1. Phonemic Awareness 5 minutes at a time Phonics During reading – Read at least 15 minutes per day Fluency 10 – 15 minutes Comprehension During reading – Read at least 15 minutes per day Rhyming – Slide 1Identifying letters/letter sounds – Slide 7 Letter sounds – Slide 13Making connections – Slide 14 Alliteration – Slide 2Vowels – Slide 8Sight words – Slide 13Questioning – Slide 14 Sentence segmentation – Slide 3 Three-letter decodable words – Slide 9 Sight word phrases – Slide 13Visualization – Slide 14 Syllables – Slide 4Blends – Slide 10Sight word sentences – Slide 13 Inferencing – Slide 14 Blending – Slide 5Word Families – Slide 11Reading with expression and attending to punctuation – Slide 13 Determining importance – Slide 14 Segmenting – Slide 6Digraphs – Slide 12Synthesizing – Slide 14 Help your child learn to read! 1

2. What is rhyming? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Rhyming words are words that sound the same at the end but have a different beginning sound. When you rhyme, the words DO NOT have to be REAL WORDS! Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) This helps children hear sounds in words. This is essential to reading and writing. read nursery rhymes or just say them aloud. read the first rhyming word, but leave the next one off. Have your child fill in the blank. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great ____. Sing songs together – ex. Cat, cat, bo bat, banana fana fo fat, fe, fi, mo mat, cat Rhyme with the foods on your plate at dinner – apple, bapple. Rhyme with things on t.v. Dr. Seuss books – read the first rhyming word, but leave the next one off. Have your child fill in the blank. We like to hop on top of ______. Ask your child if two words rhyme – ex. Do cat and dog rhyme? Do took and book rhyme? 2

3. What is alliteration? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Repetition of beginning sound Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) Do this when you see pictures (find the ones that begin the same) This helps children hear sounds in words. This is essential to reading and writing. Make up silly tongue twisters or phrases where all the words begin with the same sound – ex (ten tiny toads tap tops). Say it and have your child repeat it. Have your child make some up. Pick out pictures that begin with the same sound as you are reading – ex (in a book that is about trains, you might see trains and tracks). You can also do this in the grocery store, riding down the road, etc. 3

4. What is sentence segmentation? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Sentence segmentation is breaking sentences apart to understand the different words that make up a sentence and how many words are in the sentence. Verbally – count the words in a spoken sentence While reading – count the words in a sentence This helps children realize that sentences are made up of words. This is an activity that leads into segmenting sounds in words and actually reading. Students must understand that words are separated with spaces. Say a sentence and have your child clap one time for every word you say Find a single sentence in a book and have your child count the words Put a block or other object (noodles if at dinner) out for every word I say 4

5. What are syllables? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Syllables are the parts in a word. Ex. – target (tar- get); bun (bun); kindergarten (kin-der-gar- ten) Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) This helps students break words apart to help them read and write. Clap the syllables in words from everyday objects while at the grocery store, in the bathtub, at dinner, etc. Feel your chin go down as you say different words. Count how many times your chin goes down. This will be the number of syllables in the word. 5

6. What is blending? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Blending is putting word parts together – this can be putting individual sounds together or syllables together. Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) When reading, this is what students have to be able to do in order to sound words out. By practicing this orally, students will be able to blend sounds together when they begin to read. I’ll say it slow, you say it fast: You say, “/k/ /a/ /t/.” Your child says, “cat.” I spy game. I spy a /k/ /a/ /t/. Then have your child find it. Mother May I? Say a word, /b/ /a/ /t/. If your child can blend it together to say “bat,” tell them the direction. Ex. Take 2 giant steps forward. Give directions broken into sounds. Ex. Go /br/ /u/ /sh/ your /t/ /ee/ /th/. 6

7. What is segmenting? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Segmenting words apart into individual sounds. Understand that this is NOT how many letters! It is sounds. Ex. – kite has 3 sounds; coat has 3 sounds; bat has 3 sounds; high has 2 sounds Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) This will help your child be able to apply phonetic skills to spell and write. Say a word and have your child tell you the sounds in the word. You say, “Pat,” and your child says, “/p/ /a/ /t/.” Tell me what sound you hear at the beginning of a word. Tell me what sound you hear at the end of a word. Line up a group of objects (ex. noodles, blocks, etc), and have your child push one object for every sound that is heard in a word. Use simple words. Ex. In the word cat, your child should push three object. Decide how many sounds are in various pictures or things you see. 7

8. What is identifying letters and their sounds? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Seeing a letter and knowing the name of the letter. Point out letters anywhere you are. Ex. At the grocery store, driving down the road, etc. Your child will be able to apply these skills to be able to read words. Show your child cards with letters and ask them to name the letter and its sound. Point out letters in the environment and their sounds. Ex. McDonalds start with m /m/. Watch the video “The Letter Factory.” While riding down the rode ask your child to find things that start with certain letters. Ex. What starts with /r/? Road Say a sound and have your child make that letter with shaving cream or play-dough or write it in salt with their finger Make a book with a page for each letter and help your child think of pictures to draw or cut out for each letter. 8

