Huntington Learning Center Dives Into the Common Core State Standards

ORADELL, NJ--(Marketwire - Mar 20, 2013) -  In their in-depth examination of the Common Core State Standards, Huntington Learning Center offers parents a quick reference on what foundational reading skills their K-5 students need by the end of each grade. "As the Common Core State Standards Initiative states, these standards are important in developing proficient readers capable of understanding a variety of texts, but they are not the end all be all," says Eileen Huntington of Huntington Learning Center. "However, this is a good rundown of the reading building blocks that students need to know."

Here is a condensed summary of the Common Core State Standards Reading Standards, Foundational Skills (for the complete reading foundational standards, review the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, pp. 15-17):

Kindergarten

Print concepts: Understand the organization and basic features of print, such as the left-to-right, top-to-bottom structure of words when reading and upper- and lowercase letters.

Phonological awareness: Understand phonemes (spoken words, syllables and sounds), such as rhyming words, as well as how to add/substitute individual sounds to make new words.

Phonics and word recognition: Apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding words. Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one, letter-sound correspondences. Understand long and short sounds of the five major vowels. Read common high-frequency words by sight.

Fluency: Read emergent-reader texts.

First Grade

Print concepts: Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence.

Phonological awareness: Distinguish long from short vowel sounds. Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds and isolate and pronounce sounds in spoken single-syllable words Segment words into their sequence of individual sounds.

Phonics and word recognition: Know spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs. Decode one-syllable words. Know final -e and common vowel team conventions. Determine the number of syllables in a printed word. Decode two-syllable words. Read words with inflectional endings. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregular words.

Fluency: Read with accuracy and fluency to support comprehension -- read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding, accuracy, and appropriate rate and expression, and use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding.

Second Grade

Phonics and word recognition: Distinguish long and short vowels. Know spelling-sound correspondences for common vowel teams. Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels. Decode words with common prefixes/suffixes. Identify words with inconsistent spelling-sound correspondences. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregular words.

Fluency: [Same as first grade]

Third Grade

Phonics and word recognition: Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes. Decode words with common Latin suffixes. Decode multi-syllable words. Read grade-appropriate irregular words.

Fluency: [Same as first and second grade]

Fourth and Fifth Grade

Phonics and word recognition: Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllable patterns, and roots and affixes to read accurately unfamiliar multi-syllable words.

Fluency: [Same as first-third grade]

"Learning to read fluently and comprehend a wide range of texts requires continued focus and practice," says Huntington. "If you are concerned that your student lacks the foundation of knowledge he or she needs to read well, it's not too late to help him or her catch up. By targeting the areas of weakness, Huntington can help your student become an independent, proficient reader -- assuring that he or she is on track for college and career readiness."

To review the comprehensive reading foundational skills and competencies that K-5 students need -- and the detailed reading standards for literature and informational texts -- download the full publication at www.corestandards.org.

About Huntington
Founded in 1977, Huntington is a pioneer and leader in the tutoring industry. For over 35 years, Huntington has provided quality instruction to hundreds of thousands of students. Huntington prides itself on being "Your Tutoring Solution" for students in all grades and subjects. They tutor in academic skills, such as reading, phonics, math and study skills; and in advanced math and science subjects ranging from algebra through calculus and general science through physics. They also prepare students for state and standardized entrance exams, such as high school entrance exams and the SAT and ACT, and provide free school tutoring to eligible schools. Learn more about Huntington at www.huntingtonhelps.com.