Reading At Home
“Good readers are made on the laps of parents.....”
Your child’s “Song and Poem Folder” contains words for songs, poems, finger plays, sight words and reading charts that we have been reading in the classroom. Please make sure that these books are returned daily in your child’s backpack so that new songs/poems and sight words introduced may be added. Pick a few to go over each day with your child when you have time. Your child has begun to memorize them. Help your child to read the songs, poems, and books by pointing to the text as they recite the words. Through the use of songs, poems, finger plays, and reading charts, your child is practicing many concepts:
letter recognition social skills (reading together)
letter sound recognition voice fluctuation
top to bottom progression oral reading skills
title fine motor skills
sentences parts of speech
punctuation vocabulary development
word spacing reading/writing connection
rhyming repetition/memorization skills
word structure listening skills
sentence structure understanding print has meaning
sight word recognition
Beginning readers recognize very few words instantly. Through repeated exposure to the same words, instant recognition grows. Only 100 words make up 50% of the words read, even by adults, so it is important that young readers learn to quickly recognize the words that occur frequently in print. Many of these words will be in your child’s bag of high-frequency word flashcards and can also be found in the emergent readers they will be bringing home to read and practice with you in their homework bags.
Reading these little books over and over will help your child learn the high-frequency words and gives him/her a chance to practice using the strategies we use at school to figure out unfamiliar words.
In our kindergarten classroom, we are beginning to work on the following reading strategies: 1 ) Have your child practice "tracking" the print with his/her finger by pointing to each word and matching one spoken word with one written word. 2 ) Have your child look at the pictures for clues when they are reading new words. 3 ) As they begin to recognize more letter sounds and sight words, cover the picture and sound out the words. Have your child get his/her mouth ready to say the first sound, the middle sound, and the last sound. First, we do it slowly in “turtle talk,” then we say the sounds and stretch them and “leave our voice on” to help us blend the sounds in the word and “say-it-fast.” Looking for little words in big words is also helpful (ex. “and” is in the word “hand”). Most of the books that are sent home have been introduced and practiced at school. Fluency is the key to successful reading. The more your child reads, the more confident he or she will become in school!
Twenty minutes a day is all it takes to build key reading skills! Snuggle up each day with a book. Talk about the pictures and ask your child questions as you read. Share different kinds of books.
Read with expression.
Read favorite books AGAIN and AGAIN!
Celebrate when they read to you!
Thank you for helping your child to develop a love of reading and to become a great reader,
Mrs. Dicks
“Good readers are made on the laps of parents.....”
Your child’s “Song and Poem Folder” contains words for songs, poems, finger plays, sight words and reading charts that we have been reading in the classroom. Please make sure that these books are returned daily in your child’s backpack so that new songs/poems and sight words introduced may be added. Pick a few to go over each day with your child when you have time. Your child has begun to memorize them. Help your child to read the songs, poems, and books by pointing to the text as they recite the words. Through the use of songs, poems, finger plays, and reading charts, your child is practicing many concepts:
letter recognition social skills (reading together)
letter sound recognition voice fluctuation
top to bottom progression oral reading skills
title fine motor skills
sentences parts of speech
punctuation vocabulary development
word spacing reading/writing connection
rhyming repetition/memorization skills
word structure listening skills
sentence structure understanding print has meaning
sight word recognition
Beginning readers recognize very few words instantly. Through repeated exposure to the same words, instant recognition grows. Only 100 words make up 50% of the words read, even by adults, so it is important that young readers learn to quickly recognize the words that occur frequently in print. Many of these words will be in your child’s bag of high-frequency word flashcards and can also be found in the emergent readers they will be bringing home to read and practice with you in their homework bags.
Reading these little books over and over will help your child learn the high-frequency words and gives him/her a chance to practice using the strategies we use at school to figure out unfamiliar words.
In our kindergarten classroom, we are beginning to work on the following reading strategies: 1 ) Have your child practice "tracking" the print with his/her finger by pointing to each word and matching one spoken word with one written word. 2 ) Have your child look at the pictures for clues when they are reading new words. 3 ) As they begin to recognize more letter sounds and sight words, cover the picture and sound out the words. Have your child get his/her mouth ready to say the first sound, the middle sound, and the last sound. First, we do it slowly in “turtle talk,” then we say the sounds and stretch them and “leave our voice on” to help us blend the sounds in the word and “say-it-fast.” Looking for little words in big words is also helpful (ex. “and” is in the word “hand”). Most of the books that are sent home have been introduced and practiced at school. Fluency is the key to successful reading. The more your child reads, the more confident he or she will become in school!
Twenty minutes a day is all it takes to build key reading skills! Snuggle up each day with a book. Talk about the pictures and ask your child questions as you read. Share different kinds of books.
Read with expression.
Read favorite books AGAIN and AGAIN!
Celebrate when they read to you!
Thank you for helping your child to develop a love of reading and to become a great reader,
Mrs. Dicks