Parents’Read-at-HomePlan

WORKINGTOGETHERFORSTUDENTSUCCESSKINDERGARTENTHROUGH5THGRADE

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OkaloosaCountyParent’sRead-at-HomePlan

Parents,Youareyourchild’sfirstteacherandreadingwithyourchildisaprovenwaytopromoteearlyliteracy.Helpingtomakesureyourchildisreadingongradelevelbythirdgradeisoneofthemostimportantthingsyoucandotopreparehim/herforthefuture.Byreadingwithyourchildfor30minutesperdayandmakingafewsimplestrategiesapartofyourdailyroutine,youcanmakeapositiveimpactonyourchild’ssuccessinschool.WearehappytoprovideyouwiththisRead-at-HomePlan,whichincludesresourcesandstrategiestohelpyourchildbecomeamoreproficientreader!Sincerely,OkaloosaCountyCurriculumandInstruction

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Parents’Read-at-HomePlanTableofContents

DidYouKnow? Page3WhatCanIDotoSupportMyChild? Page4SuggestionstoHelpBuildYourChild’sReadingSkills Page5PhonologicalAwareness Page6PhonologicalAwarenessistheunderstandingthataspokenwordismadeupofdifferentpartsandthateachofthesepartsmakesasound.Thisisanessentialbuildingblocktolearninghowtoread.Phonics Page7Phonicsinstructionteacheschildrenhowtoconnectthesoundstheyhearinspokenwordstotheletterstheyseeinwrittenwords.HighFrequencyWords Page9HighFrequencyWordsarethewordsthatappearmostofteninwhatchildrenread.Fluency Page11Fluency(oralreading)isthestudent’sabilitytoreadtextaloudaccuratelyandattheappropriatespeed.Vocabulary Page13Vocabularyisthenameforthewordsastudentknows.Comprehension Page14Comprehension:Literaturedescribesastudent’sabilitytounderstandanddrawmeaningfromtext.ResourcesforRead-at-HomePlan Page17Comprehension:InformationalTextdescribesastudent’sabilitytounderstandtypesofwritingthataretrue.Textsaboutscienceorhistoryareexamplesofinformationaltext,asarenewspaperarticlesormagazinearticles.

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DidYouKnow?

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WhatCanIDotoSupportMyChild?

Readbooksdailyathomewithyourchildthattheyenjoy.Somewaystodothis:• Listentoyourchildread• Readoutloudtoyourchild• Readtogetheratthesametime• Rereadorretellfavoritestories• Talktoyourchildabouttheirreading• Echoread(youreadaline,thentheyrepeatwhatyouhaveread)

Asyoureadwithyourchild:

• Talkaboutyourfavoriteparts• Askquestionsaboutwhatisbeingread• Talkaboutwhatyouhavelearnedfromreadingthetext• Askyourchildtotellwhattheyrememberaboutthetext• Talkabouthowthepicturesinthebookconnecttothewordsonthepage• Talkabouttheconnectionsyouandyourchildcanmakefromreadingthetext

TheParents’Read-at-HomePlanprovidessuggestionsandstrategiestoassistyouinhelpingyourchildastheylearntoread.

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ReadingBeginsatHome

StrongparentalinvolvementisakeycomponentoftheRead-at-HomePlan

SuggestionstoHelpBuildYourChild’sReadingSkills

Kindergarten• Readpredictablebookstoyourchild.Teachhim/hertohearandsayrepeatingwords,suchas

namesforcolors,numbers,letters,andanimals.Predictablebookshelpchildrentounderstandhowstoriesprogress.

• Practicethesoundsoflanguagebyreadingbookswithrhymesandplayingsimplewordgames(e.g.,Howmanywordscanyounamethatrhymewiththeword“bat”?)

• Practicereadingthefirst92HighFrequencySightWordsbothinisolationandinbooks.Talkwithyourchild’steacherabouteachquarter’ssightwordsfocus.

• Praiseyourchildfortheirreadingefforts.FirstGrade

• Pointouttheletter-soundrelationshipsyourchildislearninginschoolonlabels,newspapers,magazines,andbooks.

• Listentoyourchildreadthewordsandbookstheyarelearninginschool.Bepatientandlistenashe/shepractices.Letthemknowyouareproudoftheirreading.

• Helpyourchildrereadtheirfavoritebookstopracticefluencyor“readinghowtheytalk.”SecondandThirdGrade

• Buildreadingaccuracybyhavingyourchildreadaloudandpointoutwordshe/shemissedandhelphim/herreadwordscorrectly.Ifyoustoptofocusonaword,haveyourchildrereadthewholesentencetobesuretheyunderstandthemeaningofthewordinthatsentence.

