English+Language+Arts



Reading and writing go hand in hand. First grade is a tremendous year of growth and learning. It is expected that your child read every night for at least 20 minutes (Start with 10 minutes at the beginning of the school year and work your way up). It is important for your child to read both independently and listen to an adult or sibling read to him/her. Talk to your child about the books you read together.

Here are some ideas you can have your child do to work on his/her comprehension of stories read:
 * Retell the story
 * Create puppets of the characters and act out the story
 * Discuss the beginning, middle, and end
 * Use sequence words like first, next, then, and last
 * Talk about the characters feelings throughout the story, ask your child how they know the character felt that way and why
 * Discuss your favorite part and why
 * Have your child explain why he/she liked or did not like the story
 * Stop periodically while reading and have your child PREDICT what will come next and why
 * Ask questions and have your child ask questions about the story
 * Make connections... to his/herself or to other stories read
 * Create a song or poem about the story

Check out the links below for some additional websites to encourage and reinforce reading skills.
 * [[image:starfall.jpg width="153" height="158" align="center" caption="Click here to practice beginning reading. There are stories, games, songs, and videos for great practice!" link="http://www.starfall.com/"]] || [[image:mrssawkiewicz/storyline online.jpg width="155" height="141" align="center" caption="A fun site to listen to stories read by celebrities! There are also activities that go along with each book for comprehension practice!" link="@http://www.storylineonline.net/"]] || [[image:spelling city.jpg width="225" height="140" align="center" caption="Click here to practice our word wall words and spelling words!" link="http://www.spellingcity.com/hsawkiewicz/"]] ||
 * [[image:mrssawkiewicz/abcya.jpg align="center" caption="Click here for reading and math games." link="http://www.abcya.com"]] || [[image:internet 4 classrooms.jpg width="174" height="94" align="center" caption="Click here to practice English Language Arts skills through online games." link="http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills-1st-langbuilders.htm"]] || **Scholastic Book Order**
 * Coming Soon** ||