The Science of Reading (SoR) is THE hot topic in literacy. SoR is not another one of those educational fads that will come in and out. It is years of extensive research that proves which pedagogical methods and practices are effective in teaching students to read. Now that schools are embracing the Science of Reading, teachers wonder how they can help their students succeed while keeping activities meaningful. Many SoR instructional tools work well solely in the classroom. But, for true academic success we know families should be involved and learning can continue seamlessly outside of school. This post features two low-prep resources perfect for SoR at-home practice. As an added bonus, students will enjoy doing these SoR activities with their families.
What is Science of Reading?
Before we get to the resources, let's do a quick review of what Science of Reading really means. The Science of Reading is not the result of one study, but rather the culmination of thousands of studies completed over a fifty year period. The researchers determined that students need explicit instruction in the following areas:
- Phonological Awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Reading Comprehension *the ultimate goal!
Phonological Awareness and Phonics are the heart of SoR aligned instruction for beginning readers. Reading comprehension is still the ultimate goal, but early readers need phonological awareness and phonics practice in order to have solid word recognition so they can focus on comprehension.
According to the research, for a phonics lesson to be effective, it must include these three elements:
- A hands-on approach
- Move from presentation to practice
- Showing the direct application to reading and spelling
In the classroom, SoR-aligned phonics instruction might look like teaching students to pull apart and say the sounds in a word. Then, working on a phoneme-grapheme matching activity.
This post will focus on moving from presentation to practice at home. For a deeper look into SoR, check out all of our team's Science of Reading posts.
SoR At Home Practice
When many of the parents were in school, their teachers would say, “If you don't know the word, just look at the picture to help.” or, “Read the rest of the sentence to figure out the word you don't know.” We now know these are not effective decoding strategies. Below are two resources that would be a perfect fit for SoR at home practice. Bonus: send home a parent letter with each resource explaining why they are working on these skills at home, and how to properly use the resource.
1. Decodable Phonics Passages
These passages were written by master literacy teachers with years of experience creating the best materials for their students. Each passage focuses on a sound or sounds. Students will begin by reading the decodable word list and looking over the high frequency words featured in the passage. Then, they will read the passage three times. This helps their decoding and fluency. Last, they will answer two comprehension questions and write sound words. As you can see, these decodable passages are a perfect resource to send home as they are easy to use and they provide a wealth of skills practice. These passages are available for 1st and 2nd grade and cover a wide range of sounds. Download the letter and passages below.
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2 Ways to Get These Resources
Join All Access to download everything we've ever made.
Or... Purchase the bundle in our shop.
2. Words & Sentence Lists
The words & sentences lists focus on certain sounds and provide amazing practice with moving from decoding to fluent word and sentence reading. We have 50 sentence & word sound lists, each with 20 words and two sentences.
These can be used at home to either pull apart and put together sounds in words, or to have students practice fluently reading the words. Teachers can send home the particular Sentence & Word Lists each student needs to practice. Download the cards & parent letter below!
2 Ways to Get This Resource
Join All Access to download everything we've ever made.
Or... Purchase the bundle in our shop.
Sending home Science of Reading aligned phonics resources helps ensure your students are receiving research based, meaningful instruction. For more SoR lesson guidance, check out these Phonics & Phonological resources!
If you like these resources you MUST check out all of our Science of Reading aligned materials on All Access! Imagine having access to the entire Lucky Little Learners resource library for as little as $9.99 a month! (That is only the price of a couple cups of coffee!) Click below to access it all!
Ready to simplify Science of Reading alignment? Join Team Lucky Little Learners member Katie to see how easy and engaging it can be.
Happy teaching!
I would love to have the working with words page shown in the picture. I have an All Access membership and have searched but cannot find it. Please direct me. Thanks.
Hello Peggy! Here is the direct link to the working with words mat and picture cards in All Access. Thank you!