Making the Connection: A Parent’s Guide to Literacy Development at Home Laura Ladouceur OCDSB 2008

“Parental involvement in their child’s reading has been found to be the most important determinant of success in literacy and school in general.” Bus, van Jzendoorn and Pellegrini, 1995

When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to become better learners throughout their school years and beyond. Learning to read is hard work for children. Fortunately, research is now available that suggests how to give each child a good start in reading.

Becoming a reader 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 read often so that recognizing words becomes easy and automatic learn and use new words understand what is read

English Language Learners: If English is not your child’s first language, it is important to read to your child in his or her first language. If your child knows his or her first language well, he or she will find it easier to learn English. As your child learns to read and write in English, they can practice reading and writing in both languages to develop fluency.

Emergent Readers: Your child is starting to learn how to read Junior and Senior Kindergarten

At school you should see teachers... teaching the sounds of language. The teacher provides opportunities for children to practice with the sounds that make up words. Children learn to put sounds together to make words and to break words into their separate sounds. teaching the letters of the alphabet. Teachers help children learn to recognize letter names and shapes. helping children learn and use new words. reading to and with children every day. Teachers use Read Aloud and Shared Reading strategies daily to teach and engage learners in the reading process.

What can you do at home? 1. Read daily to your child. 2. Reread your child’s favourite stories. 3. Put magnetic letters on the refrigerator and spell out words your child can copy like her name, “cat,” “dog,” “mom,” and “dad.” 4. Read alphabet books and then help your child make his own by cutting out and gluing magazine pictures to separate pages. 5. Have plenty of markers, crayons, pens, paper, and other materials on hand and encourage kids to make books, write, and draw. 6. Ask your child to tell you a story about what she has drawn. Write her words on the paper and read it back. Also, ask your child to retell a story.

Early Readers: Your child is beginning to read Grade One

At school you should see teachers... Systematically teaching phonics—how sounds and letters are related. Giving children the opportunity to practice the letter- sound relationships they are learning. Helping children write the letter-sound relationships they know by using them in words, sentences, messages, and their own stories. Showing children ways to think about and understand what they are reading. The teacher asks children questions to show them how to think about the meaning of what they read. Using Read Aloud and Shared, Guided and Independent Reading Strategies in class.

What can you do at home? 1. Read daily to your child. 2. Listen to your child read words and books from school. Be patient and listen as your child practices. Let them know you are proud of their reading. 3. Encourage children to use inventive spelling. This is how children connect sounds to letters, and is important for learning letter sounds. 3. Ask your child to read words on billboards, cereal boxes, and signs (environmental print). 4. Visit the library with your child - children love having their own cards. Purchase used children’s books from yard sales. 5. As your child begins reading aloud, let mistakes go as long as they don’t change the meaning of the story.

Fluent Readers: Your child is reading independently Grade Two and Three

At school you should see teachers... Continuing to teach letter-sound relationships for children who need more practice. On average, children need about two years of instruction in letter-sound relationships to become good spellers and readers. Teaching vocabulary and how to find the meaning of words. Children should be taught new and important words to expand their vocabulary and how to find out the meanings of unfamiliar words in text (e.g. using dictionaries, using word parts to figure out other words, using the context of the rest of the sentence). Using Read Aloud and Shared, Guided and Independent Reading Strategies in class. Helping children understand what they are reading. Good readers think as they read and they know whether what they are reading is making sense. Teachers teach children how to use comprehension strategies to ensure they have maximum comprehension when reading.

Comprehension Strategies Making Connections Visualizing Questioning Making Inferences Determining Important Ideas Synthesizing

What can you do at home? 1. Continue to read daily to your child. Do so with books that are longer and more difficult than he can read independently. 2. Follow your child’s interests. If sports are of interest to your child, find fiction and nonfiction books that tie into this. 3. Help your child practice their reading fluency by having them read to younger brothers and sisters. This gives him practice and helps them share the fun of reading and books. 4. Make thank you notes, birthday cards, valentines, and invitations together. Use stamps, stickers, or cut-outs to decorate them and have your child write or copy the message. 5. Limit television viewing to shows the child selects from the listings. Try to use the “no more than 14 hours a week” rule in your house for TV and video games.

6. Play games that involve reading. Good choices are Monopoly, Concentration, Life, Careers, Risk, Clue, Boggle, Scrabble etc. 7. At the grocery store, let children find items on your list and cross them off. 8. Play with words by rhyming, finding opposites, and naming synonyms or words that have similar meanings like hot and scorching. These types of activities give practice with thinking and vocabulary development. 9. Build reading comprehension. Talk with your child about what they are reading. Ask about new words. Talk about what happened in a story. Ask about the characters, places, and events that took place. Ask what new information has been learned from the book.

Great Ideas for Reading To and With Your Child!

#1 Choose a quiet, cozy spot and sit with your child while reading.

#2 Look at the cover! Talk about the title and illustrations. Discuss if it is fiction of non-fiction. Make predictions about what will happen in the story. Try to figure out who the characters will be Ask, “Does this remind you of anything else you’ve read before?”

#3 For books that have predictable patterns or rhymes, stop and allow your child to finish the sentence.

#4 Read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, comic strips, poems etc.

#5 Read stories aloud with drama and excitement! Use different voices or use your child’s name instead of a character’s name.

#6 Point to the words as you read them. This will help your child make the connection between the spoken words and the words on the page.

#7 Stop periodically and ask questions about the story to check for comprehension.

#8 Encourage your child to ask questions and to make comments on the pictures and the story before, during, and after reading.

#9 When your child is reading to you, maintain the flow! Be patient and don’t be too quick to correct mistakes.

#10 Help your child choose the right level of book for them. Not too easy, not too hard! Use the Five Finger Rule!

#11 Be sure to talk about the book afterwards. Ask questions! “What was your favourite part?” “Which character did you like the best?” Think critically! “Did you like that ending?” “Do you agree with the author?”

#12 Make it a fun, enjoyable, and bonding experience... for BOTH of you!

It's such a wonderful feeling to watch a child discover that reading is a marvelous adventure, rather than a chore. -Zilpha Keatley Snyder

THANK YOU! Please me if you have any questions!