The first grade reading program at St. James School is a compilation of carefully selected reading and phonics programs. 

Word-Study - program created by University of Virginia

Word Study is an approach to spelling instruction that relies on an understanding of English orthography and the way in which children develop as spellers. The approach teaches the five stages of literacy development recognition of characteristics of readers, writers and spellers at each of these stages. Based on assessment students are grouped according to their level of spelling development and have opportunities for practical applications. Word Study is a sensible alternative to the traditional rote methods of spelling instruction.  (description of approach is an adaption of the Word-Study course online description - Curry College of Education, University of Virginia)

Classroom Application:

Monday: Small leveled group introduction to new word-sorts

Tuesday and Wednesday: Small leveled groups meet to reinforce and informally assess targeted phonemic sound/letter recognition

Friday: Formal assessment  

Homework Assignment - generally Monday through Thursday - place pictures/words in correct categories, spell words if words are specifically targeted

Leveled groups are determined based on formal Word-Study Assessment three to four times/year

Orton-Gillingham - A multi-sensory approach to reading/phonics

Classroom Application: used for introducing new sound/symbol relationships, as well as  reinforcing and reviewing previously taught learned concepts

 

DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment by Janetta M. Beaver) are given three to four times/year to determine a student’s reading level

Classroom Application:

• Students are assigned nightly reading in pre-determined leveled readers, reading groups, and “good-fit” books are based on DRA results

Scholastic Guided Reading Program

     - Based on the DRA level, students are assigned nightly homework: read a book three times to an adult (levels A - H), read a book for fifteen minutes to an adult (levels I on)         

     -  students meet one-on-one with teacher or assistant teacher once or twice/week to read and discuss book(s) (informal assessment of students’ reading and comprehension ability is done during  this time) - takes place in the mornings and/or during DEAR times

 

Dolch Words - words that can not be decoded or words that students, at a given level, do not have rules to decode that given word, words are leveled: pre primer (pre-kindergarten), primer (kindergarten), first, second, third, etc. grade

• Students meet one-on-one with teacher or teacher assistant once or twice/week to review and promote Dolch Word progress

• Homework Assignment - generally Monday through Thursday, practice new words night

DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) - loosely based on Daily Five or now called Daily Cafe program - Read to Self Category (I Charts, 3 Ways to Read, Good-Fit Books, Leveled Reading Boxes)

Classroom Application:

• Based on DRA levels, students select their own reading books, five books (levels A-H), one - three books (levels I on)

• Students “read to self”  (beginning of the year for fifteen to twenty minutes, by year’s end for up to one hour)

• Students meet one-on-one with teacher or assistant teacher once or twice/week to read and discuss book(s) (informal assessment of students’ reading and comprehension ability is done during  this time)

 BASIC READING PROGRAM - Scott Forseman Reading Street - basal reader

• Builds vocabulary incrementally

• Builds comprehension skills

            Sequencing

            Inferencing

            Comparing and contrasting

            Drawing conclusions

            Self-questioning

            Problem-solving

            Fact and Opinion

            Relating background knowledge

• Builds language arts skills

             Types of sentences

             Common and Proper Nouns

             Verbs

             Subject in a sentence

             Adjectives

             Adverbs

             Pronouns

             Possessive Nouns

             Predicate in a sentence

• Builds phonics skills

              Short and long vowels

              Beginning and ending consonant digraphs, blends, and affricates

              Contractions

              Vowel digraphs

              R controlled vowels

• Builds language arts writing skills

              Sentence Structure - upper case letter begins sentence, punctuation marks, etc.

              Writing complete sentences

              Writing paragraph

              Creative writing

              Writing process: first draft, editing, self-editing, publishing

Classroom Application:

                   -  Whole group teacher-directed lessons

                   -  Workbook written practice and reinforcement of skills

                   -  Written work targeting skills taught

                   -  Formal assessment generated by Scott Forseman Reading Street

                   -  students in need of additional support in any area of the reading program work with our

                    - St. James resource team