In the classroom, teachers can support this reading development skill with several different activities that are developmentally appropriate for the children.

1. Singing Songs and Nursery Rhymes

   Children learn phonemic awareness by singing songs and rhymes. Rhyming is a helpful first step towards phonemic awareness. Children will learn to recognize the most minor sound units within words, songs, and rhymes. In songs, children hear the smaller parts in the comments, the sounds, and the syllables.

2. Reading books that play with sounds

   When books that play with rhymes and sounds are read to children, they have an easier time grasping concepts and learning sounds and syllables. Some books examples are Jamberry, Sheep in the Jeep, and Hop on Pop.

Teachers can use songs and rhymes to help students with phonemic awareness, especially in a special education classroom. The use of songs helps children develop an overall understanding of language skills. Fhytming activities help students practice identifying and manipulating sounds, which helps strengthen their phonological awareness skills. They also help encourage students to think creatively and express themselves verbally. So, as children learn to sing and rhyme, teachers can use picture cards and posters to support vocabulary learning. We can also use clapping for rhythm potentiation to make the rhythm a visual thing.

We know that reading to children early is essential, but as they grow older, building on that foundation with letter and word sounds is also necessary. Here are some things parents can do at home to support this development.

1. Have a family board game night when parents and children play simple games that include words and sounds like Junior Scrabble, Boggle, or I Spy. It is a creative way to support language and vocabulary learning.

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As educators, we know that board games can help preschoolers develop language skills like reading instructions, communicating and listening to other players, reading comprehension, and understanding the game's rules.

1. Alphabet Playdough

   We can help children identify different letters' names and sounds by sorting letters of the alphabet through play. The playdough and letter stamps support children's hands-on learning of letter formations and sounds.

2. Alphabet Ball

   Write letters of the alphabet on an inflatable beach ball and have the children throw the ball in the air. When they catch it, they shout out the letter they see and say the sound of it.

All these strategies can be used with typical and atypical students in the classroom. The use of multisensory learning is a developmentally appropriate approach that teaches phonics to all children in an engaging way. This includes incorporating visual aids, hands-on activities, and authority cues to support learning.

Here is an activity parents can do at home to support phonics learning.

1. Teaching through pictures

   They have children use their love for technology to take pictures of things that start with a particular letter. This phonics adventure builds the bridge between learning and children's everyday environment.

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When families play games that connect children's learning to their everyday environment, developing learning skills is more accessible and fun.

Here are some hands-on play-based activities you can do in a preschool classroom to support vocabulary learning.

1. Creating a word wall

When children are learning or are exposed to new vocabulary in the classroom, have the children write the words on cards that are added to a word wall. We help children learn independence and build new literacy skills when we teach children new words. The word wall is a reference for future reading and a graph of words that children have successfully mastered.

2. Magnetic boards with wooden letters

When we provide children with letters and pictures, we encourage them to play with letter formations and pre-reading skills.

Vocabulary instruction for atypical children should involve many opportunities to use new words and compare new terms with previously learned words. So, children should have access to materials that support this learning, like glossaries, dictionaries, and electronic and online resources.

Parents and families can build on these skills at home with simple activities like this.

1. Read aloud

Reading aloud to children daily is the best way to increase their vocabulary. Books provide words that they won't encounter in everyday conversations.

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When parents have more conversations with children using new words in meaningful two conversations, they learn to use new words in conversations and put them into context. This can be done by supporting children through discussions and reading to them nightly.

Here are some activities that can be done in the classroom to support Fluency.

1. Repeated reading of the familiar stories

   When children reread and repeatedly listen to the same story, it helps develop automaticity and the ability to read quickly and accurately.

2. Pair Reading

   As educators, we know peer support is critical to classroom success. So, when children are paired in peer groups to read to each other, it supports student engagement, motivates children to read, and fosters creativity. Students can be paired with different reading levels to help model new vocabulary and reading goals.

Regarding children in special education, reading can be more of a struggle, including reading speed and the ability to comprehend the materials. Teachers need to use different types of methods in the classroom to help improve reading fluency. This may include using a color coding system, implementing checkpoints between texts, and evaluating reading fluency more often.

In the home, there are many things that parents can do to support fluency development. Here is one idea.

1. Choral Reading

When a parent reads an enlarged text repeatedly until the child is familiar with it, then have the child read it until they can read fluently. Nursery rhymes and funny poems are suitable for choral reading.

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This site shares articles on how parents can help children improve reading fluency at home. Some of these tips include reading out loud together, setting a daily reading routine, and providing a variety of reading materials to children.

When children are read to in the classroom, it provides a comfort that improves their concentration and focus. Reading gives children the knowledge to understand and talk about the world around them. When children understand what is being read, they start to develop an understanding of how words, phrases, and sentences are

put together.

Here are some activities that can help with reading comprehension in an Early Childhood classroom.

1. Decoding Games

Decoding games focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness. For example, a teacher can say a letter and have students find an object that starts with that letter in the classroom.

2. Picture Story Analysis

Students can activate brainstorming about what they see in pictures. Students use their previous knowledge on a topic to make a hypothesis and form plots based on the images in the book.

Here are some things parents can do to help with reading comprehension at home.

1. Discuss the books you read together. When families read with their children use that time after to reflect on the books and stories. Ask your child questions about a different ending or what they would do if they were the main character. These conversations help build comprehension and critical thinking skills in early readers.

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