Activities to Evaluate Reading Skills

Here is a list of activities that you can use to evaluate your very young learners reading skills:

·         Picture Reading:

o   Show children a picture book without words and ask them to tell a story based on the images. This assesses their comprehension and narrative skills.

·         Alphabet Recognition:

o   Use flashcards with letters and ask children to name them. This helps in assessing their familiarity with the alphabet.

·         Matching Letters to Objects:

o   Provide objects or pictures and ask children to match them with letter cards that represent the first letter of the object's name.

·         Rhyme Identification:

o   Read a list of words and ask children to identify which ones rhyme. This assesses phonemic awareness, an important precursor to reading.

·         Fill in the Blank:

o   Read a sentence from a book and leave out a word, asking the child to fill in the missing word, either verbally or by choosing from a set of given words.

·         Simple Word Recognition:

o   Show words on flashcards and ask children to identify them. Start with basic sight words that are commonly used.

·         Sequencing Story Events:

o   After reading a story, use pictures or simple sentences to have the child sequence the main events of the story.

·         Reading Aloud:

o   For children who are beginning to read, have them read simple sentences or a short paragraph aloud. This assesses their pronunciation, decoding, and comprehension skills.

·         Letter Tracing:

o   Give children activities where they can trace letters. This helps to assess their familiarity with letter shapes and forms.

·         Story Retelling:

o   Ask children to retell a story in their own words after listening to it. This assesses their listening comprehension and memory.

·         Label Reading:

o   Use everyday items with labels (like toys or classroom objects) and ask children to identify known words.

·         Character Identification:

o   After reading a story, ask questions about the characters (like "Who was the main character?" or "What did [character] do?").

·         Reading Comprehension Questions:

o   Ask simple questions about a story you've read together to check their understanding.

·         Sound-to-Letter Matching:

o   Play sounds and have children choose the letter that corresponds with the sound.

·         Interactive Reading Apps:

o   Utilize child-friendly reading apps that include activities for letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and basic word reading.

These activities are designed to be both engaging and informative, giving teachers insights into the various facets of reading readiness and development in very young English learners.