Kindergarten
These Family Activities include easy-to-follow plans to help you support your child's foundational reading skills at home. Materials needed for each Family Activity, such as letter cards, are included. They begin with simpler activities and progress to more difficult ones. You may want to start with the first activity and move to the next when you notice that your child has a firm understanding of the content from that activity. We encourage you to select appropriate activities for your child, and feel free to set aside an activity that seems too difficult. The goal is to engage your child in activities that promote learning in a positive environment, not to induce frustration. The activities should be completed with the child, frequently, with patience, and positive feedback. Using the activities at home will be a fun way to spend family time together!
The Family Literacy Videos show families engaging their child in the Family Activities. The key points about the videos can help you know what to focus on for a specific activity.
The Family Activities were excerpted from a Kindergarten Teacher's Guide to Support Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills, which is free online:
You can also access these videos free online: REL Southeast's K Family Involvement Guide - YouTube
Kindergarten: Recommendation 1: Developing Language
Talking While You Read
Expose your child to the language that is common in books and in schools.
Having a conversation about a book will develop your child's vocabulary and knowledge about the topic of that book. Whether you are reading a fairy tale, a picture book, an informational book, or any other text, you can engage in a discussion as you enjoy reading together.
The best books to use have detailed pictures and are about topics that are interesting to your child. You can use books from your home or borrow a book from your child's classroom library, school library, or the public library. Also, keep in mind that you can access books on laptop computers, tablets, digital reading devices, and smartphones. Websites such as Project Gutenberg provide free access to books and mobile formats especially for smartphones. Don't forget to look through your phone's app store for free apps containing books for children.
To engage your child in conversation, you can use a tool called PEER: Prompt, Evaluate, Expand, and Repeat. See the Talking While You Read tri-fold and Bookmark for an example of how to use PEER.
Featured Videos
Talking While You Read (Bear Says Thanks)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom uses some of the important words, like bare, from the book to ask questions and talk about the book.
- Mom has the Talking While You Read Bookmark in her hand to remind her about the kinds of questions to ask.
- Mom encourages her son to answer questions in complete sentences by modeling how to do so.
- Mom rereads the relevant part of the story if her son doesn't know the answer to a question.
Talking While You Read (Llama Llama and the Bully Goat)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom asks several "wh" questions (who, what, where, when, why, and how) to provide opportunities to engage in a conversation about the book.
- Mom relates the activities in the book to her daughter's life.
- Mom and daughter discuss words and their meanings ("equation", "bully").
The Talking While You Read Trifold includes an overview of how to use PEER. There is also a story with questions placed where they are most helpful to prompt your child. Remember to read the story through one time first with your child. On the second read, use PEER as you ask each question.
You can use the Talking While You Read Bookmark to engage your child in conversation while reading any book.
Supporting Oral Language and Vocabulary Development
Oral language is the way we communicate with others through speaking and listening. Vocabulary knowledge is a crucial part of oral language and includes understanding the meaning of words, how to use them, and how to pronounce them. Speaking and listening to your child every day about books and his or her experiences will help your child expand his or her vocabulary. Children with strong oral language skills and larger vocabularies typically become better readers. The best ways to give your child a strong foundation for learning to read are to read to, talk to, and listen to your child every day. Talk about people you know, places you go, and experiences you have together. Writing with your child also helps with oral language development.
Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer. For example, instead of asking, "Did you have a good day?" ask, "What was your favorite part of school today?" Continue to ask questions about your child's response. If the answer was "Recess," ask, "Who did you play with?" "What did you do?" "How do you play that game?"
When you speak with your child, model speaking in complete sentences and provide details. For example, if your child points to a butterfly and says, "Butterfly!" say, "Yes, that is a monarch butterfly! Aren't her colorful wings beautiful?"
Featured Videos
Dinner Table Talk
Key Points About the Video
- Adults listen and ask open-ended questions to extend the conversation.
- Adults correct children, as needed, and encourage complete sentences.
- Adults ask children to read notes written on napkins to engage them in understanding written messages.
Cooking Conversations
Key Points About the Video
- Children have fun baking cupcakes and talking about what they are doing.
- Caretaker fully involves the children in reading the recipe, gathering ingredients, and making the cupcakes while talking about what they are doing.
- Caretaker asks several questions and encourages both children to engage in the conversation.
Use these questions, activities, and conversation starters to have fun while you talk and write in the kitchen.
Use this resource to make a grocery list with your child. Ask your child questions and engage in conversations while you grocery shop together.
Kindergarten: Recommendation 2: Linking Sounds to Letters
Help your child link sounds in speech to letters in print.
Although speaking and listening may not seem related to learning to read, being aware of sounds in words is very important to reading. This awareness allows children to break apart words orally and use sounds to learn to read and write words. Children first need to become aware of sounds in words without relating those sounds to print. They demonstrate their knowledge using their speaking and listening skills.
You can help your child develop an awareness of sounds in spoken words. Singing silly songs and making up silly words or poems are ways to enhance your child's awareness of sounds. These skills are fun to practice because most children love to play with sounds in words. You can make up silly sentences where most of the words begin with the same sound: Leo the lion liked to lick a lot of lollipops!
There are many types of different sounds in words. For example, one skill is being able to separate words into syllables, or parts, like knowing that the word folder has two syllables, or parts: fold-er. And the word computer has three syllables or parts: com-pu-ter. Being able to separate words into syllables will help children break a word into parts in order to read or spell the word.
Featured Videos
Syllable Sort
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains that a syllable is a word part and provides an example.
- Mom shows her son how to play the game by providing examples.
- Mom encourages her son to clap the word parts when he isn't sure of how many syllables are in the word banana.
Help your child identify syllables in spoken words.
Help your child identify the number of syllables in spoken words.
Read Aloud and Syllable Practice (Silly Sally)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom selects a word and asks her son to clap the parts, or syllables, of the word.
