How to help your child with……

Reading:

Rules for Adults

• Choose a quiet spot for you and your child.
• Establish a routine time and place to read to your child.
• Read aloud regularly from books your child would like to read but cannot yet.
• Don’t jump in with corrections.
• Don’t put pressure on your child. Example “We had that word last night!”
• Don’t be mad if your child can’t remember the next night.
• Believe that your child can learn to read.
• Let your child see you reading.
• Read aloud to your child.
• Get a library card and take your child to the library.

Before Reading

Before reading (book, magazine, newspaper, etc.) have your child:

· Read the title of the book and discuss the title.

· Look at the book cover. Discuss what the cover looks like. Notice details. Think about what you already know.

· Take a picture walk through the book, look for details, and enjoy the beautiful pictures. Talk about what your child thinks might be happening on each page.

· Predict what the story might be about (tell your child that he/she might be correct or incorrect in their prediction-but there is no way to know until he/she has read the book and it doesn’t matter if the prediction is correct-the idea is to start thinking about the story before you begin reading.)

During Reading

During reading have your child:

· Picture the story in his/her mind when reading. Making mental pictures in your mind can increase memory. In class we call this visualizing.

· Answer questions about what he/she is reading. Suggested questions:

o Who is the main character?

o Tell about the setting (where and when the story takes place

o What is the problem in the story?

o How was the problem solved?

After Reading

After reading have your child:

o Retell or summarize the story with as much detail as possible. (Suggestions: If your child has trouble retelling the story, ask the same types of questions listed above in the “During Reading” section.)

o Connect the story to real life. When children make connections to real life or to things they are familiar with, they are able to develop better understandings. To connect to real life you might ask your child if this story reminded them of anything. Why or how does it remind you of that?

3 Keys to Reading

Comprehension: understanding and applying what is read.

Assisted Reading – Your child chooses a book. You read through it first, discussing and enjoying the story together. Then invite your child to whisper or mumble read along as you read it a second time. While your child is “getting the hang of it,” keep your voice loud and steady. When it is clear that your child is feeling confident, lower your voice or even stop for a word or phrase that is very predictable.

Fluency: smoothness in reading aloud.

Echo Reading – You read a little bit (a phrase, sentence, a line or two of a poem) and suggest that your child read it back to you like an echo.

Decoding: using strategies to figure out unfamiliar words. Strategies include sounding out the word, using picture clues, looking for a familiar chunk in a word, skipping the word until you read to the end of the sentence and then going back to figure it out.

Listening to your child read:

• Children might meet unknown words or substitute a word that doesn’t make sense or sound like language. They often can correct themselves if you exercise patience and show confidence that they can work out some problems for themselves.
• If your child becomes frustrated, provide ready help. For instance, simply provide a difficult word or give hints related to meaning. Offer no criticism or attempts to teach or give advice.
• If the child becomes tangled in a sentence or loses the drift of what is being read, encourage a rereading of the tangled portion.
• Try to never correct or call attention to error in the middle of a sentence. Wait until the end and then gently question: “Did that make sense to you? You read ____ (repeating exactly what was read). Are you happy with that?”
• Encourage self-correction.
• Read an interesting book while the child follows the text. Leave out one in every 10^th to 15^th word for the child to read. This can be a very enjoyable sharing activity in which the child remains fresh and interested while learning. To vary this, read a sentence and then wait for the child to read a sentence. This allows for spaced relaxation during the period when reading is still exhausting for the child.
• Be Positive!!
• Don’t display anxiety or frustration about reading and writing. Be a cheerleader and a listener. Talk about the books with your child.

Choosing books for independent reading:

How do you determine if your child will be able to read a book on his/her own? Use The 5 Finger Rule: Have your child read aloud a page or so of a book. If your child misses more than 5 words on a page, then this book is probably too difficult for him/her. If your child does not miss any words on the page, then this book is probably too easy. Ideally your child should be challenged by a few words on each page, but not so many that he/she loses the meaning of the story. (Remember, it is OK for a child to reread an easy book or to be motivated to read a hard book if the topic interests your child. J This method is to help in choosing unfamiliar books for independent reading.)

Math

• Practice counting by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s.
• Identify and write numbers to 100.
• Practice number words.
• Use addition and subtraction flashcards for 5-10 minutes on a daily routine. Divide flashcards into 3 piles: facts that are memorized, facts that we still use our fingers, facts that seem to stump us.
• War addition – Using a deck of cards, deal two cards to each player face down. Add up the cards and whoever has the highest total collects the other player’s cards.
• Dice – Play any board game where you have to roll dice before moving. This will emphasize facts to 12.
• Practice with coins. Play the Penny/Nickel/Dime Exchange game. Directions: Get a pile of pennies, nickels, and dimes. Roll a dice and take that number of pennies from the pile. Whenever you accumulate 5 pennies, say, “Exchange,” and trade them in for 1 nickel. As you keep playing, as you accumulate 2 nickels, trade them for 1 dime. Play until all the dimes are claimed. The player with the most money wins the game.
• Practice telling time to the hour and half hour.

Spelling

• Rainbow words – Write your spelling words with a crayon. Trace over each word again with another color. Now trace each word one more time with another color.
• Write the words on someone’s back (and vice versa).
• Write the words in sand, dirt, bubbly bath water, whipped cream, shaving cream, etc.
• Write the words in the air.
• Make flashcards to study and review.
• Modeling clay writing – Flatten the clay and use a pencil to ‘write’ a spelling word in it. Smooth over the clay for the next word.
• Write the words with colored chalk on black construction paper.
• Use your spelling words to write sentences.
• Make a word search.
• Write the words in ABC order.
• Cut your spelling words out of a magazine or newspaper.
• Draw pictures of your spelling words.
• Play a game of Hangman using spelling words.
• Use a spray bottle and spray the word onto the sidewalk.

Study Skills and Good Homework Habits

Your child’s goal to achieving appropriate study skills:

1) To get the most out of any particular task.

2) Be responsible for their learning.

3) To read, spell, and write.

4) Utilize math concepts, like time management skill for completing assignments.

5) Learning strategies for memorizing and retrieving information.

6) To be able to proofread and review work carefully prior to submission to teacher.

7) To motivate student learning.

Specific Strategies:

• Schedule homework study on a regular basis with your child.
• Check your child’s work and provide immediate feedback.
• Help him/her with corrections.
• Make homework a top priority.
• Provide necessary supplies and a quiet homework environment.
• Provide praise and positive support when homework is completed.
• Be aware of grade level and teacher standards for work and behavior.
• Check to be sure your child’s backpack and pocket folder is emptied daily.
• Encourage your child to place homework and other items in the backpack to return to school.
• Minimize interruptions.
• Encourage and praise your child to stay on task and complete work.
• When appropriate, encourage your child to work independently on activities.
• Increase your child’s level of home responsibilities when appropriate.
• Make learning a priority in your home.