Literacy Big 5

Phonemic Awareness

• the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words.
• Phonemic awareness =/= phonics
• A phoneme is the smallest part of a spoken language that makes a difference in the meaning of words.

Phonics Instruction

• teaches children the relationship between the letters of a written language and the sounds of a spoken language.
• Most effective when it begins in Kindergarten or first grade
• does not equal an entire reading program

Fluency Instruction

• Fluency is the ability to read a text accuratley and quickly
• takes attention from having to decode words to being able to focus on comprehending text
• helps students read with expression

Vocabulary Instruction

• Vocabulary refers to words we must know to be able to communicate
• researchers suggest we have listening, reading, writing, and speaking vocabulary
• improves comprehension

Text Comprehension Instruction

• Comprehension is the most important part of reading
• It's important to teach metacognition in regards to reading comprehension
• teach comprehension strategies