- Mom selects words with different numbers of syllables, such as two or three, to give her son several times to practice counting syllables.
- A few times, Mom asks her son to describe what a word means and repeats his answer in a complete sentence to help build oral language skills.
- Mom is enthusiastic, so sharing the book is enjoyable.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child. Select some words from the book and have your child determine how many syllables are in those words.
- Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
- We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Sounds in Words: Rhyme
There are many different types of sounds in words. For example, rhyming words represent a type of sound relationship between words. Children need to have the ability to recognize when words rhyme. Words rhyme when they have the same ending sound. For example, blue and shoe rhyme and moon and spoon rhyme. When children recognize words that rhyme and can say a word that rhymes with a word they are given, they can use known words to read new words—for example, they can use the known word fall to help read the unfamiliar word wall.
Featured Videos
Rhyme Time
Key Points About the Video
- At the beginning, Mom describes what a rhyme is and shows her son how to play the game.
- Throughout the game, Mom describes the meanings of words, like random and pot.
- Mom explains why words rhyme or don't rhyme
Help your child practice rhyming.
Help your child match rhyming words.\
Read Aloud and Rhyme (Green Eggs and Ham)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom pauses at the end of sentences and encourages her son to say the rhyming word.
- Mom reads with expression to model good reading.
Mom uses the word persistent and describes what it means to help build vocabulary.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child to practice listening for words that rhyme.
- Most Dr. Seuss books (for example, Hop on Pop, Happy Birthday to You!)
- Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
- Room on the Broom by Julie Donaldson
- The Donut Chef by Bob Staake
- Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC by June Sobel
- The Flea's Sneeze by Lynn Downey
- Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
- The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews
Although speaking and listening may not seem related to learning to read, being aware of sounds in words is very important to reading. This awareness allows children to break apart words orally and use sounds to learn to read and write words. Children first need to become aware of sounds in words without relating those sounds to print. They demonstrate their knowledge using their speaking and listening skills.
Being able to recognize the individual sounds in words is the most important skill for learning to read that is related to sound awareness. When you see a letter between forward slashes, /s/, say the sound of that letter. If you see a letter without forward slashes, s, say the name of that letter. An example of phonemic awareness is knowing that the word cat has three separate sounds (/k/ /a/ /t/) and that the first sound in cat is /k/ and the last sound in cat is /t/. Recognizing individual sounds in a word that is spoken will eventually help children "sound out" a word when they begin to learn to read simple words. For example, a child who can hear three separate sounds in sat, /s/ /a/ /t/, can then link a letter to each sound, s a t, and read the word sat.
It is also helpful if children can identify beginning and ending sounds in a word. For example, in the word cat, the beginning sound is /k/ and the ending sound is /at/. In school, we may talk about word families. Word families are groups of words that have the same endings. For example, bat, cat, and sat are all in the same word family.
Featured Videos
Add a Sound to Make a New Word
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains how to play the game and is enthusiastic.
- Since this a listening game, Mom makes sure her son doesn't look at the paper.
- When her son does not say string, Mom helps by saying each part, /st/ /ring/, and then he is able to say string.
What's the First Sound? Song (44.79 KB)
Help your child practice listening for the first sound in a spoken word.
Add a Sound to Make a New Word (44.79 KB)
Help your child practice adding a sound to a spoken word to create a new word.
Saying Individual Sounds in Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains how to play the game and is enthusiastic.
- This is a listening activity, so her son does not look at any letters or words.
- When her son says the letter name, C, instead of the letter sound, /k/, Mom tells him that he would be right if he were spelling the word, but for now, they are just listening to the sounds in words.
Saying Individual Sounds in Words (68.94 KB)
Help your child practice identifying the first, middle, and last sound in a word.
Read Aloud and Individual Sounds in Words (There's a Wocket in My Pocket)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains that the author changed the first sound in words to make up nonsense, or silly, words.
- Mom knows her son isn't familiar with the word sofa, so they talk about what it means.
- Mom has her son repeat some of the words like shelf/zelf and bottle/yottle. This allows him to focus on the first sound that was changed so he not only hears the sounds but says them, too.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child. Ask your child to identify the first, last, and middle sound of selected words.
- There's a Wocket in My Pocket by Dr. Seuss
- Cock-A-Doodle-Moo! by Bernard Most
- Llama Llama Red Pajama by A. Dewdney
- Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein
Letter Names and Letter Sounds
It is important for children to know letter names and letter sounds.
- Letter-name knowledge is recognizing and naming letters. An example of recognizing letters is when you show a child the letters N, A, and S and ask which letter is S, the child points to the S. An example of naming letters is when a child looks at the letter M and orally names that letter.
- Letter-sound knowledge is demonstrated when a child can look at a letter in print and tell you the sound it represents. For example, if you point to the letter F and ask, "What sounds does this letter make?" the child will say, "/f/."
There are many ways to support your child's knowledge of letter names and letter sounds. For example, you can look for a specific letter in a book or in a newspaper and then ask your child the sound that letter represents. You can point out letters on signs while in the car. You can sing the alphabet song while getting ready for school or doing chores at home. You can have your child identify specific letters in a magazine and then practice writing the letters.
Featured Videos
Letter-Naming Practice Using a Letter Arc
Key Points About the Video
- Dad explains the game and does the first one as an example.
- After his son identifies the letter, Dad makes it a bit harder by asking for a word that begins with that letter.
- When his son does not find f right away on the letter arc, Dad helps by saying, "E, F,…"
Letter-Sound Practice Using a Letter Arc
Key Points About the Video
- Dad explains the game and does the first one as an example.
- After his son identifies the letter sound, Dad asks him to say a word that begins with that letter sound.
- Dad hugs his son when his son says hug begins with /h/.
Help your child practice naming letters and saying the sound for each letter.
