Emergent Readers
Your child is not yet reading.
Activities to develop: / What you might see in the classroom : / What you can do at home:Reading Aloud / · Reading aloud quality children’s literature
· Shared reading with big books
· Talking about what has been read
· Retelling stories / · Read together each night, let your child see you read for pleasure, and have your child “read” a favorite book to you.
· When reading a new book, ask your child to look at the cover to tell what they think the story will be about. Stop during the story to ask your child what he or she thinks will happen next.
· Reread favorite books—comprehension and a love for reading are built this way.
· Talk about books you’ve read together. Ask him/her about favorite parts and characters.
Knowledge of Books and Print
Concept of Word in Print / · Teaching children parts of books & how they are handled.
· Modeling and group reading of big books & rhymes
· Children finger-pointing rhymes, poems, and predictable books / · Talk with your child about the book before reading aloud to him/her: front/back cover, title, author, illustrator.
· When reading simple books, point to each word as you read to draw your child’s attention to the words.
· Have your child finger-point read simple pattern books and rhymes.
Alphabet Knowledge, Phonemic Awareness & Phonics / · Rhyming Activities
· Read-alouds of rhyming, patterned, and alphabet books
· Syllable and word awareness activities
· Learning letters in name
· Alphabet Games
· Letter formation
· Teaching initial letter sounds / · Print your child’s name and put it on the refrigerator, in his room, etc. Make your child’s name with magnetic letters.
· Read alphabet books, play with alphabet puzzles, and magnetic letters.
· Have a letter of the day and find that letter on street signs or on labels in your home.
· Play I Spy: “I spy something that begins with the /m/ sound.”
· Practice writing letters in shaving cream on a washable surface.
· Clap the syllables or sounds in words.
· Read a story or poem and ask your child to listen for words that begin with the same sound.
· Tell your child a word with an initial sound (“ball”) and have them tell you another word that begins with the same sound (“bike”).
Activities to develop: / What you might see in the classroom : / What you can do at home:
Writing / · Journal writing
· Pattern writing (based on familiar books)
· Modeled writing by teacher
· Interactive writing between students and the teacher
· Dictated stories
· Drawing and labeling / · Encourage your child to write about his/her pictures. Ask your child to tell you about the picture and “story”. As your child learns new letter sounds, encourage him/her to use these letters in writing.
· Have your child create his/her own picture book with drawings or pictures cut from magazines. Help him/her label the pictures.
· Model writing for your child (letter writing, grocery lists, notes).
· Write messages that your child dictates to you.
· Give your child access to a variety of writing materials: nontoxic markers, pens, pencils, notecards, paper etc.
Sources from the Web:
National Reading Panel (2001). Put reading first: helping your child learn to read. http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/publications.htm
PALS: Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening. Parent corner.
http://pals.virginia.edu/Instructional-Resources/Parent-Corner.asp
E. Geyer, S. Loscalzo, & J. Bolling - 2 -