• Buildreadingcomprehensionbytalkingwithyourchildaboutwhathe/shejustread.Askaboutnewwords.Talkaboutwhathappenedinthetext.Askaboutthecharacters,places,andeventsthattookplace.Askaboutnewinformationhe/shelearnedfromthebook.

• Echoandrepeatedreadingsofaportionoftextwillimprovefluencyandincreasecomprehension.

FourthandFifthGrade

• Buildreadingaccuracybyhavingyourchildreadaloudandpointoutwordshe/shemissedandhelphim/herreadthewordscorrectly.Ifyoustoptofocusonaword,haveyourchildrereadthewholesentencetobesurehe/sheunderstandsthemeaningofthewordinthatsentence.

• Continuetobuildreadingfluencybyhavingyourchildrereadfamiliarbooks.• Continuetobuildreadingaccuracybyhavingyourchildreadaloudandpointoutwordshe/she

missedandhelphim/herreadthewordscorrectly.Ifyoustoptofocusonaword,haveyourchildrereadthewholesentencetobesurehe/sheunderstandthemeaningofthewordinthatsentence.

• Continuetobuildreadingcomprehensionbytalkingwithyourchildaboutwhathe/shejustread.Askaboutnewwords.Talkaboutwhathappenedinthetext.Askaboutthecharacters,places,andeventsthattookplace.Askaboutnewinformationhe/shelearnedfromthebook.Encouragehim/hertoreadindependently.

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PhonologicalAwareness

WhatisPhonologicalAwareness?Phonemicawarenessistheabilitytofocusonandmanipulatesounds.Thismayinclude:

• recognizingsounds,bothaloneandinwords• addingsoundstowords• takingwordsapartandbreakingthemintotheirdifferentsounds

PhonologicalAwarenessActivities:• Tohelpyourchildsegment(separate)soundsintowords:

o Giveyourchild4-7blocks,beads,bingochips,orsimilaritems.Sayawordandhaveyourchildmoveanobjectforeachsoundintheword.

o Play“Head,Shoulders,Knees,andToes”withsounds.Sayawordandhaveyourchildtouchhis/herheadforthefirstsound,shouldersforthesecondsound,andkneesforthethirdwhilesayingeachsound.

o JumpforSounds:Sayawordandhaveyourchildjumpforeachsoundinthewordwhilesayingthesound

• Practicesoundingoutwords.Writea5+letterwordonapieceofpaperwiththelettersspacedapart.Haveyourchildmovetheirfingerovereachlettersayingthelettersound.Haveyourchildbeginmovingtheirfingeroverthelettersslowlyandthentryagainslightlyfaster.Continueuntilthewordissaidatagoodrate.

• Demonstrateclappingawordintoitssyllables.Askyourchildtoclapwordsintosyllables.• Maketallymarksforthenumberofsyllablesinthenamesofpeopleinyourfamily,favorite

foods,etc.

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Phonics

WhatisPhonics?Phonicsistheabilitytounderstandtherelationshipbetweenlettersandthesoundstheyrepresent.Thisincludes

• recognizingprintpatternsthatrepresentsounds• syllablepatterns• wordpartssuchasprefixes,suffixes,androotwords

CommonConsonantDiagraphsandBlends:

bl,br,ch,ck,cl,cr,dr,fl,gh,gl,gr,ng,ph,pl,pr,qu,ac,sh,sk,sl,sm,sn,sp,st,sw,th,tr,tw,wh,wr

CommonConsonantTrigraphs:nth,sch,shr,spl,spr,squ,str,thr

CommonVowelDiagraphs:

ai,au,aw,ay,ea,ee,ei,eu,ew,ey,ie,oi,oo,ou,ow,oy

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PhonicsActivities:• Makeblendsoundsandhaveyourchildwritethelettersthatmatchthesounds.• Playwordgamesthatconnectsoundswithsyllablesandwords(forexample,iftheletters

“l-a-t-e-r”spelllater,howdoyouspellhater?Howmanysyllablesareinlater?)• Writingwords-Manychildrenenjoysendingandreceivingnotes,andwritingisagreatway

toreinforcephonicsskills.Sendyourchildnotesinhis/herbackpack.Havearelativeorfriendsendaletteroremailtoyourchild.Wheneveryourchildreceivesanote,havehim/herwriteback.Don’tbeconcernedaboutspelling.Instead,haveyourchildsoundoutthewordstothebestofhis/herability.

• Huntingforwords-Chooseablendandhaveyourchildhuntforfiveitemsbeginningwiththatsound.Aseachobjectisfound,helpyourchildwritethewordonalist.Forexample,ifthetargetsoundis“bl,”thechildmightfindandwriteblanket,blue,etc.)