Short-Vowel Practice
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains the game and does the first one as an example.
- Mom reminds her son that it sometimes helps to say each sound in the word to find the middle sound.
- When her son thinks the middle sound in doll is represented by a, Mom reminds him that a says /a/ and asks which letter says /o/.
Help your child practice short-vowel sounds.
Letter-Sound Writing (Humpty Dumpty)
Key Points About the Video
- This activity can be done with any type of print media—even a newspaper, a magazine, or junk mail!
- Mom points to a sentence and says, "Check this sentence!" after her son misses circling a target letter.
- Her son practices writing the uppercase and lowercase letter that he circled.
- Mom gives her son a high five and tells him how hard he worked!
Help your child practice letter sounds and writing letters.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child. Point to a letter and ask your child to identify the letter name and the letter sound.
- Farm Alphabet Book by Jane Miller
- Kipper's A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure by Nick Inkpen
- Dr. Seuss' A, B, C by Dr. Seuss
- Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Linking Sounds to Letters
An important step in learning to read is being able to connect how words are separated into individual sounds with knowledge of how letters relate to sounds. For example, being able to hear the individual sounds in the word sat, /s/ /a/ /t/, and knowing that s represents /s/, a represents /a/, and t represents /t/. Word-building activities can be used to support your child's learning to read and spell.
Featured Videos
Step Up to Spelling Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom uses a word in a sentence to help her daughter understand the meaning of the word.
- When her daughter mixes up b and d, Mom helps her use a strategy of making a b and a d with her hands in the shape of a bed.
- Mom consistently makes positive comments ("You are so smart!") and gestures (high fives) to encourage her daughter
Help your child practice saying each sound in a word and writing that word.
Help your child say each sound in a word, write the word, and determine if the vowel says its name or not.
Step Up to Writing Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom asks her son to say each sound as he writes the words.
- When her son reads Pete for pet, Mom points to each letter beginning with P and says each sound with him.
- Mom asks her son to explain how he changed bet to set.
- Mom tells her son how proud she is of him for building words, reading words, and writing words.
Help your child practice saying each sound in a word, reading the word, changing one letter in the word to make a new word, and writing the word.
Kindergarten: Recommendation 3: Blending Letters, Recognizing and Reading Words
Help your child blend letters to read words and recognize common word parts and words, and encourage them to write words.
Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. To read a word, children must know the sounds the letters represent in the word and be able to blend those sounds to come up with the correct word. For example, after children know the letter sounds /f/ for f, /a/ for a, and /n/ for n, they learn to blend those sounds together to read the whole word. When they see the word fan, they are able to say,"/f/, /a/, /n/, fan." We call this, blending words.
The Family Resource includes three activities, organized from easier to more difficult: Levels 1, 2, and 3. The Family Resource also includes recommended books that you can read with your child. These books are made up of simple words that your child can practice blending with your help. Maybe take turns reading a page to each other!
Featured Videos
Letter Puzzles
Key Points About the Video
- Dad encourages his son to say each sound as he puts the puzzle together and then blends the sounds to read the word.
- Dad has a positive attitude and tells his son that he is doing a good job.
Help your child put together (blend) letter sounds and read three letter words (fan, not, sun).
Help your child put together (blend) letter sounds and read three letter words (bag, jet, pin).
Help your child put together (blend) letter sounds and read four letter words (soft, nest, lamp).
A word family is a group of words that share the same letter pattern. Look at the first list in the table below. Notice how each word has the same letter pattern, –at at the end of it? Understanding word families can help children read and spell many words. By learning just one letter pattern, like –at, your child can learn many words at the same time!
Look at the –an word family. Notice how each word has the same letter pattern,–an, at the end of it? Look at the –ig word family the table below. Notice how each word has the same letter pattern, –ig, at the end of it?
| –at | –an | –ig |
|---|---|---|
| cat | can | pig |
| sat | ran | wig |
| bat | man | dig |
| rat | fan | big |
| mat | pan | rig |
Featured Videos
Word Family Fun
Key Points About the Video
- Dad makes sure that his son reads the word family –ig, before beginning the game.
- Dad encourages his son to use each word in a sentence to make sure that his son understands what it means.
Help your child build and read words using word families (_at, _ig, _ug).
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that include word families that you can share with your child.
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
- Now I'm Reading by Nora Gaydos (Level 1)
- Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
- Word Family Tales (a series) by Liza Charlesworth
Once children know letter sounds, such as the letter s says /s/, and how to blend, they can read many words! Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. For example, when children see the word sun, they are able to say, "/s/, /u/, /n/, sun."
There are many ways to support your child in reading words. For example, provide opportunities for your child to practice reading words in a list or on flashcards. It is also important for children to practice reading words in sentences and stories.
Featured Videos
Let's Read Words and Sentences
Key Points About the Video
- Dad encourages his son to point to the words as his son reads them.
- Dad and son have fun and laugh at the silly sentences.
Help your child read a list of words and then read those words in silly sentences.
High-frequency word are words that appear frequently in books. Examples of high-frequency words are the, was, very, up. It is important that children learn to read high-frequency words automatically. When a child doesn't hesitate in reading a word and pronounces it correctly, then he or she knows the word automatically. To become good readers, children must be able to read high-frequency words automatically.
There are many activities that families can do to help their children read high-frequency words automatically. For example, use the provided high-frequency word cards as flash cards and time your child as he or she reads a stack of them. You can place words that were challenging for your child in a separate pile so you know which words need more practice. The goal is to read more words correctly in less time each time you engage in the activity. Practice is the key. The more your child reads and writes high-frequency words, the better he or she will get at reading them automatically.
Featured Videos
Memory Using High-Frequency
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains the game first and encourages her son to read each word as he turns over the card.
- Mom uses high-frequency words in sentences to help build vocabulary.
- Mom explains the meanings of two and to and where and wear.
