Vocabulary Boosters

Whether you are talking to your child about a new word, helping her write a letter, or reading a story out loud, your interaction will maximize your child's language understanding. Keep in mind the following vocabulary boosters as you go about your daily activities; even a few minutes each day will translate into measurable differences in your child's long-term language growth.

• Change the language of your daily routines. Rather than say, "It's time to clean up" every day, try to introduce other rich words that help describe this routine, such as "organize," "collate," and "arrange."

• Bond with your child through language. In our busy world, several minutes of "real" conversation are incredibly valuable. A car ride chat that focuses on where you are going or things you see along the way, a bath that explores things that float or sink, or a bump or a bruise that elicits talk about feelings and healing are all terrific opportunities.

• Use writing and drawings. Repeat what your child says as she shows you her artwork and then build on and extend it. For example, if your child has created a drawing and written, with invented spelling or otherwise, "I like rain," you might say, "I like rain. Oh, yes. I see all of your raindrops here and a puddle. What is it about rain that you like? This puddle looks like it would be fun to splash in."

• Read aloud. Put as much expression as possible into your reading. When you come to a word that is sophisticated, draw it out. Take the word "scrumptious," for example. Say it slowly as part of the sentence and then add a comment like, "Scrumptious. Hmm, that means really, really good. Look at that apple pie. It sure looks scrumptious to me." You can also look for instances in which a challenging word is repeated in a story. Call your child's attention to it each time it appears. Use the pictures to help build a deepening understanding of the word's meaning.

• Share your own stories. Talk to your child about your own day: what you did, different people you encountered, funny things that happened, anything interesting that you might have seen. Find ways to use memorable words in your daily conversations. This way, your child will hear them in a different context and outside of a book.

What can I do to help my child be a better reader?

VISIT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY

First of all, your local public library is one of your best--and least expensive--resources. Libraries, even small ones, have shelves of books for parents and children. Take your child to the public library and get them their own library card. Help them select books by making suggestions and showing them several books on topics they might enjoy. Let them see you selecting and checking out books. You are their BEST example.

READ ALOUD AND MODEL READING

Reading aloud to your children, and letting them see you reading, are two of the best ways to help them on the road to literacy. It's never too early to start! Two particularly useful books, which have been popular for many years and are probably available in your local library, are "The New Read-Aloud Handbook," by Jim Trelease (2nd rev. ed., 1989, Penguin Books) and "A Parent's Guide to Children's Reading," by Nancy Larrick (5th ed., 1982, Bantam Books).

As Barbara Bush wrote recently, "Above all, children love to be read to. It is a special time for them to be close to the grown-ups who care for them, and a wonderful way to feel loved." (Bush, 1993)

Many books for both children and adults are available in a "read-along" format using audio cassettes. These are often available in your public library and may be especially useful in the car or when you and your child would like to listen together to a tape while following along in the book.

PLAYING WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Small children generally learn best while playing, rather than by being "instructed." Knowing this, you can involve your child in lots of day-to-day activities and conversations that will help develop her/his literacy. You can talk to the child while playing, about whatever is of interest to you both. Nursery rhymes and songs are fun to learn and say or sing together.

Ordinary daily activities can also be an occasion for learning. For example, recognizing commercial signs and logos while out walking or driving is one of the first steps in learning to read. A simple trip to the grocery store is more fun if you talk with your child about the things you're seeing and doing when he's little, about colors and shapes; later on, about the many places from which grocery items come; when he's older, about box sizes and unit costs and the nutritional value of items in the store.

LISTENING TO YOUR CHILDREN READ

Once a child learns to read, she needs lots of practice. The more the better! The old saying about "practice makes perfect" applies to reading as well as to most other activities. If a child has frequent opportunities to read aloud to a willing listener--often a parent or grand-parent or a sibling--she is more likely to become a fluent reader. Most children enjoy reading every other page with an adult--you read the first page, she reads the second, and so forth. With an older child, you might each read a chapter.

You may want to help your child get "over the hump" of starting a new book by offering to read the first few chapters aloud at bedtime (or alternate pages with your child). When you finish, you may hear, "Do you mind if I read the next chapter by myself before I go to sleep?" and you will know you have succeeded in your endeavor.

HELPING YOUR CHILDREN WRITE

With a little encouragement, your children's reading and writing development will proceed on parallel tracks. Even a very young child who sees the adults in her life writing letters and grocery lists and telephone messages will want to try writing also (Baghban, 1989). At first, to an adult, the efforts look like scribbles, but before long your child will be trying to communicate with pictures and words. Encourage her efforts.

How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One? by First Lady Laura Bush

Every teacher is excited about reading and promotes the value and fun of reading to students.

All students are carefully evaluated, beginning in Kindergarten, to see what they know and what they need to become good readers.

Reading instruction and practice lasts 90 minutes or more a day in first, second and third grades and 60 minutes a day in Kindergarten.

All students in first, second and third grades who are behind in reading get special instruction and practice. These students receive, throughout the day, a total of 60 extra minutes of instruction.

Before- or after-school help is given to all students beyond first grade who need extra instruction or who need to review skills. Summer school is available for students who are behind at the end of the year.

Reading instruction and practice includes work on letters, sounds and blending sounds. Students learn to blend letters and sounds to form new words.

