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Beginning to Read
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In Kindergarten, children slowly learn the process of reading through the introduction of what is termed 'High Frequency Words.' These words might also be called 'Sight Words' as they are the words that your child should be able to quickly identify 'on sight.'

High Frequency Sight Words

One of the daily tasks that should be included during 'homework time' is the practice of these High Frequency Sight Words (HFW for short). It doesn't take a long time to practice the words; in fact, spending about 2–3 minutes several times a day is MUCH better than sitting and practicing them straight for 10 or 20 minutes! You'd be surprised at the AMOUNT of learning you will gain in a short burst when that energy is focused…Kindergartners, after all, lose interest, so quickly!

With that being said, learn some ideas to make learning the High Frequency Sight Words less stressful for everyone!

Phonemic Awareness

Another important skill is the development of 'phonemic awareness.' This is the ability to hear and identify sounds in words. Without this ability, it is difficult for children to make the connections between the letter and the sound when an adult says, "Sound out the word!" (and, you KNOW you will probably be guilty of this if you haven't already been saying this!). So, check out the page on developing Phonemic Awareness Skills and learn a few things you can do!

Reading Fluency

Ahhh…reading fluency…once your child is able to actually START reading, the thing you want him/her to do is to read smoothly and fluently (not that stilted, painful word-by-word reading that is common). There are definitely activities you can do to help improve fluency, too! Yes, everything has some sort of 'practice' involved, but, believe me, it will all be worthwhile in the long run. Go to Reading Fluency for suggestions.

©1999–2011    Sherry
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Publishers create little books that contain these words, along with perhaps a picture, to help children learn to read. So, an important part of a Kindergartner's foundation will be to learn these High Frequency Sight Words.

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