- Mom asks her son to read the words even when it is her turn.
- Mom uses the memory cards as flashcards to give her son more practice.
Help your child practice high-frequency words (play, one, what) while playing memory.
Sometimes children want to read books that have words that are challenging to read but that are important for understanding what they read. For example, many children love to learn about dinosaurs but would have a hard time reading about dinosaurs because the words are too challenging. Tyrannosaurus rex would be considered challenging to read but are important words in a book about dinosaurs. These words may be challenging because the child either has not learned the sound-spelling pattern contained in the word or the word contains irregular sound-spelling patterns as in the words pigeon or villain.
Just because a book contains challenging words, it doesn't mean that you can't read it with your child. Before reading a book with your child, skim it to see if there are any challenging and important words. Select three such words that appear most frequently in the book. Introduce the words to your child before you read the book. Point to each word in the book and tell your child how to pronounce it and what it means. Ask your child to point to the word and say it.
Featured Videos
Challenging and Important Words (I Want to Be a Vet)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom points at the word veterinarian and asks her son to repeat it. They talk about the meaning of veterinarian.
- Mom selects three challenging words, examined, injured, and clever, to discuss with her son before they read the book. She shows him each word in the book, asks him to say it, and explains its meaning.
- Mom points out the challenging words and reviews their meanings while she reads to her son.
Follow the steps on this bookmark to discuss challenging and important words with your child as you read books together.
A list of suggested science books that include challenging and important words to read with your child.
- Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley
- On Earth by Brian Karas
- Tyrannosaurus Rex by A.L. Wegwerth
- About Fish: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill
- The Water Cycle by Rebecca Olien
Kindergarten: Recommendation 4: Reading for Understanding
Support your child in reading accurately, at a conversational pace, and with expression so they understand what they read.
As your child learns to read, it won't be long before he or she is reading sentences, paragraphs, and books! As your child practices reading out loud, it is important to help him or her read words accurately and quickly. When children read words accurately, it helps them understand what they are reading, and as children practice reading, they read words more efficiently by increasing accuracy and rate. When children can read words correctly and fairly quickly, they can focus their attention on understanding what they are reading instead of trying to identify each word.
There are two important things families can do to help their child read words correctly and quickly.
- Read out loud to your child every day! Reading to your child can be a special time to spend together. It will show him or her that reading is important and fun! Reading aloud will help your child understand what reading should sound like and provides a model of how to read words accurately and with expression. Reading with the right expression means that you are talking like the characters in the book—your voice sounds excited when the character is excited or sad when the character is sad.
- Encourage and help your child as he or she reads out loud. You might need to help your child when he or she comes to a word that is difficult to read. You might provide a reminder by saying, "Let's say each sound in this word and then put the sounds together to read it." Any reminder that encourages your child to use what he or she already knows to figure out the word can be helpful. Sometimes, showing your child how to say each sound and then reading the word may be helpful. As you help your child, remember to be patient because reading is a new skill that takes a lot of practice. Be sure to let your child know that you are proud of his or her progress! Providing support and encouragement will help your child improve in reading and become an independent reader.
When choosing books for your child to read out loud, select books that are of interest to your child, are not too easy or too hard, and are linked to his or her experiences or concerns. For example, if your child is interested in cars or is afraid of the dark, it can be helpful to select books on those topics.
Featured Videos
When I Read to You (Bear Snores On)
Key Points About the Video
- Older brother reads at a conversational pace.
- Older brother reads with expression, changing his voice for each character.
- Brothers laugh at silly parts of the book.
When I Read To You (Book!)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom points out to her son the exclamation mark in the title of the book, and they talk about how to read the title, Book!
- Mom and her son talk about the meaning of the word present.
- Mom points to a picture and asks her son what he thinks it is and then restates his answer in a complete sentence: "The cat is attacking a blanket."
When You Read to Me (Cat Traps)
Key Points About the Video
- Older brother points to each word that his younger brother does not read correctly and encourages him to "sound it out."
- Older brother encourages his younger brother to point to the words as his younger brother reads and explains why it is important.
- Older brother tells his younger brother that he did a great job reading the book.
- Older brother asks his younger brother questions about the book to make sure his younger brother understood what he read.
When You Read to Me (This is a Peach)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reads the title of the book with her daughter.
- When her daughter makes a mistake and corrects herself, Mom tells her, "I like the way you went back when you realized you didn't say the correct word here. I like the way you went back and fixed that. Nice job!"
On one side of this bookmark are tips to use as you read out loud to your child. On the other side are tips for when your child reads out loud to you.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child to model reading words correctly, at a conversational pace, and with expression.
- AH HA! by Jeff Mack
- How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
- It's Time for Bed by Mem Fox
- Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Williams
- Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
- My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Experienced readers know when what they are reading does not make sense because they have misread a word. Once they realize that they have misread a word, experienced readers can correct their mistake. Beginning readers don't always notice when they misread a word because they don't always pay attention to what they are reading. So, it is important to show children how to recognize misread words when they read. A reader should think about what he or she is reading and decide whether it makes sense or not, that is, self-monitor. We also need to show children how to self-correct when they misread a word. The ability to self-monitor and self-correct will help children understand what they read and become better readers.
Families can help children monitor what they read and make corrections when they misread words. As you read to your child, you can provide examples of how to recognize when words are misread by "thinking out loud." You can say things like, "That didn't make sense. I'm going to read that sentence again." When your child reads to you and misreads a word, ask her to stop and see if she can correct the error. If not, reread the sentence with the missed word exactly as your child read it and ask, "Did that make sense?" If your child does not self-correct, read the word and have her reread it. Then have her read the sentence correctly.
Featured Videos
Does That Make Sense? (Just Grandma and Me)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom points to the words as she reads them to encourage her son to pay attention to the print, not just the pictures.
- Mom asks questions and restates her son's answers in complete sentences: "It's blowing the umbrella away."
