Dear CSA Families,

March is Reading Month!  Learning to read starts long before reading happens, just as young children start learning to talk before they even hear a word spoken. Our teachers put a lot of intentionality into planning and facilitating lessons to meet each student's readiness and developmental level.

Starting in Kindergarten, students are immersed in a print-rich environment. Collaborative classroom stories (stories created as a class) are displayed, and classroom items are labeled with words and pictures. The Kindergarten day is filled with opportunities to practice speaking and listening, as these skills are the foundation of literacy. Throughout the day, kindergarteners take part in several read-aloud activities where they dive deeply into the workings of books and have meaningful conversations. They discover that words are made up of letters, phrases are made up of words, and stories are made up of sentences. They discover that stories are made up of characters, a setting, a problem, and a solution and that they have a beginning, middle, and conclusion. Additionally, students discover that books are a source of information and can teach them new things. Kindergarten students are embarking into the world of learning to read and it’s a magical time.

In the Navigator unit, students continue their journey of learning how to read.  They begin to further develop and enhance their understanding and reading strategies. Navigator students still love to be read to and continue to make observations of what good readers do. They are also beginning to develop as readers themselves. They are developing accuracy (word recognition and the skills to sound out unfamiliar words) and fluency (the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression). At this point, many students begin to feel more confident in demonstrating their reading abilities to you, their parent, which allows you to see the joy as they read to you. Accurate and fluent reading requires practice, just like any other talent. Through the use of various techniques including retelling, visualizing while reading, and drawing connections to the text, Navigator students are also gaining comprehension (reading for meaning).

Students begin to shift from learning to read to reading to learn as they move into the Voyager and Explorer Units. Students start to gravitate to particular authors and book series during this fascinating period in their reading development. Additionally, these children start to see the importance of reading across many subject areas, which enhances their comprehension and proficiency with expository texts. Students at this level must routinely read independently, learn to improve their speed and endurance, and, most importantly, develop a passion for reading. We want every student to leave CSA Elementary with a passion for reading.  

If you would like more information on how best to support your student’s reading development at home, please reach out to your student’s teacher(s) or a school leader.

Happy Reading Month!

In partnership with you,
Stephanie Winters