• Hintsforhelpingyourchildsoundoutwords:o FirstSound:Haveyourchildsaythefirstsoundinthewordandmakeaguessbased

onthepictureorsurroundingwords.Double-checktheprintedwordtoseeifitmatchesthechild’sguess.

o SoundandBlend:Haveyourchildsayeachsoundseparately(example:sssaaat).Thisiscalled“soundingitout,”andthensaythesoundtogether(example:sat).Thisis“blending.”

o FamiliarParts:Whenyourchildstartsreadinglongerwords,havehim/hernoticethepartsofthewordthathe/shealreadyknows.Forexample,inawordsuchas“presenting,”yourchildmayalreadyknowtheprefixpre-,theword“sent,”andthewordending-ing.

o Play“Memory”or“GoFish”usingconsonantandvoweldiagraphs,trigraphs,andblends.

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High-FrequencyWords

WhatareHigh-FrequencyWords?High-FrequencyWordsappearofteninorientedEnglish,butarenotreadilydecodableintheearlystagesofreadinginstruction.Thesewordsareessentialtofluentreading.Repeatedexposureandmemorizationarecrucialforstudentstoreadquicklyandfluently.

ExampleofHigh-FrequencyWordList

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High-FrequencyWordActivities:• WordBooks:Childrencankeepawordbook.Foldedandstapledconstructionorwhite

paper,pencils,andcrayonsareallthatisrequired.Addhigh-frequencywordstothebook.Theymayusethebooksasareferencewhenreadingnewtexts.

• WordDetective:Invitechildrentobehigh-frequencyworddetectives.Theycanlocateassignedwordsinprintmaterialstheyencounterintheirdailylives.

• WordGames:Bingoisaconsistentfavorite.Whileplayingbingo,asyoucallouteachword,monitortoensurethattheyrecognizethehigh-frequencywordsandplacechipsonthemwhenappropriate.Othersimplegamesthatcanhelpteachwordsincludecommonfavoriteslikehangman.

• FlashcardActivities:Createflashcardsforthehigh-frequencywords(seepreviouspageforanexampleforhigh-frequencywordsbygradelevel).

• Memory:Createtwoofeachhigh-frequencywordcard.Laythecardsfacedownonatableandtaketurnstryingtomatchidenticalwords.

• FunnyVoices:Flashthecardstoyourchild,andhavehim/herreadawordinarobotvoice,anoldvoice,asqueakyvoice,oramonstervoice.

• MakingSentences:Providehigh-frequencywordflashcards.Encourageyourchildtocombinethevariouswordsinordertomakesentences.

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Fluency

WhatisFluency?Fluencyistheabilitytoreadwithsufficientspeedtosupportunderstanding.Thisincludes

• automaticwordrecognition• accuratewordrecognition• useofexpression

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FluencyActivities:• RepeatedReading:Chooseapassagethatwillnotbeverydifficultforyourchild.Readthe

passagealoudtoyourchild,andthenreadittogether,helpingyourchildfigureoutanytrickywords.Next,haveyourchildreadthepassagetoyouwithafocusonaccuracy.Finally,haveyourchildreadthepassagetoyouagain,payingattentiontofluencyandexpression.Thegoalistosoundsmoothandnatural.

• UseDifferentVoices:Whenreadingafamiliarstoryorpassage,tryhavingyourchildusedifferentvoices.Readthestoryinamousevoice,cowboyvoice,oraprincessvoice.Thisisanotherwaytodorepeatedreading,anditaddssomefuntoreadingpractice.

• ReadtoDifferentAudiences:Readingaloudisawaytocommunicatetoanaudience.Whenareaderkeepstheaudienceinmind,he/sheknowsthattheirreadingmustbefluentandexpressive.Yourchildcanreadtostuffedanimals,pets,siblings,friends,relatives-anyonewhoiswillingtolisten.Thisisagoodwaytoshowoffwhatwaspracticedwithrepeatedreading.

• RecordtheReading:Afteryourchildhaspracticedapassage,havehim/herrecorditwithatapeplayer,cellphone,orMP3device.Oncerecorded,yourchildcanlistentotheirreadingandfollowalonginthebook.Often,childrenwanttorecorditagaintomakeitevenbetter!

• Whenyoureadastory,useappropriateexpressionduringdialogue.Encourageyourchildtomimicyourexpression.Talkwithhim/heraboutwhatthatexpressionmeans.Forexample,ifthecharacterisexcitedaboutgoingtothepark,he/sheshouldsoundlikethatinhis/hervoice.Encourageyourchildtorepeatkeyphrasesordialogue.