- Mom reads some words incorrectly on purpose to show her son how to think about what he is reading and correct his mistake: "I wished them off" was changed to "I washed them off."
Help your child pay attention to what they read and self-correct when a word is misread.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud to you while you help your child recognize and correct misread words.
- Now I'm Reading by Nora Gaydos (Pre-reader and Level 1)
- Starfall Books: http://more2.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-toread/load.htm
- Bob Books: https://www.bobbooks.com
- Real Kids Readers (Level 1)
Oral reading practice is when children read out loud. As children read out loud, it is important to have a more proficient reader listen and offer help when needed. As children read out loud, they get better at reading words correctly, quickly, and with the right expression (fluently). Reading words quickly means reading them at the same pace at which we talk. When you read with the right expression, you understand what commas, periods, and question marks mean. Reading with expression shows that you understand what you read when, for example, your voice expresses excitement when a character is excited. When children read fluently, they can focus their attention on understanding what they read rather than trying to figure out how to read the words. The more children practice reading out loud with support, the better reader they will become!
There are many ways to support your child in oral reading practice. You can echo read and read together.
- Echo reading means that you read part of a book out loud and then your child reads the same part out loud. Thus, your child echoes what you read. As you echo read with your child, make sure that he or she follows along while you read by looking at the words as you read them. Your child should point to the words as he or she reads the same thing you read. This is to make sure your child is paying attention to the words and not just repeating what you say.
- Reading together means you and your child read the same thing out loud at the same time. When you read at the same time, make sure that your child follows along by having him or her point to each word. You can slow your pace of reading a little when you practice reading at the same time. Always offer positive encouragement, and let your child know how proud you are that he or she is practicing reading.
Featured Videos
Echo Reading (Little Blue Truck)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reads with expression and encourages her son to point to the words as he reads.
- Mom reminds her son to read the words, not just repeat what she reads.
- When her son struggles with the word dump, Mom points to it and says the first sound, /d/.
- Mom explains that honk is said louder than the other words because the letters in the printed word are larger than the other words
Reading Together (Buzz Said the Bee)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom points to the words as she and her son read together.
- Mom slows the pace of reading a bit but reads as fluently as possible.
- Mom describes to her son the meaning of the important words scat and weep.
Use this bookmark as a reminder of the importance of reading every day with children. One side of the bookmark describes echo reading and the other side describes reading together.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books to echo read with your child.
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
- Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
- You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman
First Grade
These videos and activities provide families with information about how to support children as they practice foundational reading skills at home.
Learning to read begins at home through everyday parent-child interactions, long before children attend school. Your continued support of literacy development throughout elementary school positively affects your child's reading ability.
These Family Activities include easy-to-follow plans to help you support your child's foundational reading skills at home. Materials needed for each Family Activity, such as letter cards, are included. They begin with simpler activities and progress to more difficult ones. You may want to start with the first activity and move to the next when you notice that your child has a firm understanding of the content from that activity. We encourage you to select appropriate activities for your child, and feel free to set aside anything that seems too difficult. The goal is to engage your child in activities that promote learning in a positive environment, not to induce frustration. The activities should be completed with the child, frequently, with patience, and positive feedback. Using the activities at home will be a fun way to spend family time together!
The Family Literacy Videos show families engaging their child in the Family Activities just described. The key points about the videos help you know what to focus on for a specific activity.
The activities were excerpted from a First Grade Teacher's Guide to Support Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills, which is free online:
You can also access these videos free online: REL Southeast's 1st Grade Family Involvement Guide - YouTube
First Grade: Recommendation 1: Developing Language
Expose your child to the language that is common in books and in schools.
Having a conversation about a book will develop your child's vocabulary and knowledge about the topic of that book. Whether you are reading a fairy tale, a picture book, an informational book, or any other text, you can engage in a discussion as you enjoy reading together.
The best books to use have detailed pictures and are about topics that are interesting to your child. You can use books from your home or borrow a book from your child's classroom library, school library, or the public library. Also, keep in mind that you can access books on laptop computers, tablets, digital reading devices, and smartphones. Websites such as Project Gutenberg provide free access to books and mobile formats especially for smartphones. Don't forget to look through your phone's app store for free apps containing books for children.
To engage your child in conversation, you can use a tool called PEER: Prompt, Evaluate, Expand, and Repeat. See the Talking While You Read tri-fold and Bookmark for an example of how to use PEER.
Featured Videos
Talking While You Read (The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom continually uses the word round to help her daughter build vocabulary.
- Mom restates her daughter's answers in complete sentences to model oral language skills.
- Mom uses the Talking While You Read Bookmark to remind herself of kinds of questions to ask
The Talking While You Read Trifold includes an overview of how to use PEER. There is also a story with questions placed where they are most helpful to prompt your child. Remember to read the story through one time first with your child. On the second read, use PEER as you ask each question.
You can use the Talking While You Read Bookmark to engage your child in conversation while reading any book.
Oral language is the way we communicate with others through speaking and listening. Vocabulary knowledge is a crucial part of oral language and includes understanding the meaning of words, how to use them, and how to pronounce them. Speaking and listening to your child every day about books and his or her experiences will help your child expand his or her vocabulary. Children with strong oral language skills and larger vocabularies typically become better readers. The best ways to give your child a strong foundation for learning to read are to read to, talk to, and listen to your child every day. Talk about people you know, places you go, and experiences you have together. Writing with your child also helps with oral language development.
Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer. For example, instead of asking, "Did you have a good day?" ask, "What was your favorite part of school today?" Continue to ask questions about your child's response. If the answer was "Recess," ask, "Who did you play with?" "What did you do?" "How do you play that game?"
When you speak with your child, model speaking in complete sentences and provide details. For example, if your child points to a butterfly and says, "Butterfly!" say, "Yes, that is a monarch butterfly! Aren't her colorful wings beautiful?"
