Home
What's New?
Keep-on-Track E-zine
Sitemap
Your Gallery
Contact
About
Search
In the News

Resources

Reading Skills

Reading Skills

What reading skills does a child require to move from a beginning reader to a mature, fluent reader?

Reading with a solid phonics based program or method.
Learning single sounds (a-z, teaching the correct phonetic sounds of each letter)
Multiple phonograms (ar, sh, th, ee, ea, or)
In the Australian LEM program, they teach over 70 phonograms.
Develop phonics alongside of handwriting, spelling and reading
Ability to sound out words.
Understanding of dividing words into syllables for reading and spelling.
Using context clues to aid reading.
Read books which progress in difficulty.
To develop vocabulary in a meaningful context.
Differentiate between fact and fiction.
To identify and recall details of character, place, time.
To distinguish the main idea.
To sequence events in order.
Ability to comprehend the passage. Re-tell the passage in own words helps to test comprehension and develop the last five skills.
Enjoy a variety of stories- fact, fiction, myths and legends, fairytales, biographical novels, historical fiction, poetry, plays,
To predict possible outcomes and events.
To infer story details which the author did not include.
To infer the main idea, theme or moral.
To guess a sequence of what may have happened before or after the story takes place.
To recognize likenesses and differences in characters, times, places, actions.
To understand and discuss motives of characters.
Discuss characters- good and bad qualities, wise and unwise decisions, judge the characters and their actions.
To read widely - personal, silent reading.
To distinguish fact and opinion.
To recognize author’s techniques in developing the writing.
To recognize elements of fiction: Setting, Characters, Conflict, Resolution, Point of View and be able to identify them and discuss them in increasing depth through the years.
To recognize author’s viewpoints and worldview.
To use reading as a research tool.
To find relevant information.
To be able to outline, summarize and précis a reading.
To make personal evaluations on the reading based on the criteria of reality/ fantasy, fact, worth or acceptability.
To respond to literature based on emotions, identification with characters, reactions to language, and the author’s ability to capture the imagination.

Some of the above Reading Skills have been outlined in, “Reading Strands Understanding Fiction” by the National Writing Institute and also “Teaching Children” by Diane Lopez.

Where to from here?

Leave Reading Skills and return to Language Arts Sitemap

Leave Reading Skills and return to The Subjects

Go to Homepage