shared readingjournal writingmeaningful spelling practicelist writingencouraging repeated readingimproving reading comprehensionchoosing good booksphonological awareness activitiessupporting your child's readingIf a child can speak he can make and hear the sounds needed to read and spell.Truth:Hearing and making separate sounds in words is a skill. It comes easily to some but not to others.Phonological awareness can be practiced and taught.Applying phonics rules and sounding out wordsis nearly impossible without the ability to hearand make separate sounds.There are a number of skills involved in phonological awareness.There are many ways to teach and practice phonological awareness. We can work together to find out which activities would be the most helpful and fun for you and your family. Sometimes less is better.

The National Reading Panel

consulting

Chart for Phonological Awareness Skills by Age

Phonological Awareness Activities and Information

Books and Sites for Early Readers

7 Keys to Comprehension

Be patient.Let your child know you are his or her audience.

You expect the story you hear to make sense,

so you expect your child to fix anything that is confusing.

You can explain it like this. . .

As you listen to a story there's a movie playing in your head. If something is not read correctly, the movie in your head gets fuzzy or stops.Ask your child to make a movie in his or her head too.

Hopefully your child will fix his or her reading or ask for help when something stops making sense. Let your child know if something didn't make sense to you.Give your child time to use and combine reading skills.

Wait for your child to ask for help before pointing outa mistake or jumping in to show how to read a word.

Finding a few activities and repeating them is usually the most effective way to improve phonological awareness.Knowledge of Phonics and Word RecognitionCombining phonics books and early reader books while teaching phonics and a few high frequency words is my recommendedapproach to teaching early readers.Find good books and know how to teach phonics. If you aren't interested in teaching phonics there are a few online reading sitesand programs I like. Reading Horizons has free phonics training for parents.My Parent and Child Reading Assistance website has links to books I recommend for early readers and some online readingsites you will find helpful.The longer a child ignores a reading skill the harder it is for a child to combine reading skills even after a newskill is learned. The brain has already practiced reading without that skill.Myth:Fluent reading is fast reading.Fact:There's a lot going on in an early reader's brain. Early readers need time to process sounds into words.Then group words into meaningful thoughts. Early readers often are slow. They sometimes needto repeat parts of their reading to get back into the flow of understanding what is being read.Fluent reading happens with time and practice reading. One of the best ways to increase fluent reading is to encourage early readers to read booksthey have read once and enjoy at their reading level multiple times.Reading ComprehensionKnowledge of Phonics and Word Recognition: A reader uses rules and memory to sound out and read words. This reading skill is especially important to me. It's the skill I personally ignored until I was halfwayFluent Reading: A reader quickly recognizes words, reads like a person speaks, and focuses on meaning.through college. I would read entire pages of text, and most of the time I couldn't remember what I read.Reading Comprehension: A reader has a purpose for reading, monitors for understanding while reading, and checks for understanding after reading.Vocabulary Knowledge: Vocabulary knowledge is built through experiences, conversations, and reading. A reader canlearn new words while reading by using word parts, attending to context clues, or using a dictionary.

The National Reading Panel published a report in 2000 documenting what works when teaching reading.Publications and information for parents and teachers can be found on The National Reading Panel's website.5 Reading Skills Good Readers Combinehttp://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/ I'm a teacher, reading tutor, turned parent reading consultant.Then I'd reread the same material and some information would stick in my brain. Somehowmy brain rewired through practice reading, but it took time and effort. Now I love reading and have noproblems remembering what I read. I've learned to be engaged while reading.Early readers can be taught to find meaning in what is read or read to them. They need to be activelyinvolved in what is being read. Pictures are created in their minds, thoughts occur, and emotions are felt. 7 Keys to Comprehension is a book I recommend to parents looking for ways to boost their children'sreading comprehension.I'd love to work personally with you. Why?You can save money by purchasing a card.My consulting fee is $40 per hour.This is the way I can help the MOST children learn to read.($10 per fifteen minute block of time)Bad News:I'm a parent too. I know all the hats you wear and know the value of your time.I've sifted through the research, studies, and resources to bring you what works.Good News:Most children will learn to read easily if given good books and a little support.If a child experiences problems learning to read, early help prevents most problems.I can direct you to effective helpby teaching you, giving you resources, or referring you to a specialist.Parent and Child ReadingWhat works with early readers?Make informed choices.Make learning fun and effective.Your time is valuable.Your child's time is valuable.Let's get started . . .Fluent ReadingPhonological Awareness: A reader knows speech is made of individual sounds and can hear and say those sounds.Not ready to try consulting?I'll share what I can with you in this presentation.I'll cover four of the five reading skills and ways you can help your child use these skills.A successful reader combines all reading skills, adjusts speed, and makes changes to thinkingor words read to make sense of what is being read.Parents are able to support their children one on one and are in a position to teach their children touse their skills and trust their own judgement.What Can Consulting Do For You?You will have a home reading plan, and you will enjoy helping your child learn to read.Here are my babies. They are all readers. They all learned to read a little differently. It was a joy to help them learn to read. I love helping otherYou will learn about and choose from effective activities like . . .parents feel this joy. Thanks for taking this journey with me.using magnetic lettersflashcards with phonics rulesGood teaching and combining reading skills early is what is needed for early readers.Sounds or Phonological AwarenessMyth: A reader who ignores one or more reading skills can usually read early reader booksbut will show signs of difficulty in the middle of first grade.It is difficult for a child to change their way of thinking and reading. I experienced this with my daughter.She had many words memorized, and she guessed at others.My daughter ignored sounding out words.