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SUCCESS IN LIFE STARTS WITH READING

AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE!

Becoming a good reader is a lot of hard work! It involves the development of important skills, including learning to:

Use language in conversation
Listen and respond to stories read aloud
Recognize and name the letters of the alphabet
Listen to the sounds of spoken language
Connect sounds to letters to figure out the “code” of reading (See Strategies)
Read often so that reading letters and letter combinations is easy and automatic
Learn and use new words
Understand what has been read

IDEAS FOR SUCCESS

Preschool-Kindergarten-1^st Grade

At school:

They should be learning the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that they make
Learning and using new sight words
Learning phonics—how sounds and letters are related
Help children write the letter-sound relationships that they know
Help children with ways to think about and understand what they are reading
Given opportunities to practice letter-sound relationships

At home you can help by:

Practicing the alphabet by pointing out letters wherever you see them—on labels, boxes, signs, etc.
Reading alphabet books
Listening to your child read words and books from school and the public library
Letting you child know you are PROUD of their reading skills
Be patient while your child practices reading and devote at least 5 minutes a day to listening to them
Practice sight words each night at home
By being a reader yourself--children learn from the habits of people around them
Visit the public library often and participate in the summer reading programs
Make a good night’s sleep and balance nutrition a priority for your child
Limit television viewing and video games

2^nd and 3^rd Grades

At school:

Continuing to teach letter-sound relationships when needed
Practice at sounding out bigger, longer words
Teaching the meaning of words, especially word s that are important to understanding a book
Teach ways to learn the meaning of new words
Continued work on understanding and remembering what they have read

At home:

Re-read familiar books
Isolate words and see if they understand the meaning
Build reading accuracy by having your child correct misread words
Have conversations with your child about what he or she is reading
Encourage children to read on their own and to younger siblings.
Make reading a part of every day by sharing conversations with your child over meal times, in the car or any other time you are together
Read with your child at least 5 minutes a day listening carefully for mispronounced words and asking what different words mean
Keep informed about your child’s reading progress
By being a reader yourself--children learn from the habits of people around them
Visit the public library often and participate in the summer reading programs
Make a good night’s sleep and balance nutrition a priority for your child
Limit television viewing and video games

4^th, 5^th, and 6^th Grades

At home:

In addition to the above strategies, try some of the following ideas:
Have your child read as much and as often as possible; at home, in the grocery store, at the mall—anything anywhere. Make it fun!
Ask your child questions about their books. (See Reading is A Trip)
Use the “Give me 5!” method; ask WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? (4 fingers & thumb). Give them five for answering correctly.
If your child has difficulty sounding out words, ask them to use a word that makes sense in that place FIRST. ASK WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE STORY. THEN use sounding out to discover the word that has the same meaning. Reading is all about MEANING and making sense.
As your child reads, ask them to make pictures in their minds—like a movie. Have them draw the setting, characters and events of a story.
If you read a story together have your child ask you questions about what YOU read!
If your child has trouble remembering events, have them act out parts of the story becoming one or more different characters.