Get connected!

How do I know if a For Parents: Paul A. Schalm

book is the right level www.readingrockets.org Elementary
Provides ideas & tips for helping children
for my child? learn to read.
We use the five finger rule to find For Students:
Helping
a
just right book.
www.starfall.com
Games that build early reading & writing
Your Child
Choose a book & open to any
page.
skills.
http://asp.tumblebooks.com/library/
Become a
Start reading & put up a fin-
ger for every word you dont
asp/home_tumblebooks.asp
Listen to stories online! Better
www.abcya.com
know.
Play games to help practice many skills! Reader
If only 2 or 3 fingers go up,
youve found a just right
book!

Tips for Parents

Provide lots of reading &
writing materials in your home:
books, magazines, newspapers,
writing paper, pencils, & crayons.
Yes even comic books!
Be a role model for your
child. Read for pleasure or
knowledge on a daily basis.
Press for
Follow the 20 minute
rule! Readers should
spend at least 20 minutes
a day reading to or with
someone.
Get out and Go!
Background knowledge & making connec-
tions are extremely important for reading
comprehension. Life experiences enable a Simple, fun ways
child to make those connections! Visit muse-
ums, libraries, & parks. Here are some to try: families can help
Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum children improve
Cranbrook Science Museum reading!
Ann Arbor Childrens Museum
Detroit Zoo (Make sure to stop and read
the signs!)

Created by Mrs. Barrow, Intervention Specialist

Parents are Teachers, too!
You are your child's first and foremost
important teacher! Studies show that
it's vitally important for children to have
a good start in reading. What you do at
home is what will help your child be-
come a successful, confident reader!
Make literacy part of your
family time!
Talk, sing, and read with your child!
Children's brain cells are literally turned
on when they do these things (Shore,
1997).
Play board games.
Choose books over t.v. and video games.
Write grocery lists together.
Read the ingredients and directions on a
recipe and make something yummy to-
gether.
Create a comfy spot to read at home.
Visit the local library and check out
books and audio books.
Make reading together part of your bed-
time routine.
Have quality conversations with your
child.
Experts (Baker, et al, 1997) believe that
parents who use reading as entertainment,
rather than as a skill, develop a more posi-
tive attitude toward reading in children.
What to do as you read:
Questions you can ask:
Echo read with your child. You read one sen-
tence (or paragraph) and your child echos Before Reading:
back what you just read. This helps build
fluency and reading with expression. What do you think this story will be
about?
Have your child follow along with the text
using his/her pointer finger or a "guider" (an What do you already know about
this topic?
index card works great for this!).
Talk about the text. Make comments and During Reading:
ask questions. What do you think will happen next?
Read to your child and listen to your child What is the problem in the story?
read.
How do you think the character feels?
Re-read the same books. This helps your
child build fluency. Build connections! "This story reminds
me of...."
What to do when your child After Reading:
gets stuck: What was the story mostly about?
Be patient. Don't just tell your child a word he/ What was your favorite part of the
she doesn't know. Here are some prompts you story? Why?
can use to help them figure it out: If you could change the end, how
If it is a picture book, have them look at the would it end?
pictures for clues.
Look for familiar chunks or letters
that go together to help figure out
the word.
Try flipping the sound. For exam- It pays off when parents get
ple, change form the short a sound
involved! Students make
to long a.
greater achievement gains, &
Skip the word at first, then go back have fewer behavior
and see what would make sense.
problems.
Go back to the beginning of the ~readingrockets.org
sentence and get a running start.