10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
1. Help your children acquire a wide-range of knowledge.
Involving your children in conversation about anything and everything daily will give them background knowledge.
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
2. Talk with your children about their experiences.
This will help your children learn new words and understand the process of putting thoughts together. This will also allow you to share your past experiences with your child.
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
3. Encourage your children to think about events.
Ask them to describe these events. Share local and national news, school news, movies, etc.
Your values and views are important to your children.
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
4. Read aloud to your children. Younger children love to hear
stories. Older children and adults also value this experience. Share tidbits that you want them to know by reading small excerpts to them.
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
5. Provide your children with writing materials.
Younger children like to write their own stories. Be sure to have paper, pencils, markers, crayons, and magnetic letters. Special themed stationary is great for older children. Journals can be completed by families daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Start a “My Life and Times” diary.
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
6. Encourage your children to watch TV programs that have educational value.
Watch shows with your children. Discuss the shows. Watch movies -read the books- and share similarities and differences.
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers 7. Monitor how much TV your
children watch. Research shows that watching up to 10
hours a week could be positive; however, the more children watch TV, the less they read = lower scores in performance on tests:
• 98%tile reading score read 1 hour daily • 50%tile reading score read 5 mins. daily• 20%tile reading score read less than 1 min.
daily
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
8. Monitor your children’s school performance.
Children tend to be more successful readers when their parents have an accurate view of what their child is doing in school.
(Checkpoint for progress in Reading and Writing for Families and Communities - Developed by subgroup of America Reads Challenge: Read*Write*Now)
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
9. Encourage your children to read independently.
One of your top priorities should be to encourage your children to spend more time reading - books, magazines, newspapers
10 Ways to Help Your Children Become Better
Readers
10. Continue your personal involvement in your child’s growth as readers.
Set a good example for your children by reading. Establish rules for reading activities.
Kindergarten -2nd Grade
From Sunshine State Standards:Get better at reading and writing by speaking and
getting to know the alphabet, sounds, and words.They learn to develop vocabulary by listening to and
discussing stories that are read aloud and can summarize stories by giving details of events
Understand and follow simple directions
Kindergarten -2nd Grade
Understand that print goes from left to rightKnow the letters and sounds of the alphabetKnow simple words and begins to recognize
high frequency words by sightStart to read signs, food packages, everyday
itemsLike being read to and has favorite books of
different types - fiction, non-fiction, poetryThey can generate ideas for writing
How you can help! Read out loud and talk about stories every
day Get your child a library card and go to the
library regularly Read nursery rhymes and sing songs
together Talk with your child’s teacher often about
your child’s work Let your child see you reading for fun
Kindergarten -2nd Graders
Take time each day to talk about school and share your day
Have a writing supply box with crayons and paper Watch education TV programs together that teach
letter sounds and words. Limit other television viewing
Listen to your child Encourage your child to act out stories in plays or
puppet shows with friends, brothers/sisters, relatives, etc.
Kindergarten -2nd Graders
Have your child draw a picture. Together, write a story that goes with that picture. You may use a family photograph, a picture from a magazine, or one drawn by child.
Play games with your child that require concentration - card games, memory games, etc.
Play rhyming games, sing songs with rhymes, and play with the sounds of words.
Kindergarten -2nd Graders
Make tape recordings of books when you will not be available to read in person. The child can still “read with you” in your absence…great for non-custodial parents who want to read regularly with their child.
Read a story to the child and have him retell the story to you later. Ask questions during reading. . .”What do you think will happen? Guess the ending, what would you do?”
Kindergarten -2nd Graders
Strategies for Learning to Read
Parent led activities: Introduce a new book - look at the cover - think what the book
will be about- do a picture read - look at new vocabularyGuess the EndingPredicting - “ What do you think will happen next?” “What
should he do?”Give help when needed-Wait time: use cueing strategies Does it make sense? What is the beginning sound? Does it sound right?
Skip it and read on to the end. Backtrack and reread. Use key words and picture clues. Find chunks of words that you know. Use letter sounds from families - onsets and rimes.
Strategies for Learning to Read
Choose books with:Repetition or rhymes
Simple Text
Predictability
Picture clues
Interest to child
Strategies for Learning to Read
Reread favorite books Retell the story Tape a book Put a story in order Play word games
From Sunshine State Standards:v (read and write every day. They start to move from
“Learning to Read” to “Reading to Learn.” )Read many kinds of children’s booksRead for fun, information, and understandingUse different ways of reading - sounding out
words, getting information from the story, and personal knowledge - to understand stories and new words
Understand main ideas and purpose
3rd - 5th Graders
They can identify fact, fiction and opinion in texts
In writing, they create logical beginning, middle and ending appropriate to their writing.
They can identify an author’s purpose in writing
They can read and organize information and understands how plots are developed.
3rd - 5th Graders
3rd - 5th GradersHow you can help! Have a daily family reading time. Take turns
reading out loud Talk about family and community events Talk with your child’s teacher and ask how
you can help with learning at home Ask your child to read wherever you go - in
the car, grocery store or park
3rd - 5th Graders Watch and talk about TV shows
together Give books and magazine
subscriptions as gifts Encourage conversation; share
experiences Ask questions about what the main
ideas are from fiction and non-fiction books and articles.