Mara and Friends 1: A Pre-Primer Step-by-Step Reader
Claire Mark
Paperback
(Independently published, Dec. 12, 2019)
Mara and Friends 1 is the first of a series of Infant Readers that assist young learners to become fluent readers. Book 1 targets four- year-old Pre-primers, preparing them for entry into Primary school. Informative and helpful teacher/parent guidelines are also provided. The Reader contains:- Simple cvc word-blending, segmenting, word families, rhyme. All letters of the alphabet are included, assisting teachers to identify areas that need to be reinforced.- Teaching and frequent repetition of Pre-K *Dolch Sight Words with matching and writing activities. Other class activities may be added to familiarize children with these words.- Speaking and Listening sessions using the Language Experience Approach. Children are encouraged to express themselves through discussion. The topics discussed assist in the child’s use of decoding strategies, such as context and picture clues to decode Familiar Words during the reading process. In the story these Familiar Words are colour-coded. Speaking and Listening topics include: The Family; Friends; Emotions; Polite Greetings; Kindness and Politeness to others. - Awareness of Plural number and Verb Agreement. Adding inflectional ending ‘s’. - Punctuation-Awareness: This affects fluency as it allows the child to read with expression and enthusiasm. The full-stop, comma, question and exclamation marks are gradually introduced to bring expression to the tone of the child’s reading. They are colour-coded red at this reading level to heighten awareness of their presence. - Echo-Reading Exercises: Practice reading-sessions where the teacher reads and the children ‘echo’ or model the teacher’s pace and intonation as they repeat what was read. This prepares them for independent story reading.- Reading Comprehension exercises: Questions are read to the class by the teacher, and children respond orally. These discussions help the child to make personal connections with what has been read in the story. Re-reading of each independent story-reading unit is recommended for fluency and comprehension.- Teaching suggestions: As Sight Words are taught, they should be added to a ‘Sight Word Wall’ in the classroom. Have ‘Word(s) for the Day’ with active class-discussion. 1-3 sight-words may be introduced at each lesson and reviewed the following day. Children need to see these sight-words, say them, and speak about them! A separate ‘Familiar Word Wall’ should also be displayed. * Edward William Dolch, Ph.D (1889-1961), author of children’s stories and texts, first published the Dolch Word List in a journal article in 1936. He then published it in his book ‘Problems in Reading’ in 1948. The Dolch Sight Words have assisted many children to enjoy reading.