Reading With Your Child : )
You should be reading with your child every day! Your child brings home ‘just right books’ throughout the week to practice reading. These are books that your child feels comfortable reading. It should be an enjoyable experience for all involved!
As your child reads these books to you, here are some things you can do to help him/her as a reader:
Most importantly, reading should be FUN! Do not overdo it. If your child is having difficulty, do not focus on the errors. The goal is to have your child reading at home every day and to enjoy reading.
Thanks and Happy Reading,
Mrs. Ashley
As your child reads these books to you, here are some things you can do to help him/her as a reader:
- Discuss the parts of the book such as the title, author, table of contents, index, illustrations, etc.
- Have your child track the words with his/her finger as he/she reads them (your child will tell you when he/she doesn’t need to do this anymore).
- Give him/her time to figure out the words on his/her own before you help. When your child comes to an unknown word, ask your child to look at the picture to see what would make sense. Then have your child look at the beginning letter and make the sound. If he/she is still having trouble, tell him/her the word and move on.
- Instead of saying, “great job” or “awesome”, tell your child what they did that was great (e.g., “you pointed to each word as you said it”, or “you made it make sense” or “you looked at the first letter and made the sound”). This type of praise will reinforce the strategy your child is working on.
- Ask questions about the book when your child is finished reading to see if he/she understood what he/she read.
- Practice fluency! Reading should sound like talking. Have your child re-read his/her book to make it sound smooth, like talking.
Most importantly, reading should be FUN! Do not overdo it. If your child is having difficulty, do not focus on the errors. The goal is to have your child reading at home every day and to enjoy reading.
Thanks and Happy Reading,
Mrs. Ashley