills. As they read with their child daily, they will identify and discuss new vocabulary words. This is appropriate for students with and without exceptionalities because it can be tailored to their specific needs and abilities. The task is universal and is simple to differentiate. The parent can simply have their child repeat the word to them, or they can extend the conversation and review words with their child as a fun activity. Therefore, the activity meets both students' reading needs.

21 fun ways to improve your child's vocabulary

This online resource provides information for parents and families to build vocabulary skills at home. The recommendations are culturally appropriate, are doable for all family types, and are developmentally appropriate; therefore they will meet their reading needs. They can be differentiated to their child's needs and abilities.

# data[].attributes.body
Fluency is the ability to read a text with accuracy, automaticity, and prosody sufficient enough to enable comprehension (Reading Rockets, 2023). It is important because it ties together reading and word comprehension. Fluency for young readers is built on mastering decoding skills, memorizing sight words and commonly used words, listening to read aloud (audio-books) or being read to on a daily basis.

The following activities tailored to Kindergarten students:

Activity 1: Sight word search. In a small group differentiated reading instruction, the teacher can give each student their own copy of a short book. Students will be asked to identify sight words in the story. The teacher will write the word for students to identify. For gifted learners, the teacher can verbally say the sight word for students to identify in the story. As a greater challenge, the teacher can have the student spell the word before they identify it. For ELL's, the teacher can ensure that students are able to say the sight word and spell it before they identify it.

Activity 2: Echo reading. In a small group differentiated  reading instruction, students will be instructed to echo the sentences the teacher reads aloud to them. The sentences will be short and manageable to echo. For gifted learners, students can take on the role of the teacher and read the sentences for their classmates to echo. For ELL's, students can take their time with echoing the sentence. It should be as needed and appropriate to their language needs and abilities.

At home activity: Parents should read to their child every day. Either before bed, before nap time, or at some part of the day, it is critical that the child is read to on a daily basis. This is appropriate for both students with and without exceptionalities. It is essential to build reading fluency and comprehension, especially if the child is asked questions about the story after it is read to them. Therefore, it will meet their reading needs.

5 easy ways parents/guardians can increase their child's reading fluency

This online resource provides information for parents and families to build reading fluency at home. The recommendations are culturally appropriate, are doable for all family types, and are developmentally appropriate; therefore they will meet their reading needs.

# data[].attributes.body
Reading comprehension is the ability to understand written words. The process of identifying a word and not understanding what the word is in itself or in context is simply the ability to recognize words. Essentially, reading comprehension occurs when words on a page are not just mere words but thoughts and ideas (Brandon, 2021). Skilled readers can comprehend text through predicting, making connections to prior knowledge, visualizing, and summarizing what they read. Nevertheless, reading comprehension is needed to succeed in school, work, and life in general (Brandon, 2021).

The following activities are tailored to Kindergarten students:

Activity 1: In a small group differentiated reading instruction, the teacher can post a thinking job question for students to think about as they read their text. This question is asked before students read. After reading the book, students will reflect and discuss their thinking job. For gifted learners, the teacher can ask students to compare zoo animals to safari animals, and discuss why certain animals can live in specific climates versus animals that cannot. For ELL's, the teacher can provide visuals with the question and have students point to the images of zoo animals. The teacher can attempt to ask the question in the students' native language. For students who need one-on-one facilitation, the teacher can work with those students as needed.

Activity 2: After discussing the thinking job question, referencing the book, and reflecting on what students read, the teacher can instruct students to illustrate their thinking job answer or a specific text question. For example, if they read a story about zoo animals, the teacher can instruct students to draw 2 animals mentioned in the story. This can be completed independently. For gifted learners, the teacher can instruct students to illustrate the animal's climate or their opposite climate. For ELL's, the teacher can provide the images to students and instruct them to draw that image specifically. For students who need one-on-one facilitation, the teacher can work with those students as needed.

At home activity: Parents can have their child read comic books, short stories, or magazine articles that are interesting to them. They can also tell their child a story on the go and discuss the story with them afterwards. This is appropriate for students without exceptionalities and will meet their reading needs because it is developmentally appropriate. Students with exceptionalities can listen to stories and read books that appropriate to their needs and abilities. Thus, it is beneficial for their reading needs.

Everyday Reading Comprehension Activities for Parents and Kids

This online resource provides information for parents and families to include reading comprehension activities into their daily life. The recommendations are culturally appropriate, are doable for all family types, and are developmentally appropriate; therefore they will meet their reading needs.