VOCABULARY Vocabulary is carefully scaffolded throughout the ebooks as the complexity of the narrative and sentence structure increases. New vocabulary is introduced through guided read-alouds as the student goes through the first reading of a new book. Once spoken-written correspondence is established, some less-familiar words are introduced into the stories. It is important that the student is exposed to some unfamiliar words, but not to the extent as to risk overwhelming the reader and affecting overall comprehension. In the later levels of the program, F.I.R.S.T. introduces new words frequently so that students have ongoing opportunities to build vocabulary. These opportunities continue in the activities that follow the ebooks, through matching high- frequency words and practicing targeted replacement (teaching a new word by replacing a similar word, such as substituting smart for the word clever ). COMPREHENSION In the F.I.R.S.T. program, comprehension is fostered by the use of very familiar language and story lines that will be easily understood by young learners. Students progressively encounter longer and more complex stories that include increasingly varied language. Through the first reading of each of the stories, guiding narration teaches the student strategies for how to think about the text and how to build understanding by making connections to their own knowledge and experience. Activities following the reading also progress from surface details to in-depth thinking. For example, students are asked to determine the main idea of a story or compare and contrast characters or events from more than one story. F.I.R.S.T. ensures that reading comprehension is supported as students are exposed to increasingly advanced texts. As students’ sound-letter knowledge develops through reading and through F.I.R.S.T.’s phonological activities, they master an understanding of spoken-written correspondence and build sight vocabulary. This, along with the careful sequencing of the reading material, yields a steady progression toward independent reading. The F.I.R.S.T. program provides the essential foundational skills the learner requires to become a confident, efficient reader.
SCHOLASTIC F.I.R.S.T. FOUNDATION PAPER 13
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs