Another way to practice these skills is the Ball Pass Sound Game. A list of sight words, vocabulary words, etc. will be placed in a randomizer on the SmartBoard. Students will take turns passing the ball identifying the first, middle, and last sound heard in the chosen words. To differentiate for children with exceptionalities, students can roll the ball instead of throwing it on each sound. Students can also be allotted more time to complete if needed.

Phonemic awareness can be practiced at home by singing songs with children and telling nursery rhymes. Songs and nursery rhymes help children practice rhyming and manipulate various sounds in words.

Another way teachers can help improve students' vocabulary is teaching students how to apply context clues to understand the meaning of new words when reading. When children know how to use pictures or text around an unfamiliar word to discover their meaning, their independence increases. This, in turn, allows them to build their vocabulary. Utilizing varying levels of text to teach how to use this strategy can be beneficial those students with exceptionalities.

As parents read to children, they can pause at unfamiliar words and discuss their meaning. This helps build vocabulary and also gives children the appropriate context in which the word should be used.

A way that parents can help enhance children's reading comprehension skills is to engage in open-ended questions concerning stories that have just been read. Questions can vary depending on children's abilities. This is a way to encourage students to critically think about stories they have read and check comprehension. The website Reading Rockets has an abundance of information on other strategies to improve reading comprehension skills.

Another technique to help increase fluency is echo reading. During small group, teachers read a line of text and students repeat this line exactly as it was delivered. As with choral reading, students hear the flow that is expected and can model that rhythm. The pace the teacher uses can be adjusted to ensure that all students can benefit from this method.

Families can increase children's fluency by rereading children's favorites books. They learn the appropriate pacing and expression that should be occurring. Stories with repeating words can be helpful for children with exceptionalities because they are predictable, and children understand the appropriate rhythm.

"Wild Wacky Words" is a game that is engaging to students. The teacher will create sentences for students but leave out certain letters in words. These letters or letter combinations have been, or are currently being, taught. This game helps students apply the letter sounds and phonetic rules that have been discussed to spell words. Some students may not be ready to edit full sentences, so teachers can differentiate by allowing these students to fill in missing parts of independent words. This can keep students with exceptionalities from feeling overwhelmed.

Playing games, or putting puzzles together, at home can increase these skills. Many puzzles have pictures that correspond to letters or letter sounds and children can work to match these. Some puzzles focus on letter recognition, single letter sounds, and combination of letter sounds. The complexity can differ depending on children's skills.

Reading Rockets. (2024). Phonological and phonemic awareness: introduction. Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Introduction | Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets. (2024). Reading 101 for parents: comprehension. Reading 101 for Parents: Comprehension | Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets. (2024). Reading 101 for parents: fluency. Reading 101 for Parents: Fluency | Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets. (2024). Reading 101 for parents: vocabulary. Reading 101 for Parents: Vocabulary | Reading Rockets