1st grade homework/ reading help

Tigger & pooh

We just got our sons 2nd report card and the teacher is still worried about his reading and knowing sight words. He is currently getting extra reading help at school and then at home we have two nightly books he reads and I generally read a book to him. We have sight word flash cards we work on when there is time but on top of reading he has writing, and math homework each night. Do you have any tips for improving reading that we can do that doesn't take more than fifteen minutes? We are already at 1 hrs of homework a night so I hate to add much more time to it. If you are a 1st grade teacher he is at a level g in his reading books if that make sense. He is not quite considered a "fluent" reader according to the bar graph on the back of his books. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

barnwife

The only idea I have at the moment is related to spelling. Choose a few sight words he struggles with. Write the letters from the on post-its (one letter per post-it). Then mix them up on a table.

Say one of the words. LO has to get the right post-its, take them to the window, and put them in the right order.

As I said, it's really a spelling activity, but since it's game-like, maybe it won't seem so bad to practice (as flashcards get old after a while).

Oh, could also do the flashlight game. Write each sight work on an index card and tape them to a wall. Turn off the lights. Then use a flashlight to light up a word for a short amount of time. LO tries to read the word. Turn the flashlight on and off again if LO needs it. Then do a different word. 

If I think of more sight word activities. I'll come back.

Tigger & pooh

Thanks!

eatmorecupcakes

I teach 3rd grade and deal with kids anywhere from kinder level to above 3rd grade.  First I can't believe the poor kid has so much homework!! The rule of thumb should be 10 minutes per grade level but unfortunately not all teachers follow that.

As far as reading, spelling won't help too much.  He needs to work on fluency and comprehension in order to become a better reader.  A website like starfall.com would be a great resource.  One thing you could add to what you are already doing is just ask simple comprehension questions after finishing a book.  Ask questions that warrant an actual sentence rather than yes or no questions.  You can also have your child verbally summarize what you have just read.

Search online for fluency passages at his level and practice these each night as well.  Time him for a minute to see how many words he is reading.  Write down any words he struggled with on notecards and these can become the flash cards that he studies.  If you want to track these words, get a manila file folder and make a square for each letter of the alphabet.  Quiz him on the cards and if he says a word properly, put a star on the back of the card.  Once you get to 5 stars, that means he should be able to read that word in context with no problems and you can add the word to his folder. (just write it under the corresponding letter)  This now becomes his personal word wall.

 I hope these ideas help!!  Good luck!

Tigger & pooh

eatmorecupcakes:

I teach 3rd grade and deal with kids anywhere from kinder level to above 3rd grade.nbsp; First I can't believe the poor kid has so much homework!! The rule of thumb should be 10 minutes per grade level but unfortunately not all teachers follow that.As far as reading, spelling won't help too much.nbsp; He needs to work on fluency and comprehension in order to become a better reader.nbsp; A website like starfall.com would be a great resource.nbsp; One thing you could add to what you are already doing is just ask simple comprehension questions after finishing a book.nbsp; Ask questions that warrant an actual sentence rather than yes or no questions.nbsp; You can also have your child verbally summarize what you have just read.Search online for fluency passages at his level and practice these each night as well.nbsp; Time him for a minute to see how many words he is reading.nbsp; Write down any words he struggled with on notecards and these can become the flash cards that he studies.nbsp; If you want to track these words, get a manila file folder and make a square for each letter of the alphabet.nbsp; Quiz him on the cards and if he says a word properly, put a star on the back of the card.nbsp; Once you get to 5 stars, that means he should be able to read that word in context with no problems and you can add the word to his folder. just write it under the corresponding letternbsp; This now becomes his personal word wall.nbsp;I hope these ideas help!!nbsp; Good luck!

He actually comprehends really well. His prob is fluency and sounding out words.

JET29

I work with struggling readers in a reading clinic. Here is one of the strategies, called repeated reading, that we use for students to help improve their fluency:

 1) Choose a short passage at your son's reading level (Probably less than 50 words long). Choose a passage that your son can read in about a minute.

2) First, read the passage out loud together.

3) Next, have your son read the passage out loud by himself. If he makes an error or hesitates more than 5 seconds on a word, give him the correct word.

4) Finally, have your son read the passage again by himself (you can still continue to correct any errors). Time him and record how many words he reads correctly at the end of one minute. 

This entire activity should take about 5 minutes total. If you do it on a regular basis, you or your son can graph his progress (graph the number of words that he reads correctly in a minute each day).

By the end of first grade, the goal is to be able to read 40 words correctly in a minute. 

Tigger & pooh

JET29:

I work with struggling readers in a reading clinic. Here is one of the strategies, called repeated reading, that we use for students to help improve their fluency:nbsp;1 Choose a short passage at your son's reading level Probably less than 50 words long. Choose a passage that your son can read in about a minute. 2 First, read the passage out loud together.3 Next, have your son read the passage out loud by himself. If he makes an error or hesitates more than 5 seconds on a word, give him the correct word.4 Finally, have your son read the passage again by himself you can still continue to correct any errors. Time him and record how many words he reads correctly at the end of one minute.nbsp;This entire activity should take about 5 minutes total. If you do it on a regular basis, you or your son can graph his progress graph the number of words that he reads correctly in a minute each day.By the end of first grade, the goal is to be able to read 40 words correctly in a minute.nbsp;

.
Thank you, I just tried this with him. I gave him the book Tiny's bath by cari meister to read. He read exactly 40 words in a minute. He stumbled a bit on dirty and bigger. Would you try a little harder book then?

JET29

Tigger & pooh:

JET29:

I work with struggling readers in a reading clinic. Here is one of the strategies, called repeated reading, that we use for students to help improve their fluency:nbsp;1 Choose a short passage at your son's reading level Probably less than 50 words long. Choose a passage that your son can read in about a minute. 2 First, read the passage out loud together.3 Next, have your son read the passage out loud by himself. If he makes an error or hesitates more than 5 seconds on a word, give him the correct word.4 Finally, have your son read the passage again by himself you can still continue to correct any errors. Time him and record how many words he reads correctly at the end of one minute.nbsp;This entire activity should take about 5 minutes total. If you do it on a regular basis, you or your son can graph his progress graph the number of words that he reads correctly in a minute each day.By the end of first grade, the goal is to be able to read 40 words correctly in a minute.nbsp;

. Thank you, I just tried this with him. I gave him the book Tiny's bath by cari meister to read. He read exactly 40 words in a minute. He stumbled a bit on dirty and bigger. Would you try a little harder book then?

He's off to a good start! Yes, I would suggest trying a more difficult passage. One way to find grade-level materials is to google "first grade reading passages"- you will find short passages that are at his grade level.

tfro99

I'm a Kinder teacher. For the sight words I'd tape 3 to 4 words in a place he goes many times throughout the day ex. the bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, door jamb, etc. Every time he passes by them he needs to read you the words. You don't have to be right there and you can help if needed. Change out the words as he learns them. It should be quick and repeated often.