9. What are vowels? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? a, e, i, o, u Each vowel has two sounds, short and long. Short vowel sounds: A- apple E- elephant I- igloo O- octopus U-umbrella Long vowel sounds: A- ape E- eagle I- ice O- over U- use Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) Point out letters anywhere you are. Ex. At the grocery store, driving down the road, etc. EVERY word has a vowel. It is imperative that your child knows the sounds of each vowel! Students sometimes get these sounds confused. Show your child a picture and let them tell you what vowel they hear in that word. Is it long or short? Discuss with your child how long vowels say their name. Play a game where you say a word, if your child hears a short vowel they should squat down and if they hear a long vowel stretch up high. Ex. Extra- kneel down Even- stretch up 9

10. What are three letter decodable words? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? These are words that students are able to easily read by applying phonics rules. They should follow the CVC pattern. (consonant vowel consonant). This is more of a visual activity. Your child needs to see the words and read them. The goal is for your child not to stop between sounds, but stretch each one to make a word. This will aid your child in applying phonics rules when reading words. Label things around the house that follow this pattern. Ex. box, tub, pen, cup Have your child read the words that follow this pattern when you are reading together. Make cards containing these words and let your child practice reading these. CVC cat pig top 10

11. What are blends? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? 2 or 3 consonants where both or all three letters are heard. Ex. Sl, tr, dr, sp, sn, br, spr, scr. Blends are not two or three letters that come together and only make 1 sound. Ex. SH, TH, CH Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) Your child needs to see the words and read them. When reading, many children separate the sounds in a blend. /s/ /l/ In reality, they need to be slid together. /sl/ Say one of the sounds and hold out your right hand. Say the other sound and hold out your left hand. Then clap your hands together and put the 2 sounds together quickly. You could do this with 2 cars that you smash together, etc. Point these out when you are reading. Have your child tell you what the blend says. Sort pictures into groups based on their blends. 11

12. What are word families? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Words that are spelled the same at the end. These words are formed by changing the beginning sound. Some other common word families are: am, an, ap, en, ip, et, ot, up, ug, og Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) Your child needs to see the words and read them. Knowing the concept of a word family will help your child be able to find chunks and read words more automatically. In turn they will feel more successful. Write the word family (at) and then have your child add beginning consonants to make new words. This can be done in bathtub, in salt, dirt, sand, etc. Make up sentences with word families. Find these words when you are reading. Sort words according to their word family. atopit hatmophit bathopsit mattoppit 12

13. What are digraphs? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this? What do I do? Digraphs are two letters that come together to make one new sound. Ex. Sh, th, ch, ck, Do this verbally – so you can do it anywhere (car, store, before bed, brushing teeth, bathtub) Your child needs to see the words and read them. Knowing the concept of a digraph will help your child be able to find chunks and read words more automatically. In turn they will feel more successful. Point out these words in books when reading with your child. Also look for words with digraphs in the environment. Ex. Checkers, steak n shake, Chuckie Cheese Find pictures in books or magazines that have digraphs. 13

14. What is fluency? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this?What do I do? Fluency is reading at a good speed, with accuracy and expression. Students should read the way we speak. In kindergarten, we will focus on letter sounds and sight words mostly! Fluency will develop in a sequence beginning with sounds, then moving to words, phrases, sentences, and finally stories. Reread – You may think your child has just memorized, but rereading is essential for building fluency. Model fluent reading by reading aloud to your child. Model reading that is not fluent. Echo read – read a sentence and have your child read it after you. Choral read – you and your child read aloud together Fluency is essential for comprehension to occur. Students who read fluently do not have to work so hard at figuring out the words. SIGHT WORDS – Practice, practice, practice. Your child must know these automatically! They make up most of what we read and many of them can not be sounded out. Play games with the words such as tic-tac-toe, bingo, etc. Pick a few new ones to work with at a time. Remember to always go back and review all of them. Be word detectives and find them in books or the environment. Use flashcards to practice sight words and letter sounds. Make sentences with the sight words. 14

15. What is comprehension? How can I easily incorporate this into our day? Why should I do this? What do I do? Comprehension is understanding and remembering what we read. Discussing what you read with your child. Asking your child questions about what they have read. Applying the strategies listed under what do I do Without comprehension there is no purpose for reading! Make Connections: ask your child if the book or story reminds him/her of anything. Questioning: State aloud questions that come up in your mind as you are reading. I wonder… Visualization: Read a story without showing your child the pictures and let them draw what they “see” in their minds. Determine Importance: Help your child decide why they are reading Inferring: Ask your child to be a detective and guess what will happen next in a story or what a book is about before reading. Synthesizing: This refers to connecting a story to what your child already knows. 15