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Encouraging Parents of Struggling Readers

Fatmeh BeydounTE 842

+ Welcome Parents!

Thank you for joining us and taking great interest in your child’s English Proficiency!

Did you know you can make the difference? “Students of involved parents have higher rates of school

attendance, better social skills and behavior, higher grades and test scores, lower rates of retention, and higher rates of high-school graduation and postsecondary study.” (Morrow & Gambrell, 2011, p. 427)

+ How to become more involved?

Ask about your child’s progress often Create a literacy rich environment at home Support your child's selection Be a model Encourage writing

+Create a literacy rich environment A literacy rich home has lots of different materials that

help students establish good reading habits. Inclusion of many different materials to encourage

reading and writing

+ Surrounded in books. Provide a wide range of

books for your child that are age and level appropriate. Include books at your child's

reading level, as well as choices that are easier and more difficult.

Genre choices Informational texts Poem books Fiction Non-fiction Comics

+ Choosing the right books.

Choosing the right book can be a daunting task but it makes all the difference in reluctant readers. Your job is to keep appealing titles at your child’s disposal. Early Elementary: A combination of picture books and easy readers.Middle: Let your child choose titles that interest them. Audio books can be introduced as well, but make sure your child follows along with a hard copy. Advanced: Again, individual interest is key here, just be sure that selection is age and reading ability appropriate.

+ Writing Materials Diaries and Journals can

improve students desire to write and read. Keep supplies handy such as… A Journal/Diary Card Making supplies Colored Pens/Pencils Glitter Pens Colored Paper Scissors Glue

+ Computer A computer can be used to

support literacy. There are so many programs and websites that can be used at home. RAZ Kids Wordle Vocaroo Crocodocs Voki Pixton Comics

+ Include Videos… When your child is watching T.V. or a video, include the

closed captioning. Their eyes are automatically drawn to the words, and they may start reading along. Also, they will be able to hear the words while they are trying to read, which will help with phonics.

Videos are a great way to introduce and expose your child to more vocabulary.

Try to choose videos that have accompanying books such as The Cat in the Hat, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Encourage conversation about the books and videos comparing and contrasting.

+ Game Night There are many games that

encourage and facilitate reading development. Playing games can contribute to literacy development. Scrabble Boggle Link-it Clue Guess who Monopoly Jr. Pictionary Guesstures

+ Model Behavior When children see an adult reading and writing, they

are more likely to become engaged. This behavior shows them the importance of literacy in everyday lives.

Have books that interest you as a parent Read the Newspaper Read bedtime stories Make lists Read as they read

+Reading activities on the go…

Reading can happen anywhere, from the dinner table, to the supermarket, the bank or the drive to school.

These are some everyday activities you can do with your child to build literacy skills. In the neighborhood: Read street signs and building

names. Supermarket: Ask your child to read the names of products,

the aisle signs, the shopping list. Give your child the name of a product and have them find it on the shelf.

+ Avoid common mistakes…

It is easy to become impatient with emerging readers, but we want our children to feel comfortable and supported when making mistakes. So try to avoid the following… Do NOT interrupt as a child is reading. EVER! If there is a

correction to be made wait until the child has stopped reading or better yet, before the next time you read the book.

If a reading mistake does not change the meaning of the text, let it go. For example if they say “a” instead of “the.”

Don’t say “speed it up”, or “can you read faster,” or even “slow down.” Allow the child to read at a pace they are comfortable with.

Don’t say “you know this.” Instead teach your child how to break the word into chunks.

+ Great things to do… Think out loud

Verbalizing a confusing point makes it easier for students to understand how to work through the confusion.

Identify and write words that are difficult for your child

Demonstrate strategies MODEL

+ Helpful Websites for Parents

PBS kids Scholastic.com Reading Rockets.org www.atozteacherstuff.com www.readingonline.org www.gophonics.com www.readingresource.net

+ Resources Mascott, Amy. What Not to Say to Emerging Readers.

PBS Parents. Retrieved on 12-12-2012 at http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-language/reading-tips/what-not-to-say-to-emerging-readers/

Gambrell, Linda and Morrow, Mandell. (2011). Best Practices in Literacy Instruction fourth edition. New York, N.Y. The Guilford Press.

+ Lets Play… Parents will be given a scrabble board, a paper, and a

pencil. After I explain and demonstrate how to play the game,

parents will play a speed round of Scrabble and asked to write down each word they put on the board. At the end of the 15 minute round we will have a question and answer session about what we have learned. Which strategies did we use here? Who had the most words? Who had the most quality words? What do you think your children will learn from an activity

such as this? How can you use this at home?