Reading at Home
Introducing children to the world of literature and encouraging their exploration and enjoyment of it is one of the greatest ways to support their growth. Please have your child interact with books every day - they can read alone, to someone, with someone, or listen to someone read to them. Here are some helpful hints!
Introducing children to the world of literature and encouraging their exploration and enjoyment of it is one of the greatest ways to support their growth. Please have your child interact with books every day - they can read alone, to someone, with someone, or listen to someone read to them. Here are some helpful hints!
* Read ALL kinds of stories and books (e.g. picture books, chapter books, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry). Read the same book over and over again! Public libraries are an amazing resource - visit with your child to continuously introduce new texts into your home. You can also purchase affordable books from another great resource, Scholastic Reading Club, to build a home library... our class code is G3B22 (every time you purchase books, we earn points to get free books for our classroom library!)!
* If you are looking for some books your child can read by themselves, you can get started by clicking on this list of books by reading level! Choose books that are at, or just below, your child's reading level. This will allow them to apply reading strategies they are learning, practice reading fluently, and feel successful!
* Books that are too hard for them to read on their own are perfect choices for someone to read to them. It's important for them to have opportunities to hear fluent reading. Also, if it's a story you've read together many times, invite them to "read" the familiar parts of the story along with you!
* Remind your child that readers think before, during, and after a story. Spend time talking with them about what you have read. Here are some questions to get you started!
* Responding to Errors in Reading: When your child experiences some difficulty in reading a word, give her/him a wait time of 5 to 10 seconds. See what s/he attempts to do to help her/himself and then ask one or more of the following:
* Enjoying the reading experience and engaging in meaningful conversations with your child will go a long way in supporting their growth!
* If you are looking for some books your child can read by themselves, you can get started by clicking on this list of books by reading level! Choose books that are at, or just below, your child's reading level. This will allow them to apply reading strategies they are learning, practice reading fluently, and feel successful!
* Books that are too hard for them to read on their own are perfect choices for someone to read to them. It's important for them to have opportunities to hear fluent reading. Also, if it's a story you've read together many times, invite them to "read" the familiar parts of the story along with you!
* Remind your child that readers think before, during, and after a story. Spend time talking with them about what you have read. Here are some questions to get you started!
- What part of the story did you like the best? Why? What would you have done if you were __________ (the character)?
- What did you wonder about while we were reading? Were there any surprises?
- What do you think is the most important idea/event in this story?
- Make predictions about what you think will happen next. Why do you think that?
- Does this story remind you of anything you have done or seen? Does it remind you of any other stories you have read?
- Tell me about the character. How do you know these things?
- What character in the story are you the most like? How are you like them?
- What would you change in the story if you were the author?
- Can you think of a different ending to the story?
* Responding to Errors in Reading: When your child experiences some difficulty in reading a word, give her/him a wait time of 5 to 10 seconds. See what s/he attempts to do to help her/himself and then ask one or more of the following:
- “What would make sense there?”
- “What do think that word could be?”
- “Use the picture to help you figure out what it could be.”
- “Go back to the beginning and try that again.”
- “Skip over it and read to the end of the sentence (or paragraph). Now what do you think it is?”
- “Put in a word that would make sense there.”
- Help your child sound it out. (this should be the last strategy to try)
* Enjoying the reading experience and engaging in meaningful conversations with your child will go a long way in supporting their growth!