• Makeyourownbooksoffavoritesongsforchildrentopractice“reading.”Thisbuildsconfidenceandhelpsyourchildidentifythemselfasareader.

• Taketurnsreadingandrepeatingthefavoritelinesofapoemwithyourchild.He/shewillmimicyourphrasingandexpression.

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Vocabulary

WhatisVocabulary?Vocabularyisthestudents’knowledgeofandmemoryforwordmeanings.Thisincludes

• receptivevocabulary(wordsweunderstandwhenreadorspokentous)• expressivevocabulary(wordsweknowwellenoughtouseinspeakingandwriting).

VocabularyActivities:

• ReadAloud:Continuetoreadaloudtoyourchildevenafterhe/sheisabletoreadindependently.Choosebooksaboveyourchild’slevelbecausetheyarelikelytocontainbroadervocabulary.

• PreviewWords:Beforereadingtoorwithyourchild,scanthroughthebook,choosetwoorthreewordsthatyouthinkmightbeinterestingorunfamiliartoyourchild.Tellyourchildwhatthewordsareandwhattheymean.Asyoureadthebook,haveyourchildlistenforthesewords.

• HotPotato:o Playhotpotatowithsynonyms(wordswithsimilarmeanings).Chooseaword,andthen

yourchildhastothinkofanotherwordthatmeansthesamething.Taketurnsuntilneitherplayercanthinkofanotherword.Forexample,youmaysay,“cold,”andyourchildmightsay,“freezing.”Thenyoucouldsay,“chilly,”andsoon.Trythegameagainwithantonyms(opposites).

o Playhotpotatowithprefixesandsuffixes.Theprefixesdis-,ex-,mis-,non-,pre-,re-,andun-arecommon.Commonsuffixesinclude-able/-ible,-ed,-er,-est,-ful,-ish,-less,-ly,-ment,and-ness.

o Playhotpotatowithcategories.Foryourchildren,thecategoriescanbesimple:pets,clothes,familymembers.Forolderchildren,thecategoriescanbequitecomplex:astronomy/space,mathterms,communityhelpers,etc.

• WordCollecting:Haveeachfamilymemberbeonthelookoutforinterestingwordsthattheyheardthatday.Atdinnerorbedtime,haveeveryonesharethewordtheycollectedandtellwhattheythinkitmeans.Ifthechildsharesanincorrectmeaning,guidehim/hertothecorrectmeaning.Trytousesomeofthewordsinconversation.

• Play“Categories”withyourchild.Nameatopicsuchas“ecosystems”andaskyourchildtothinkofallthewordshe/shecanrelatetothattopic.Thisisagreatwaytobuildwordknowledge!

• Whenyoureadabookaboutatopic,askyourchildtotellyouallthewordsrelatedtoit.Forexample,ifyoureadabookaboutdinosaurs,he/shemightsayTyrannosaurusRex,paleontologist,herbivore,carnivore,fossil.Addotherwordstohelpexpanduponwhathe/sheknows.

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Comprehension

WhatisComprehension?Comprehensionistheabilitytounderstandanddrawmeaningfromtext.Thisincludes

• payingattentiontoimportantinformation• interpretingspecificmeaningsintext• identifyingthemainidea• verbalresponsestoquestions• applicationofnewinformationgainedthroughreading

ComprehensionActivities:

• SequencingComics:ChooseacomicstripfromtheSundaynewspaper.Cutouteachsquareandmixthesquaresup.Haveyourchildputtheminorderanddescribewhatishappening.Encourageyourchildtousewordslikefirst,second,next,finally,etc.

• EverydayComprehension:Askyourchildwho,what,when,where,why,howquestionsaboutaneventintheirday.Onceyourchildiscomfortableansweringthesequestionsabouttheirexperiences,tryaskingquestionsaboutabookyouhavereadtogether.

• ReadingFictiono BeforeReading:Pointoutthetitleandauthor.Lookatthepictureonthecoverandask,

“Whatdoyouthinkisgoingtohappeninthisstory?Why?”Thiswillhelpyourchildsetapurposeforreading.

o DuringReading:Stopeverynowandthentoaskyourchildtotellyouwhathashappenedsofarorwhattheypredictwillhappen.Youmightalsoaskforyourchild’sopinion,“Doyouthinkthecharacterdidtherightthing?Howdoyoufeelaboutthatchoice?”Explainanyunfamiliarwords.

o AfterReading:Askyourchildtoretellthestoryfromthebeginning,andaskforopinions,too.“Whatwasyourfavoritepart?Wouldyourecommendthistoafriend?Why?”

