Reading is the foundational subject for all other subjects..
Reading is where students learn their letter sounds, blend sounds to create words, combine words to create sentences, and use clues in sentences to understand what they read.
English can be one of the most difficult languages to learn for those students that have not had any exposure to it. When teaching English to young children, knowing the alphabet sounds is the most vital first step.
Children can begin learning letter sound as soon as they are able to speak through flash cards or YouTube videos. It is recommended that children learning English as a second language begin an American curriculum school at the Kindergarten level. In these grades, students are learning the foundational skills: letter sounds, blending sounds, reading 3 to 4 letter words. Students who attend an American curriculum school for the first time in higher grades have a difficult time bridging the gap of their current grade reading level, the English grammar rules, and the foundational skills they missed.
Tutoring and home support is important to these students being able to read on grade level.
Ways to support ELL students at home..
Ignite is an American curriculum school made up of mostly English Language Learners (ELL). Some of the students attended our English-speaking school for the first time in first grade or higher. These students need immediate support to help them read on grade level. One way to support students at home in reading is by using the letter sound drill. Fundations is a reading program that has many videos on letter sounds and other foundational skills. Another way to support students at home in reading is by using the school learning platforms such as A to Z and IXL.
A to Z is a reading platform that Ignite uses to help student who are reading below grade level. The students begin by taking a benchmark assessment for the system to identify the student’s reading level. Once the assessment is completed, the student will have books on their reading level assigned to him or her under “Reading”. A to Z also has Headsprout which helps the students with letter sounds, blends, and words recognition. Setting a time between 30 minutes to an hour to use the platform to practice will help improve the students’ reading skills. Memorizing sight words is another way to support students at home in reading.
Depending on the student’s ability and age, assign up to 10 words to remember and define. The sight words are in most early reader books which builds the students’ fluency, vocabulary, and confidence.
Here are a few links ELL students can used to practice the alphabet sounds, the short and long vowel sounds, and sight word/fry word.
Students that are on grade level and above should continue to read books they are interested in but are challenging enough to build their comprehension, vocabulary and fluency skills. They should also be encouraged to use a journal to write daily blogs about their day.
Readtheory.org and readworks.org are other great sites for students build their reading comprehension. Read theory has activities for students in 1st to 12th grade and English Language Learners (ELL) and read works has reading activities for students in Kindergarten to 8th grade.
English Activities at Ignite..
Reading Challenge
Ignite School’s KG to 5th grade students recently completed the A to Z Reading Challenged sponsored by UNICEF. Students completed any activity in A to Z to earn stars to donate to help provide clean drinking water to communities in need all around the world. Our goal was to donate 1 million stars. We exceed our goal by donating 5,121,000 stars.
Ignite School’s Middle School and High School students completed the Free Rice Reading challenge sponsored by the World Food Programme (WFP) Students earn 10 grains of rice for every question answered correctly to feed communities in need all around the world. The MS and HS students have earned 1,205,090 grains of rice.
We are proud of our students accepting this reading challenge and giving back to the community while building their reading skills.
Spelling Bee
Ignite school will sponsor our annual preliminary classroom spelling bee. The details will be shared after the winter break.
Author Exhibit
Students will have the opportunity to showcase their writing and creative abilities by writing a book. They can write a picture book, comic book, book of poems, informational book, and the list goes on. Students in grades 3 and up can coauthor a book so long as they are able to communicate and meet outside of school hours to plan. Additional information will be provided after the winter break.