There is a lot of buzz in the educational sector regarding the use of the Orton-Gillingham or Science of Reading–based approach in schools. Some think it’s just a fad. However, this is an old system for teaching kids how to read. You can follow this type of curriculum for its structured lessons, which incorporate best practices for building a strong foundation in reading skills for children. The lessons focus on phonics skills, phonemic awareness, comprehension, and language structure, which support fluent reading. You can trust these methods to deliver desirable results because they are the outcome of efforts by cognitive scientists, educational psychologists, developmental psychologists, and other experts. Their combined contributions have been the driving force behind the development of approaches that empower children with strong reading skills.
These time-tested systems show what can happen when the earliest stages of spoken language are given the attention they deserve. You can check 1st grade books for an experience. What do they contain?
Common Instructions in Grade 1 Books
Phonemic awareness can be an integral part of the set of lessons taught to first-grade students. As you know, phonemic awareness helps children realize that every word is composed of a number of individual sounds. When kids develop phonemic awareness, they can hear and recognize different sounds in words. They also learn to blend and manipulate sounds. Apart from this, you can also give phonics instruction through these books. Students will learn about the relationship between sounds and spelling. It is believed that explicit instructions can really make the difference here. Explicit instruction means your students will know what they will learn and why. They are exposed to high-frequency words. They can also have practice and feedback sessions to track their progress.
As the lessons proceed, they can be exposed to fluency practice, comprising encoding and decoding of letters and sight words. You can also teach them vocabulary. Typically, students don’t have enough exposure to literacy when they enter school. With continuous vocabulary instruction, you can address one more area of concern efficiently.
Research-Based Insights on Science of Reading–Backed Books
According to credible scientific studies, children need to practice letter sounds for at least four to six weeks to gain mastery. Some may have reading difficulties. They may need to practice more. Reviewing their phonics skills, ability to recognize high-frequency words, and blending capability can prove helpful. Surveys also show that first graders need exposure to multisensory learning to attain fluency and proficiency in reading. It is seen that many students cannot write what they read, and vice versa. Hence, it’s essential to tap into both these skills together.
To be precise, early reading instructions enable students to spend more time on texts, where they come across a variety of words. The inclusion of decodable texts and similar resources can help shape their reading development. That’s why it’s essential to expose them to lessons inspired by Orton-Gillingham principles, multisensory practices, decodable texts, and other practical approaches. The process of teaching and learning should be organic and engaging. If you choose the right platforms that offer reading books for Grade 1 children, you can manage these aspects quite well.