• ReadingNonfictiono BeforeReading:Pointoutthetitleandauthor.Lookatthepictureonthecoverandask,

“Whatdoyouthinkyou’lllearnaboutinthisbook?Why?”Thishelpsyourchildconsiderwhattheyalreadyknowaboutthetopic.Lookatthetableofcontents.

o DuringReading:Donotforgetthecaptions,headings,sidebars,oranyotherinformationonthepage.Youngreaderstendtooverlookthese,soitisagoodideatoshowthattheauthorincludeslotsofinformationinthese“extras.”

o AfterReading:Askyourchild,“Whatwasitmostlyabout?Whatdoyoustillwhattoknow?Wherecouldyoufindout?”

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• OtherIdeaso Discusswordsrelatedtostoriessuchascharacters,problem,andsolution.Forexample,

“HowdidtheWrightBrothersfindasolutiontohelptheirplaneflylonger?”Ifthechilddoesnotknow,showthepictureorrereadthepagewheretheanswercanbefound.

o Askquestionsaboutcharactertraits.Forexample,“Whatcharacterdoyouthinkwaskind?Whichcharacterwasbossy?Howdoyouknow?”Ifyourchilddoesnotknow,giveyouranswer.Youmayneedtodothismanytimesbeforeyourchildcandoit.

o Encouragedeeperthinkingbyasking,“Ifthestorykeptgoing,whatdoyouthinkwouldhappennext?Why?”

o Helpyourchildmakeconnectionstohis/herlifeexperiencewhilereading.Youcouldask,“Isthereanythingyoureadinthestorythatremindsyouofsomething?”

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AdditionalLiterary/FictionQuestionsSetting:*Whatisthesettinginthestory?(time,place)*Howisthesettingimportanttothecharactersandthesequenceofevents?Describeindepththekeydetailsaboutthesetting.Characters:*Howwouldyoudescribethecharacter(s)?*Whatwasthecharacter’smotivationto______?*Whatwasthecharacterdoing?Whatwasthecharacterthinkingand/orfeeling?*Howdidthecharacter’sactionscontributetothesequenceofeventsinthestory?*Howdidthecharacterrespondtothechallenges?SequenceofMajorEvents:*Whatwerethemajoreventsinthestory?*Describeindepthabouttheeventsinthestoryordrama.Usekeydetailstodescribetheevents.Plot:*Whoarethecharacter(s)?*Whatdidtheywant(theirgoals)?*Whatwastheproblem?*Howdidtheysolvetheproblem?*Howdidthestoryend?Summarize.Conclusions:*Recountthestory.Beaccurate.*Whatisthecentralmessage?Theme?*Howdidillustrationscontributetothestory?Author’sPurpose:*Whatwastheauthor’spurposeinwritingthisstory?Supportyouranswer.*Whatdidyounoticeabouttheauthor’swordchoiceindescribingthecharacters,setting,events,andplot?*Whatwasthemood/tone?Connections:*Compareandcontraststoriesinthesamegenre.(themes,characters,setting,wordchoice,plot,majorevents)

AdditionalInformational/NonfictionQuestions

MainTopic:*Whatisthistextmostlyteachingorinformingusabout?*Howdidthetextfeaturessupportyourunderstanding?*Whatisthemaintopicofthistext?*Whatarethekeydetailsthatsupporttheimportantfactsaboutthemaintopic?*Summarizethetext.SequenceofInformation:*Whatorderdoestheauthorgiveusinformationaboutthetopic?(Beginning,Middle,End)*Compareandcontrasttheoverallstructureofevents,ideas,concepts,orinformationin2ormoretexts.KeyVocabulary:*Whatarethemostimportantwordsinthetext?Why?Author’sPurpose:*Whydidtheauthorwritethistext?*Whatistheauthor’spointofview?*Whattextfeaturesdidtheauthorinclude?Why?*Explainhowtheauthorusedreasonsandevidencetosupportpointsmadeinthetext.Connections:*Compareandcontrastthemaintopictoothertopics.*Explaintherelationshiporinteractionbetweentwoormoreindividuals,events,ideas,orconcepts.

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ResourcesforRead-at-HomePlan

Theresourcesbelowprovideyourchildwithonlinelinkstotop-ratednational,state,andlocalonlineresources.TheseresourcessupportandcomplementourRead-at-HomePlan.

The Okaloosa County Public Library System delivers quality services, including print and digital format of children’s books reflecting the informational, educational, and recreational needs of our community.

Just Read, Families! http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/families/

PBSParentshttps://www.pbs.org/parents

ReadWriteThinkhttp://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/