Learning new words and their meaning is an important part of instruction.

The connection between reading and writing is taught on a daily basis. Students write daily. Papers are corrected and returned to the students. By the end of second grade, students write final copies of corrected papers. Corrected papers are sent home for parents to see.

All students are read to each day from different kinds of books.

All students have a chance to read both silently and aloud in school each day and at home every night.

Every classroom has a library of books that children want to read. This includes easy books and books that are more difficult.

Wonde l Web Links

www.storyplace.org

www.kidsreads.com

www.berenstainbea m

www.houghtonmiffl

x.shtml

http://scholastic.com

http://www.reading

http://www.seussvi

http://pbskids.org/a

http://www.peterra

www.kbears.com

http://pbskids.org/r

http://www.eduplac

http://www.kidsdom

Books for ages 4 – 8 Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet

My Lucky Day

NO! David

rfu

rs.co

inbooks.com/features/cgsite/inde

/MagicSchoolBus/home.htm

rockets.org

lle.com/seussville/

rthur/

bbit.com

eadingrainbow/

e.com/readingscene/index.html

ain.com/games/read2.html

Alligator Sue

Alphabet Room, The

Annie Rose Is My Little Sister

Babies On The Go

Bad Boys

Baya, Baya, Lulla-by-a

Bear Wants More

Beverly Billingsly Takes a Bow

Day the Babies Crawled Away

Diary of a Wombat

Diary of a Worm

Dirty Cowboy, The

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Full, Full, Full of Love

Goldie and the Three Bears

Good Night Sam

Hotshots!

I'm Not Invited?

Little One Step

Morris the Artist

Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile

Once Upon a Time One Is a Snail Ten Is a Crab

Our Twitchy

Owl and the Pussycat, The

Painting the Wind

Racecar Alphabet, The

Roller Coaster

Rooftop Rocket Party, The

Serious Farm

Snow Music

Someone Says

Stanley's Party

Straight to the Pole

Tails

Three Pebbles and a Song

Tippy-Toe Chick, Go!

Waggle!

Where the Wild Things Are

Water Babies

When Marcus Moore Moved In

While We Were Out

How to Read Aloud with My Children

Reading aloud is a gift you can freely give to your children from the day they are born until the time they leave the nest. Children's reading experts agree that reading aloud offers the easiest and most effective way to help children become lifelong readers. It can also be

as much fun for you as it is for your children.

A child whose day includes listening to lively stories is more likely to grow up loving books and wanting to read them. To spark this desire in your children, you may want to try some of these suggestions offered by Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), a national nonprofit organization that inspires youngsters to read.

• Set aside a special time each day to read aloud to your children. Fifteen minutes a day is an ideal time.

• Vary your selections. For very young children, look for picture books with artwork and stories that are simple, clear and colorful.

• Read slowly and with expression. The more you ham it up, the more your children will love it. Try substituting your child's name for a character in the story.

• Have your children sit where they can see the book clearly, especially if it is a picture book.

• Allow time for your children to settle into the story, as well as time afterwards to talk about it.

• As you read aloud, encourage your children to get in on the act. Invite them to describe pictures, read bits of text, or predict what will happen next. It is even fun to dramatize the roles in the story or read lines of dialogue.

• Children like a sense of completion, so finish what you begin. If the book is lengthy, find an appropriate stopping point, such as the end of a chapter.

• Continue to read aloud to your children even after they begin school and are independent readers. There is no age limit to reading to your children.

• Teenagers may enjoy reading aloud to a younger sibling. They often like to revisit some of their old favorites.

Helping your children at home . . BEGINNING AND ENDING SOUNDS ❖ Help your children learn to identify the sounds at the beginning of words (for example, the sound /t/ in “top” and the sound /b/ in “big”). Practice with other words and their beginning sounds. ❖ Help your children learn to separate sounds at the beginning of words (for example, ask what would be left if you took the /r/ sound out of “run” or if you took the /s/ sound away from “sat”). Continue with other sounds and words. ❖ Help your children learn to blend the separated sounds of spoken words. Ask your children to tell you what they would have if they put these sounds together: /m/ and /other/ (mother); /k/ and /andy/ (candy); and /s/, /a/, and /t/ (sat). Continue with other words. ❖ Ask your children which one of these words—”bag,” “cat,” “bike,” “boat”—starts with a different sound. Practice with other words. ❖ Say four words that have the same beginning sound. Ask your children to listen and say the beginning sound (for example, the beginning sound is /h/ in “hat,” “hop,” “hit,” “hand”). ❖ Say four words that have the same ending sound. Ask your children to listen and tell you what the ending sound is (for example, the ending sound is /p/ in “stop,” “pop,” “cop,” and “top”). ❖ Have your children take an imaginary shopping trip. Give each child a paper bag and an old magazine. Point out pictures of objects in their magazines. If your children can tell you what sounds the names of the objects begin with, let them cut out the pictures and put them into their

bag. After the shopping trip is over, look at the pictures with your

children and let them say the beginning sound of each object’s name.

Parent Resource Handbook

Helping Your Child Be a Better

Reader

Prepared for you by the North East Florida Educational Consortium

3841 Reid Street Palatka, FL 32177

(386) 329-3800