Do you have a beginner reader ready to read simple and/or pattern texts? Come join this ongoing reading club to boost your child’s reading confidence while at the same time working on fluency, sight word recognition, and word attack (decoding) skills. 

As a licensed reading specialist, school librarian, and a Nationally Board-certified teacher, I will be working with your child on various reading strategies that they can use at home or school to help them become a successful and confident reader!

This class is designed to help your child build and strengthen early reading skills in a fun and engaging way. Your child will learn a variety of strategies to help them sound out unfamiliar words while also focusing on sight (high-frequency) words by using books from the Step into Reading series.  

Each week, our ongoing class will meet once a week to help improve your child's reading. I will also send a 2nd lesson after the our weekly meeting to complete at home at your convenience.  This gives family's the flexibility on when and how to use the second lesson for the weekly book. Any work completed can be submitted to be reviewed by the teacher should families wish for feedback.

I will select one book per week from the Step Into Reading Series (Level 1) to help guide our reading instruction. Please see the list below for titles used in the course.  My enthusiastic style will help engage your child in our weekly book as we work to boost reading skills through a variety of activities and games!

 Our meetings each week will center around sight words, decoding skills, and building fluency as we read together the chosen book of the week.  Given that it meets one time a week, I will provide families with a second lesson that can be used to continue the weekly book. If you are interested in meeting 2x a week, please let me know and I can adjust the course.

 We will begin each session with a preview of the text, commonly referred to as a “picture walk” by reading teachers. This helps your child predict what the story will be about while also thinking about sight words they may know. Then we will work together as a class to read the weekly book and I will be working with your child on word attack skills.  It is important for children to have a variety of strategies to help them when they encounter tricky words.  We will also discuss and talk about the story as we read to help your child think about making connections when reading. Students will be encouraged to read aloud but please know it can take time for your child to feel comfortable reading in front of others. 

We will use the remaining time after our reading to play word games that revolve around the words found in our text as well as sight words geared at the Pre-K through 1st Grade Dolch list.  I will facilitate discussion about the book to check for understanding of the story with simple comprehension questions and/or activities. We will also have a time at the very end of our meeting to respond to our story. Responses may be oral or written, depending on the size of the class, book selection, etc. 

After the class, I will send a follow up message to families with activities and suggestions on how to engage with the book at home during the week. Activities will be literacy based to help continue your child's efforts on reading the text. Any work completed can be sent back to me for comments/feedback. 

We will then meet back the following week for a new book from the Step Into Reading Series following a similar lesson pattern to the previous week. 

I hope your child can join in the reading fun as we explore a variety of topics and stories from the Step Into Reading series. As part of this class, I will be encouraging families to read the text on the days we do not meet to help them build fluency and confidence with the text. Although it may seem redundant to us as adults, it’s a way for your child to employ the word strategies and help them feel comfortable with their reading. 

Feel free to join in each week to help your child become a confident reader! If you have specific reading needs or have any questions about this class, please contact me. 

If you do not see a day/time conducive to your schedule, please send me a schedule request and I will work with you to try to schedule another section. 

Book List - All books are from Step Into Reading, Level 1 
*Please note your child does not need a copy of the book; however, if you'd like your learner to have their own copy, feel free to bring the book to class. Books can be found online, in stores, and even public libraries! 

Week 1-  Hot Dog by Molly Coxe
Week 2 - Big Egg - by Molly Coxe
Week 2 - Tooth Fairy's Night by Candice Ransom
Week 3 - Soccer Time by Terry Pierce
Week 4 - Big Shark, Little Shark Go to School by Anna Membrino
Week 5 - The Brave Knight Take Turns by Jennifer Holm
Week 6 - Beach Day by Candice Ransom
Week 7  - Sleepy Dog, Wake Up by Harriet Ziefert
Week 8 - I Like Bugs by Margaret Wise Brown

The August section at 8 am EST will last 4 weeks. All other sections will have 8 meetings, but more will be added if interested in continuing.

*additional weeks may be added so please check back for further titles/dates