Featured Videos
Language Development in the Kitchen
Key Points About the Video
- Children have fun baking brownies and planning to write a welcome note for new neighbors.
- Mom fully involves children in reading the recipe, gathering the ingredients, and making brownies while talking about what they are doing.
- Mom asks many questions and encourages both children to engage in the conversation.
Use these questions, activities, and conversation starters to have fun while you talk and write in the kitchen.
Use this resource to make a grocery list with your child. Ask your child questions and engage in conversations while you grocery shop together.
First Grade: Recommendation 2: Linking Sounds to Letters
Help your child link sounds in speech to letters in print.
Although speaking and listening may not seem related to learning to read, being aware of sounds in words is very important to reading. This awareness allows children to break apart words orally and use sounds to learn to read and write words. Children first need to become aware of sounds in words without relating those sounds to print. They demonstrate their knowledge using their speaking and listening skills.
You can help your child develop an awareness of sounds in spoken words. Singing silly songs and making up silly words or poems are ways to enhance your child's awareness of sounds. These skills are fun to practice because most children love to play with sounds in words. You can make up silly sentences where most of the words begin with the same sound: Leo the lion liked to lick a lot of lollipops!
There are many types of different sounds in words. For example, you can separate a word into its onset and rime. The onset is the part of a word before the vowel. The rime is the part of a word including the vowel and the string of letters that follows. In the word sun, /s/ is the onset and /un/ is the rime. In the word ring, /r/ is the onset and /ing/ is the rime. In the word stop, /st/ is the onset and /op/ is the rime.
Featured Videos
Onset and Rime Picture Cards
Key Points About the Video
- Mom has her daughter review the names of the pictures before beginning the activity to make sure she knows the name of each picture.
- Mom offers positive encouragement throughout the activity (e.g. Good! You did that well! You said the onset and rime correctly! You got that, girl!).
Help your child take apart and put together the onset and rime of a spoken word.
Being able to separate and put together individual sounds in spoken words will help your child become a better reader and speller. If your child can hear the individual sounds in a word and put those sounds together, it will help him or her connect those sounds to letters when he or she reads and spells.
Featured Videos
Say and Slide Individual Sounds in Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains the activity and shows an example before she asks her daughter to try it.
- Mom is patient and shows her daughter how to do the task when she has a difficult time with the word paper.
- Mom tells her daughter that she worked hard and did a good job.
Help your child separate and put together individual sounds of a spoken word.
Being able to separate and put together individual sounds in spoken words will help your child become a better reader and speller. If your child can hear the individual sounds in a word and put those sounds together, it will help him or her connect those sounds to letters when he or she reads and spells.
- The beginning sound of a word is the first sound you hear when you say the word. The first sound in soap is /s/.
- The middle sound of a word is the sound you hear in the middle when you say the word. The middle sound in soap is /o/.
- The ending sound of a word is the last sound you hear when you say the word. The last sound in soap is /p/.
Featured Videos
First Sound? Middle Sound? Last Sound?
Key Points About the Video
- Mom asks her daughter to explain her answers.
- Mom has her daughter identify the sound that was the same in two words and tell whether it was the first, middle, or last sound in the words.
- Mom provides positive feedback throughout the activity.
Help your child compare two spoken words, recognize their common sound, and identify the position of that common sound (first, middle, or last sound).
It is important for children to know letter names and letter sounds. Letter name knowledge is recognizing and naming letters. An example of recognizing letters is when you show a child the letters N, A, and S and ask which letter is S, the child points to the S. An example of naming letters is when a child looks at the letter M and orally names that letter.
Letter sound knowledge is demonstrated when a child can look at a letter in print and tell you the sound it represents. For example, if you point to the letter F and ask, "What sound does this letter make?" The child will say, "/f/."
The vowels are a, e, i, o, u. Each vowel has a short sound and a long sound. The short sound of each vowel is: a, /a /; e, /e/; i, /i/; o, /o/; u, /u/. The long sound of each vowel is when the vowel says its name, a, e, i, o, u. The other letters of the alphabet are called consonants. For example, B, C, and D are consonants.
Featured Videos
Consonant and Short Vowel Sound Practice Using Junk Mail
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains the activity and provides an example for her son by saying the letter name and the letter–sound.
- Mom and son laugh and have fun with the activity.
Help your child practice identifying the sound for specific letters.
Books to Share
Suggested books to practice letter names and letter sounds. As you share the book, periodically point to a letter and ask your child to say the letter name and the letter sound.
- LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
- Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack: An Alphabetic Adventure by Doreen Cronin
- Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
- Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types by Sharon Werner
- I Stink! by Kate and Jim McMullen
When children know a few letter sounds, they are encouraged to blend them together to read and spell words. For example, fl says /fl/ as in flag and st says /st/ as in stop. If your child knows that s says /s/ and t says /t/, then they blend, or put together, those two sounds, /st/.
flag
stop
Sometimes, there are two letters that make one sound. For example, ch says /ch/ as in cheese and sh says /sh/ as in shop. Th has two different sounds. In the word that, th says /th/ where your vocal cords vibrate, and the sound is said out loud. In the word thin, th is whispered and your vocal cords do not vibrate.
cheese
shop
that
thin
Featured Videos
Letter–Sound Practice and Building Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom focuses on helping her son blend individual sounds together to spell and read the words.
- fl is a constant blend. It has two sounds, /f/ and /l/. This child knows each of these letter sounds, so is able to blend them together to spell the word flag.
- br is a constant blend. It has two sounds, /b/ and /r/. This child knows each of these letter sounds, so is able to blend them together to spell the word brag.
- Mom talked about the meanings of the words to help build vocabulary.
Help your child practice changing the beginning sound or sounds of a word to build a new word.
