I am so excited to start a great kindergarten year!
Reading Websites to help your child:
Put Reading First: helping Your Child Learn to Read
www.nifl.gov/psrtnershipforreading/publications/reading_first2.html
Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers
www.readingrockets.org/
International Reading Association (Parent Resources)
www.reading.org/resources/tools/parent.html
Reading is Fundamental
www.rif.org/parents/activities/default.mspx
Starfall (Early reading skills)
www.starfall.com/
Alphablocks (Fun interactive letter learning)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks/
Reading Ideas
Letter Recognition:
*Using ABC cards, have your child put the cards in order. Then have them match lower case letters to capital letters.
*Taking only a few different letters (5-8), make multiple sets of cards and play Go Fish. Children have to ask for a particular letter to make pairs.
Phonemic Awareness:
*Say a short word. Then have your child stretch bubblegum, silly putty, or a rubber band as the two of you stretch the word by saying its sounds.
*Play word games in which you change one sound in a word to make a different word. Examples of sound changes: Change bat to mat. Now change mat to map.
Word Recognition:
Phonics:
*Help your child break unfamiliar long words into parts, sounding out each part and putting the parts together to say the word.
*Play Boggle Jr. to give your child practice with the setter-sound associations s/he is learning.
Fluency:
*Use lively flashcard drills and games to help your child instantly recognize words, such as the, a, and be, that frequently appear in print. A list of these high frequency words can be found at http://literacyconncetions.com.
*Engage your child in reading short but interesting stories several times. For variation, have your child read along while you read the same passage or tape record his or her reading and then listen to the recording.
Vocabulary:
*Read aloud stories, poems, and nonfiction material that your child will enjoy. Explain the meaning of the important words that are new to your child.
*Play word games such as Pictionary, Scrabble, and Boggle. Talk about words that may be unfamiliar to your child.
Comprehension:
*Invite your child to retell a favorite story, movie, or family event. Ask questions to help your child focus on who was involved, where the action took place, and what happened. Also encourage our child to relate the story, movie, or event to other books s/he has read or experiences s/he has had.
*Talk about what you do when you're reading and something doesn't make sense to you. Maybe you reread, ask someone, or read on in hopes of getting more information. It is important for children to know that good readers sometimes have difficulties, but they persist until they understand.
Put Reading First: helping Your Child Learn to Read
www.nifl.gov/psrtnershipforreading/publications/reading_first2.html
Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers
www.readingrockets.org/
International Reading Association (Parent Resources)
www.reading.org/resources/tools/parent.html
Reading is Fundamental
www.rif.org/parents/activities/default.mspx
Starfall (Early reading skills)
www.starfall.com/
Alphablocks (Fun interactive letter learning)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks/
Reading Ideas
Letter Recognition:
*Using ABC cards, have your child put the cards in order. Then have them match lower case letters to capital letters.
*Taking only a few different letters (5-8), make multiple sets of cards and play Go Fish. Children have to ask for a particular letter to make pairs.
Phonemic Awareness:
*Say a short word. Then have your child stretch bubblegum, silly putty, or a rubber band as the two of you stretch the word by saying its sounds.
*Play word games in which you change one sound in a word to make a different word. Examples of sound changes: Change bat to mat. Now change mat to map.
Word Recognition:
Phonics:
*Help your child break unfamiliar long words into parts, sounding out each part and putting the parts together to say the word.
*Play Boggle Jr. to give your child practice with the setter-sound associations s/he is learning.
Fluency:
*Use lively flashcard drills and games to help your child instantly recognize words, such as the, a, and be, that frequently appear in print. A list of these high frequency words can be found at http://literacyconncetions.com.
*Engage your child in reading short but interesting stories several times. For variation, have your child read along while you read the same passage or tape record his or her reading and then listen to the recording.
Vocabulary:
*Read aloud stories, poems, and nonfiction material that your child will enjoy. Explain the meaning of the important words that are new to your child.
*Play word games such as Pictionary, Scrabble, and Boggle. Talk about words that may be unfamiliar to your child.
Comprehension:
*Invite your child to retell a favorite story, movie, or family event. Ask questions to help your child focus on who was involved, where the action took place, and what happened. Also encourage our child to relate the story, movie, or event to other books s/he has read or experiences s/he has had.
*Talk about what you do when you're reading and something doesn't make sense to you. Maybe you reread, ask someone, or read on in hopes of getting more information. It is important for children to know that good readers sometimes have difficulties, but they persist until they understand.