Link to new Kindergarten Classroom Website- Mrs. Dean
Reading Aloud to your Child- How Can I help as a parent?
"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read."
-Marilyn Jager Adams
Reading aloud is one of the most important things that a parent or grandparent can do with a child to help develop literary skills as a child grows on their journey as a reader. Even as your child begins reading higher level texts, it is important for them to be read to so they are able to have a model of good reading behaviors. Parents are able to model fluent reading, skills to figure out tricky words (sounding it out, looking at the picture, skipping the word and coming back to it) and comprehension skills (looking at the pictures, stopping at the end of the page and talking about what happens, retelling). Parents can think aloud as they read to their child to help them see the "inside of your brain" and how readers read.
Below are some ideas for Reading Aloud Resolutions as our new school year begins! These resolutions were created by Brigid Hubberman, Executive Director at Family Reading Partnership. Visit the website http://www.familyreading.org for more information.
1. We'll make time for regular read-aloud. Of all the activities you take time for with your children, few will be as satisfying and as good for them as reading aloud regularly. The bonding, benefits and memories will last a lifetime.
2. We'll create special reading places. Under a card table, with pillows in a closet, blankets twirled to make a reading nest, even a favorite chair to snuggle in — there are many ways to make special reading nooks for your children.
3. We'll read, write and play with words more. It is important that your children find meaning and pleasure in words. Read riddles, write jokes, memorize poetry and have family poetry slams, tell stories, make lists, compose letters, sing, and talk, talk, talk!
4. We'll give books as gifts. Books increase in value for a child when they come as a gift from someone special, or on a special occasion. Every occasion is the right one for a book gift! A child's own book collection, even if small, is very important.
5. We'll create library traditions. Making routine trips to the library and seeding the love of books go hand in hand. Help your child keep ongoing lists of books he or she might want to check out, or growing topics of interest. Get a special library book bag for your child to fill, and make regular library visits exciting.
6. We'll read more for pleasure and make sure our children see us reading. When was the last time you enjoyed a great book? Every time your children see you take time to read a book, you are modeling reading as a lifestyle, and we promise it is contagious! Talk about the books you are reading, read interesting newspaper articles aloud and make what everyone is reading part of regular family conversation.
7. We'll check out some books on reading-aloud. There are many great books filled with tips and techniques for taking you to the next level of reading to your children. Family Reading Partnership recommends Esmé Raji Codell's, “How to Get Your Kids to Love Reading,” Jim Trelease's, “The Read-Aloud Handbook,” and Mem Fox's “Reading Magic.”
How can I help as a parent? Partner Reading
Partner reading with your child can be a great way to build decoding skills, confidence and fluency! Here are some ways to partner read at home!
-See Saw Reading: I read a page, we talk, you read a page we talk.
-Choral Reading: We read a page together and we talk about it.
-Echo Reading: I read a line, you read the same line back. Stop at the end of the page and talk about it.
-See Saw Reading: I read a page, we talk, you read a page we talk.
-Choral Reading: We read a page together and we talk about it.
-Echo Reading: I read a line, you read the same line back. Stop at the end of the page and talk about it.
Sight Words- How Can I Help as a parent?
Phonemic Awareness- How Can I Help as a parent?
Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify and manipulate sounds in words. This is a vital reading skill that we will continue to develop in First Grade. Phonemic awareness not only improves a child's ability to read and comprehend but helps children develop their spelling skills by being able to stretch out and hear the sounds in words.
Examples of Phonemic Awareness tasks are:
-Tell me all the sounds in dog (d-o-g)
-Say mop. Change the m (sound) to t (sound) and now the word is...
-Tell me what word I am saying (tell your child all the sounds individually and they have to put it together) d-a-d=dad
-Tell me the first sound in cat.
-Tell me the last sound in bat.
-Do these words begin with the same sound? toy, tot.
These are activities that you can make up quickly at the dinner table, in the car or right before bed! As your child gets better and better you can give them more difficult words to identify/manipulate sounds. :)
If you are interested in learning more about Phonemic Awareness, please check out the links below:
http://www.begintoread.com/articles/phonemic-awareness.html
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/3406/.
Megan Dean
Examples of Phonemic Awareness tasks are:
-Tell me all the sounds in dog (d-o-g)
-Say mop. Change the m (sound) to t (sound) and now the word is...
-Tell me what word I am saying (tell your child all the sounds individually and they have to put it together) d-a-d=dad
-Tell me the first sound in cat.
-Tell me the last sound in bat.
-Do these words begin with the same sound? toy, tot.
These are activities that you can make up quickly at the dinner table, in the car or right before bed! As your child gets better and better you can give them more difficult words to identify/manipulate sounds. :)
If you are interested in learning more about Phonemic Awareness, please check out the links below:
http://www.begintoread.com/articles/phonemic-awareness.html
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/3406/.
Megan Dean