Our focus is to instill in children a love of reading and therefore produce life-long readers. We teach the children strategies that help them gain independence as readers. The Helping Hand gives children visual reminders of what to do when they come to a challenging word. As the year progresses, we work on making connections with the children between their background knowledge and their search for meaning in print. Each day, we challenge students to read a variety of materials including fiction, non-fiction, various authors, and magazines, all at various levels.

Quiet Reading/Nose in a Book

Often called NIB (Nose In a Book), Quiet Reading time is a time when students practice reading books at their own level quietly for ten minutes each day. Once a week, children update their choices based on pre-determined levels. One book is always a book of choice from anywhere around the room.

André Kertész, On Reading, New York, July 30, 1969, gelatin silver print, © Estate of André Kertész 2006

Early Intervention Smith is privileged to have an Early Intervention Program that provides for children to work one-on-one, every day, for a half hour with a reading teacher. During this time the student works on fluency, finding word chunks, writing mechanics, comprehension and reading strategies.

Switch Groups

Another unique component of our first grade reading curriculum is the incorporation of switch groups. Children are grouped based on their reading needs and receive focused small group reading instruction four times a week, in addition to their guided reading work in the classroom. Every six weeks, children are assessed and moved to appropriate groups in order to strengthen their skills and develop new ones.