An important step in learning to read is being able to connect how words are separated into individual sounds with knowledge of how letters relate to sounds. For example, when you are able to hear the individual sounds in the word sat, /s/ /a/ /t/ and know that s represents /s/, a represents /a/ and t represents /t/, you are linking letters to sounds. This is critical to understand and be able to do in the process of learning to read.
When we have a word like can and we add an e at the end, the word changes to cane. We call this the silent e rule. We do not say the sound of e; it is silent. The silent e also changes the vowel before it to a long vowel. A vowel is long when it says its letter name. Can has a short a, /a/. But when we add the silent e to the end, /a/ changes to /a/. Other examples include mad/made, rid/ride, hop/hope.
Featured Videos
Spelling and Reading Words With Silent e
Key Points About the Video
- Mom offers positive encouragement (That's right! Excellent!).
- Mom has her son use words in a sentence to make sure he knows their meanings.
- Mom has her son read the list of words at the end of the activity for another opportunity to practice reading.
Help your child apply the silent e rule to writing and reading words.
Word-changing activities can be used to help support your child's learning to read and spell. Word changing activities include using letters in which you know the sounds to build a word. Then, you change a letter or letters to change the word. Word changing can be fun for children and helps them become better spellers and readers.
Featured Videos
Change a Letter, Change the Word
Key Points About the Video
- Caretaker is encouraging (Great! You got this!).
- Caretaker uses words in sentences and talks about the meanings of words.
- Caretaker is patient and breaks the task down into small steps (spell, write word, change letters, write new word).
Help your child change a letter or letters in a given word to spell a new word.
First Grade: Recommendation 3: Blending Letters, Recognizing and Reading Words
Help your child blend letters to read words and recognize common word parts and words, and encourage them to write words.
Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. To read a word, children must know the sounds the letters represent in the word and be able to blend those sounds to come up with the correct word. For example, after children know the letter sounds /f/ for f, /a/ for a, and /n/ for n, they learn to blend those sounds together to read the whole word. When they see the word fan, they are able to say, "/f/, /a/, /n/, fan." We call this, blending words.
There are three Family Activities for blending words, organized from easier to more difficult: Levels 1, 2, and 3.
Featured Videos
Word Puzzles
Key Points About the Video
- The caretaker encourages the child to say each letter–sound that he selects to spell the word.
- As the child identifies letter–sounds and blends each word, the caretaker provides positive feedback.
- The caretaker makes sure the child knows what each word means by asking the child to use the word in a sentence or by explaining what the word means.
Help your child put together (blend) letter sounds and read three letter words (hop, pet, tub).
Help your child put together (blend) letter sounds and read four letter words (spot, flag, twig).
Help your child put together (blend) letter sounds and read five letter words (trunk, frost, spend).
Books to Share
Suggested books that you can read with your child. These books are made up of simple words that your child can practice blending with your help. While your child reads, support him or her in blending the sounds when needed. To blend, say each letter sound in the word in the order they appear and then read the whole word. For example, /s/, /u/, /n/, sun. Maybe take turns reading a page to each other!
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
- Step Into Reading: http://www.stepintoreading.com
- I Can Read: https://www.icanread.com
Sound-spelling patterns consist of letters that are often combined to make a specific sound. Look at these common sound-spelling patterns: ch, sh, th. These are called sound-spelling patterns because each time these letters are together, they make the same sound. For example, when c and h are together, it makes the sound, /ch/ as in chop. Look at the first list in the table below. Notice how each word has the same sound-spelling pattern, ch as in chop, hunch, chat. Did you notice that ch can be at the beginning or end of a word? Review the rest of the table.
| ch | sh | th |
|---|---|---|
| chop | fresh | this |
| hunch | shop | thick |
| champ | fish | with |
Featured Videos
Sound-Spelling Pattern Word Sort
Key Points About the Video
- Mom encouraged her son to read the words after he sorted them under the sound-spelling pattern.
- Mom talked about the meaning of words to help build vocabulary.
- Mom told her son that she is proud of him.
Help your child sort words by ch, sh, or th sound-spelling pattern.
Help your child sort words ar, er, ir, or, or ur sound-spelling pattern.
Understanding common word parts like base words, prefixes, and suffixes will help children break words into smaller, meaningful word parts, which can help them read, write, and understand more challenging words.
The word help is called a base word because it can stand alone and has meaning. It is also called a base word because we can add to it to change the word. For example, we can add the ending -ful, for the word helpful. When we add a word part to the end of a word, it is called a suffix. We can also add a word part to the beginning of a base word. When we add a word part to the beginning of a base word, it is called a prefix. For example, the prefix un- can be added to helpful to make the word unhelpful.
| Word | = | Prefix | + | Base Word | + | Suffix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unhelpful | = | un | + | help | + | ful |
Featured Videos
Prefix, Base Word, Suffix
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains base words, prefixes, and suffixes.
- Mom talks about the meanings of the words and uses them in sentences to help build vocabulary.
- Mom says words in parts to help her son determine the base word, prefix, and suffix
Help your child break words into common word parts (base words, prefixes, suffixes) to practice reading and spelling longer words.
Once children know letter sounds, like the letter s says /s/, and how to blend, they can read many words! Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. For example, when children see the word soil, they are able to say, "/s/, /oi/, /l/, soil."
There are many ways to support your child in reading words. For example, provide opportunities for your child to practice reading words in a list or on flashcards. It is also important for children to practice reading words in sentences and stories.
Featured Videos
Let's Read Words and Sentences
Key Points About the Video
- Mom encourages her son to point to the words as he reads.
- When her son has difficulty with a word, Mom points to the sound-spelling, reminds him what is says, asks him to read the word, and then read the whole sentence (oi, /oi/, noise; o, /o/, slop).
- Mom reminds her son to pause a little longer when he sees a period, so the words don't all run together.
- Mom asked questions after each paragraph to make sure her son understood what he read.
