Since we are heading into the second half of Kindergarten, we thought a recap of our basic fundamentals in our Reader's Workshop would prove helpful as a review, so you know the pillars we work on during this ever-so-important time. Please read over and enjoy the excerpt from a wonderful online resource (for parents too!) 

Phonemic awareness and phonics are not the same thing. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that the sounds of spoken language work together to make words. Phonics is the understanding that there is a relationship between letters and sounds through written language.Children who cannot hear and work with the phonemes of spoken words will have a difficult time learning how to relate these phonemes to letters when they see them in written words. Phonemic awareness refers to the specific ability to focus on and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Phonemes are the smallest units comprising spoken language. Phonemes combine to form syllables and words. For example, the word 'mat' has three phonemes: /m/ /a/ /t/. There are 44 phonemes in the English language, including sounds represented by letter combinations such as /th/. Acquiring phonemic awareness is important because it is the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills. Phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first two years of school instruction.

Word Decoding and Phonics is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven't seen before. Although children may sometimes figure out some of these relationships on their own, most children benefit from explicit instruction in this area. Phonics is one approach to reading instruction that teaches students the principles of letter-sound relationships, how to sound out words, and exceptions to the principles.

Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make connections between what they read and what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they have read. One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of enough words.Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read – what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are funny. Thus comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning.

This Wednesday, we celebrated a hard earned reading party! These celebrations do not come around all that often, so when they do, they are VERY special. We are able to read books, lounge on pillows, couches, and bean bags. We even get to munch on popcorn while we read.

For emergent readers who are new to the process and the enjoyable experiences of reading, they need to experience the fun firsthand and for themselves. Let's face it, being a new reader is hard work. They want to succeed so badly, and have to think about so many things at once just to sound out one word. Do you remember those days? I know, me neither, I have also forgetton. So, to reward all that hard work and let them just kick back and relax every now and then....a reading party makes its way into our day.

A very important component of reading is reading comprehension. As emergent readers, Kindergarten is a perfect time to begin reflecting on pieces that we read. Some Black Bats have started writing in their Reader's Response Journals. During Reader's Workshop, students pick books from a select collection that is appropriate for their reading level. Once they have read the book, they pick a reflection prompt to respond to in their journals. Prompts might ask students to reflect on what happened in the middle of the story, who the main character was, how the story made them feel, or what the story reminded them of. This activity fosters critical thinking and the students are so happy to be thinking about reading in a new way.

Our return to school has brought with it a few new and fun addtions to our routines during Reader's Workshop.  We have a listening center in the library for all students to enjoy at least once a week. Each student is equipped with a set of headphones as well as a copy of the book, to make a literacy connection during their read-aloud. Other students are ready to start reading developmentally appropriate books independently and then complete a reader's response journal entry. We always have the option of doing letter and sight word scavenger hunts when free-reading. Lastly, each group meets with a teacher to do small-group focused literacy studies at the varied levels.