READING for Year 1
What should Year 1 children read?
Anything and everything! Once they discover what reading is and that they can do it, they will be insatiable.
Surprise them!
Challenge them!
Have competitions / games / quizzes to encourage them to remember the words that they see.
For example:
Flash cards - who can stand up and say the word, or run to the front and choose the right word, or hold up their own small matching card.
With flimsy paper flash cards - who can pick one up, say the word correctly, then crumple it and shoot it into a box or bin.
Remember:
Posters
Have lots of frequently-changing materials on the walls / pin-up board, and then expect them to notice it.
Booklets
Make small books and/or booklets with stories about the children. (Information about how to do this on this page.) If the books contain small pieces of information (e.g. what is their favourite colour / food) about individuals, you could have a quiz about this to encourage them to 'read' about each other.
Post-it notes
Write words (or sounds) on post-it notes (e.g. classroom items, things that are on the posters) and ask children to go and stick the on the right thing.
Reward Them
There are extensive notes about possible rewards at the bottom of the Classroom Management page, or you can download this file.
Anything and everything! Once they discover what reading is and that they can do it, they will be insatiable.
Surprise them!
- Make sure the classroom is full of interesting print materials for them to read. Stick things on the walls, windows, furniture, doors, and definitely the English pin-up board - and change them often.
- If you are not the home room teacher, and talking to the home room teacher doesn't result in their agreement for you to post lots of materials, then find other ways ... Give out papers and/or small printed booklets which the children can pass around and tuck into their desks when they have other teachers.
- Use post-it notes. Walk around and stick a note on each desk - the children can practise reading them and pass them on or keep them in a notebook.
- Flash cards - the children could each have their own small set of flash cards in their desk to practise alone or with friends between lessons, and to use for games during your lessons. There could also be spare sets of flash cards on a desk or shelf in the classroom for extra practice.
- Don't only give them words that they can 'manage', let them have the fun of learning an occasional big word, something they are interested in. They could try recognising some or all of the phonic elements, and/or just memorise the shape of the word. (Make sure you always present words in lower case, not capitals, so they have shape.)
Challenge them!
Have competitions / games / quizzes to encourage them to remember the words that they see.
For example:
Flash cards - who can stand up and say the word, or run to the front and choose the right word, or hold up their own small matching card.
With flimsy paper flash cards - who can pick one up, say the word correctly, then crumple it and shoot it into a box or bin.
Remember:
- Don't let pandemonium rule, make sure you set the rules by making teams to have turns at running first etc.
- Discourage shouting out because it doesn't always prove that they know it and some children just sit back and don't try.
- Either make very durable laminated flash cards, or make lots of flimsy cheap disposable ones that you don't mind if they don't last long.
Posters
Have lots of frequently-changing materials on the walls / pin-up board, and then expect them to notice it.
- Have competitions / games / quizzes to make sure they have. They don't have to read every word on the posters.
- Maybe you could ask if they have noticed any words starting with a particular sound or letter, or any word that has more than 5 letters, or even show them a picture and see if they have noticed the same or similar on a poster.
- Pictures or information about the children (such as their name) could be hidden or included in the postings on the walls - anything that makes them want to look as soon as you put it up.
Booklets
Make small books and/or booklets with stories about the children. (Information about how to do this on this page.) If the books contain small pieces of information (e.g. what is their favourite colour / food) about individuals, you could have a quiz about this to encourage them to 'read' about each other.
Post-it notes
Write words (or sounds) on post-it notes (e.g. classroom items, things that are on the posters) and ask children to go and stick the on the right thing.
Reward Them
There are extensive notes about possible rewards at the bottom of the Classroom Management page, or you can download this file.
reward.pdf | |
File Size: | 467 kb |
File Type: |
You can download the above notes here:
what_should_year_1_children_read.pdf | |
File Size: | 436 kb |
File Type: |
Create your own READING MATERIAL
Too difficult? NO! It doesn't have to be perfect, and the children love to read stories about themselves or someone they know, or even someone who is similar to them. We don't have to get bogged down with non-fictional content and traditional stories only.
Firstly, have a look at the Little Books that you can make. Start simple, and build up to pop-up books. The children can make up their own stories and write them, or tell you their stories and you write them, or you can make up stories about them and put them in a little book.
Then make a Big Book, copying the little book, so that you can do Shared Reading as an activity, reading it together.
Below is an example of a Pop-Up little book that you can print out and help each child to make - and read - and copy into a Big Book as well.
There is more along these lines on the website: Stories for Malaysian Kids.
Firstly, have a look at the Little Books that you can make. Start simple, and build up to pop-up books. The children can make up their own stories and write them, or tell you their stories and you write them, or you can make up stories about them and put them in a little book.
Then make a Big Book, copying the little book, so that you can do Shared Reading as an activity, reading it together.
Below is an example of a Pop-Up little book that you can print out and help each child to make - and read - and copy into a Big Book as well.
There is more along these lines on the website: Stories for Malaysian Kids.
Make a POP-UP book to read and enjoy
Here is a pop-up book for year 1s to enjoy.
You may have seen the little pop-up book: "James goes home from school" on the "Little Books - pop-up book" page (click on the link and check it out if you are not familiar).
Here is a template for a Little Book (pop-up) called "Faris goes home from school". (Click on Full Screen - in the bottom right hand corner - to see it in full. And/or download below.)
You may have seen the little pop-up book: "James goes home from school" on the "Little Books - pop-up book" page (click on the link and check it out if you are not familiar).
Here is a template for a Little Book (pop-up) called "Faris goes home from school". (Click on Full Screen - in the bottom right hand corner - to see it in full. And/or download below.)
NOTE: 1. It is presented here as a WORD document so that you can adjust or change it if you need to.
2. When you print it out, only print the first page - the second page is blank.
2. When you print it out, only print the first page - the second page is blank.
faris_goes_home_template.docx | |
File Size: | 178 kb |
File Type: | docx |
And here are some photos of how you can fold-cut-fold it. (Make sure you check out the link mentioned above.) Click on each photo to see them full size.
And of course here is a Big Book to go with it for shared reading. (Click on the photos to see them Full Size.)