Welcome to our digital bulletin board dedicated to exploring the five pillars of early reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Each section offers classroom activities, at-home activities, and helpful websites to equip young learners with the foundational skills they need to become successful readers!

1. Phonemic Awareness:

• Playful Sounds: Divide students into groups and provide each with a set of letter tiles. One group member draws a tile and says the sound, while others clap the same number of times as there are phonemes in the sound (e.g., “b” – one clap, “str” – three claps). Adapt for students with exceptionalities by offering visual cues or prompting oral repetition of the phoneme.

• Storytelling Symphony: Choose a familiar story. As you read, pause and have students clap, snap, or stomp different patterns for specific sounds (e.g., clap for /t/, snap for /m/, stomp for vowels). Differentiate by offering physical prompts or reducing the number of sound categories.

• At-Home Activity: Play “I Spy” focusing on sounds rather than objects. Give clues like “I spy something that starts with the /f/ sound.” Encourage children to sound out the answer and identify the object.

• Website: https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ offers interactive games and activities that cater to different learning styles and abilities.

2. Phonics:

• Letter Treasure Hunt: Hide letter cards around the classroom. Students must find a card, say the sound, and then find a picture or object that starts with that sound. Adapt for students with exceptionalities by providing them with a smaller search area or offering picture choices for sound identification.

• Word Building Bonanza: Divide students into pairs and provide each with letter tiles and picture cards. One student sounds out a picture word, while the other builds the word with the corresponding tiles. Differentiate by using simpler picture words or providing sound prompts as needed.

• At-Home Activity: Use magnetic letters on the fridge or create a DIY letter board. Encourage children to spell out familiar words they hear or see in their environment.

• Website: [invalid URL removed] provides information on different phonics programs and activities aligned with various learning needs.

3. Vocabulary:

• Picture Perfect: Display a picture with multiple objects or actions. Students take turns describing what they see using increasingly specific vocabulary words. Offer picture cues or synonyms for students with limited vocabulary.

• Story Spinners: Start a story together, each student adding a sentence. Encourage using new vocabulary words related to the story’s theme. Provide sentence starters or word banks for struggling learners.

• At-Home Activity: Play “Describe and Guess.” One person describes an object in the house without naming it, using as many descriptive words as possible. The other person tries to guess the object.

• Website: [Storynory: www.storynory.com] offers engaging audio stories read by professional voice actors, helping children build vocabulary in a fun and immersive way.

4. Fluency:

• Echo Reading: Read a sentence or phrase aloud. Students echo back, mimicking your expression and intonation. Gradually increase the length and complexity of the text as fluency improves. Offer sentence starters or choral reading for students needing support.

• Silly Sentences: Write silly sentences on cards (e.g., “The cat wore a hat and rode a bike”). Students take turns reading the sentences with appropriate expression and pace. Simplify sentence structure or provide fluency prompts for struggling readers.

• At-Home Activity: Read aloud together regularly, taking turns reading pages or paragraphs. Encourage children to practice reading stories they choose on their own.

• Website: [FluencyTutor: www.fluencytutor.com] offers free, leveled passages and practice activities designed to improve reading fluency for students of all abilities.

5. Comprehension:

• Thinking Detective: After reading a story, ask open-ended questions that encourage students to think critically about the characters, plot, and setting. Provide visuals or sentence starters to support comprehension for students with processing difficulties.

• Story Mapping: Draw a simple map of the story together, including the setting, characters, main events, and ending. Use pictures or symbols to represent elements that may be challenging to express verbally.

• At-Home Activity: Talk about the day’s activities or a book you read together. Ask questions to encourage children to retell the story in their own words and share their thoughts and feelings about the events.