Reading

Staff

Cool Spring Reading Specialist -  Mrs. Cook

The mission of the Elementary Reading program in Loudoun County Public Schools is to teach all students how to read and comprehend written text so that they may become independent readers and lifelong learners with a firm grasp of the written world that surrounds them. The primary responsibilities of the reading specialists are to assist struggling readers and to coordinate the school’s reading program. We provide leadership through staff development activities and workshops for parents. Collaboration and planning with teachers allows us to support classroom instruction. Another responsibility of the reading specialist is to administer and interpret various diagnostic and assessment tools. Cool Spring is in its 5th year of implementing the PATHWAYS program. It offers excellent opportunities for collaboration and planning with classroom teachers, thus allowing us to support classroom instruction.

Reading Strategies

First Grade Reading Strategies

Your child should be able to recite the following reading strategies when he/she comes to a tricky word:

  1. Look at the picture.

  2. Look at the first letter of the word.

  3. Skip the word. (Continue reading the sentence. Go back and then try to figure out the word at the end of the sentence.)

  4. Think about what would make sense.

Comprehension Activities

  • Create a story from the pictures before reading the story. Try to use tricky words from the text in your discussion.

  • Retell the story to include character names, setting, problem, and solution.

  • Relate what has been read to his/her own personal experiences or other books.

  • Praise your child on figuring out the word on his/her own. (Ex. “I love the way you skipped that word, read the rest of the sentence, and then came back to figure out the word. That’s what good readers do.”)

  • Echo read to improve fluency and expression. You read a sentence, and then your child repeats it after you.

  • For books to use at home, a great resource is Website.

Second through Fifth Reading Strategies

When your child comes to a tricky word, do not tell your child the word. Encourage him/her to use the following strategies: 

  1. Skip the tricky and read to the end of the sentence or paragraph. Then go back and reread to see he/she can figure out the word using context cues.

  2. Separate the tricky word into small parts. Look for a part that he/she knows.

  3. Does the word look right, sound right, and make sense?

  4. If the strategies above are not working, have your child post the word with a sticky note so that you can discuss it later. Model for your child how to use the strategies.

  •  Comprehension Activities

  • Summarize after each chapter or sections

  • Identify characters, setting, problem, and solution.

  • Sequence events.

  • Relate what has been read to his/her own personal experiences or other books.

  • Read ahead of your child to come up with questions to give a purpose for reading. (Ex. “When you finish with this section, tell me how Zack solved the mystery.”)