National Reading Panel

      In 2000, the National Reading Panel was assembled by the government to determine the best practices in teaching children how to read.  After completing their research, they wrote a detailed report for government officials, teachers, and parents on best practices in teaching children to read.  Click this link for suggestions they had for parents with children in Preschool through 3rd Grade.

Reading Strategies for Students

      There are many strategies we use as fluent readers, but students learning to read need help learning these strategies.  Students sometimes use one, two, or more of these strategies to help them decode an unknown word.  Keep in mind that each student develops at their own rate.  For example, a student who may not have all of their letter sounds down may have trouble tapping out a word, while a student who knows all their sounds might be able to 'look for chunks' in words or 'flip the vowel'.  It all depends on the student and the word they are trying to decode.  Here's a list of strategies we focus on to help us decode new words in Kindergarten...