Helping Your K/1 Child at Home Presented by Karen Madden, M.Ed.

This is important…Everyday just talk to your child! Kids need conversations and to hear new vocabulary so don’t be afraid to use “big” words. -Talk to your child about the shows they watch. Ask them to make predictions. Ask them who is their favorite character or action scene. Ask them to tell you what was the most important part. -Encourage your child to ask questions at school. Kids who ask questions are engaged and will learn more than those who don’t!ask questions

Literacy Activities at Home for Kindergarten and First Grade You read to me and I’ll read to you!  It is important to read with your child daily for at least 15 minutes. Listening to stories read aloud increases a child’s vocabulary significantly.  Reading aloud helps young children understand the way words work in sentences.  Reading with your child next to you (lap time) helps them understand directionality of reading. We go left to right, top to bottom. Interestingly, this is the same way we do the most basic strokes in writing.  Reading simple books over and over may seem boring to you, but to your child it builds confidence, sight words, and the understanding that words create sentences and helps them understand there is a one-to-one correspondence on the page.  Let them struggle a bit-Don’t just give them the answer, ask them what strategies they can use to figure it out.

Phonemic Awareness Tips for Teaching Your Child Phonemic Awareness Phonemic Awareness Tips for Teaching Your Child Phonemic Awareness Read and sing nursery rhymes together! Listening to rhythm and rhyme helps young children develop phonemic awareness. -Play rhyming games-What rhymes with… -Sing songs like Apples & Bananas, Down by the Bay, Katalina, Matilina, Twink a Link that change the beginning sounds orally. -Play with words by changing the beginning sounds of words. Ex Fuzzy Wuzzy, Katie Waitie, baby waby. What word am I thinking? It has three sounds. It begins with a “c” sound and ends with a “t”. It has an “a sound” in the middle. Phonemic Awareness is a foundational building block for good readers. This is the ability to hear sounds, isolate, and manipulate individual phonemes, and identify and produce rhyme.

Phonics at Home-Letter and Sound Recognition Phonics at the most basic level is the identification of letters and sounds. Students then develop an understanding that letters form words, words form sentences, and sentences make stories. Beginning readers need lots of practice with letters and sounds. One early indicator for developing into a good reader is a student’s ability to recognize sounds and letter names with automaticity. Expose your child to as much print as possible. Point out the signs of familiar stores as you drive and ask them what letters or words they recognize. Ex. The big M is for McDonalds or W begins the word for Wendy’s etc.

-Play with ABC puzzles. -Play matching games with letters-upper to lower -Go on a letter or word hunt in magazines, newspapers, etc. -Play “I Spy” while in the car -Look for words that start with a, then b, then c, etc. as you drive. -Use play dough to form letters and words -Use sidewalk chalk to practice letters and words when the weather is nice! -Make an environmental print book -Make an ABC book of familiar people, places, and things and label them together environmental print book Fun ways to practice phonics skills at home so that they don’t even know they are learning

Comprehension-Help your child understand what they read! As you read together daily for at least 15 minutes, stop and talk. Kids need to hear good modeling of reading AND thinking! Questions to Ask Before, During and After Reading Did this story remind you of something that has happened to you? Another story you have read? Before reading a story, talk about what you know about it already. Look at the pictures and talk about what you think will happen. Then stop and discuss if you were correct or incorrect as you read together. As you are reading together, stop and talk about what pictures you have in your mind or what image some words make you think of. When you finish reading a book, ask your child to summarize the story for you. Ask your child to tell why he/she liked or didn’t like the book. What would make it better? How would you change it? Comprehension is critical. Seven keys to comprehension are… 1. Making connections 2. Making predictions 3. Questioning 4. Summarizing 5. Visualization 6. Inferring Meaning 7. Checking yourself for meaning

Resources and Ideas for helping your child at home!  Set aside a quiet time for homework. Whatever time you decide, make it a daily routine.  Read even on the weekend. If you present to your child that reading is important, then your child will believe it too!  Go to the public library together.  Play games together-Board games, chess, checkers, and even computer games! Try madduxreading & madduxmath are the logins. The portaportal has parent links too!