Help your child read words in a list and then read a paragraph that contains those words.
High-frequency words are words that appear frequently in books. Examples of high-frequency words are again, every, know, could. It is important that children learn how to read high-frequency words automatically. When a child doesn't hesitate to read a word and pronounces it correctly, then he or she knows the word automatically. To become good readers, children must be able to read high-frequency words automatically. Practice is the key. The more your child reads and writes high-frequency words, the better he or she will get at reading them automatically.
There are many activities that families can do to help their children read high-frequency automatically.
- Show your child the high-frequency word of. Have your child say the word, write the word, and then say the word again.
- Use the provided high-frequency word cards as flash cards and time your child as he or she reads a stack of them. You can place words that were challenging for your child in a separate pile, so you know which words need more practice. The goal is to read more words correctly in less time each time you engage in the activity.
Featured Videos
Memory Using High-Frequency Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom tells her son she is proud of him for practicing reading high-frequency words.
- Mom reminds her son to read each word on every card he flips over.
- Mom uses high-frequency cards as flashcards to provide her son another opportunity to practice.
Help your child practice high-frequency words (again, know, some) while playing memory.
Sometimes children want to read books that have words that are challenging to read but important for understanding what they read. For example, many children love to learn about dinosaurs but would have a hard time reading about dinosaurs because the words are too challenging. Tyrannosaurus rex would be considered challenging to read, but are important words in a book about dinosaurs. These words may be challenging because the child either has not learned the soun-spelling pattern contained in the word or the word contains irregular sound-spelling patterns as in the words pigeon or villain.
Just because a book contains challenging words, it doesn't mean that you can't read it with your child. Before reading a book with your child, skim it to see if there are any challenging and important words. Select three such words that appear most frequently in the book. Introduce the words to your child before you read the book. Point to each word in the book and tell your child how to pronounce it and what it means. Ask your child to point to the word and say it.
Featured Videos
Challenging and Important Words (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reviews the meaning of important words (electric blanket, strike, neutral) before reading the book.
- Mom asks questions and talks about the meanings of important words as she reads to make sure her son is understanding the book.
Follow the steps on this bookmark to discuss challenging and important words with your child as you read books together.
Books to Share
A list of suggested biographies to read with your child. Use the provided bookmark as a reminder to talk about challenging, important words that appear often in the book.
- Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig by Stephen Krensky
- Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
- Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier
- Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull
First Grade: Recommendation 4: Reading for Understanding
Support your child in reading accurately, at a conversational pace, and with expression so they understand what they read.
As your child moves through first grade and continues to learn to read, it won't be long before he or she is reading sentences, paragraphs, and books! As your child practices reading out loud, it is important to help him or her to read words correctly and quickly. When children read words accurately, it helps them understand what they are reading, and as children practice reading, they read words more efficiently by increasing accuracy and rate. When children can read words correctly and fairly quickly, they can focus their attention on understanding what they are reading instead of trying to identify each word.
There are two important things families can do to help their child read words correctly and quickly.
- Read out loud to your child every single day! Reading to your child can be a special time to spend together. It will show him or her that reading is important and fun! Reading aloud will help your child understand what reading should sound like, and provides a model of how to read words correctly, quickly, and with expression! Reading with the right expression means that you are talking like the characters in the book--your voice sounds excited when the character is excited or sad when the character is sad.
- Encourage and help your child as he or she reads out loud. You may need to help your child when she or he comes to a word that is difficult to read. You might provide a reminder by saying, "Let's say each sound in this word and then put the sounds together to read it." Any reminder that encourages your child to use what he or she already knows to figure out the word can be helpful. Sometimes, showing your child how to say each sound and then read the word may be helpful. As you read with your child, remember to be patient as reading is a skill that takes a lot of practice. Be sure to let your child know that you are proud of his or her progress! The support and encouragement you give your child will help him or her improve in reading and become an independent reader.
When choosing books for your child to read out loud, select books that are of interest to your child, are not too easy or too hard, and are linked to his or her experiences or concerns. For instance, if your child is interested in cars or is afraid of the dark, it can be helpful to select books on those topics.
Featured Videos
When I Read to You (Tacky the Penguin)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reads at a conversational pace, or at the same rate that we talk.
- Mom reads with expression, changing the tone of her voice to match the characters feelings in the book.
- Mom asks questions and talks about the meanings of words that are important to know to understand the story (companion, odd, greet, graceful, puzzled, dreadfully).
When You Read to Me (Sheep Out to Eat)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom encourages her son to point to the words as he reads.
- Mom helps her son read the word spinach by reading it for him because it is a word he has not read before.
- Mom asks about the meanings of words (feed, waiter).
- Mom asks questions to make sure her son is understanding what he is reading.
On one side of this bookmark are tips to use as you read out loud to your child. On the other side are tips for when your child reads out loud to you.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child to model reading words correctly, at a conversational pace, and with expression.
- Fly Guy Book Series by Tedd Arnold
- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
- The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne: https://www.magictreehouse.com
- Pete the Cat Series by James Dean
Experienced readers know when what they are reading does not make sense because they have misread a word. Once they realize they misread a word, experienced readers can correct their mistake. Students are still beginning readers in first grade, and beginning readers don't always notice when they misread a word because they don't always pay attention to what they are reading. So, it is important to show children how to recognize misread words when they read. A reader should think about what he or she is reading and decide whether it makes sense or not, that is, self-monitor. We also need to show children how to self-correct when they misread a word. Improving the ability to self-monitor and self-correct will help children understand what they read and become better readers.
Families can help children monitor what they read and make corrections when words are misread. As you read to your child, you can provide examples of how to recognize when words are misread by "thinking out loud." You can say things like, "That didn't make sense. I'm going to read that sentence again." When your child reads to you and misreads a word, ask her to stop and see if she can correct the error. If not, reread the sentence with the missed word exactly how your child read it and ask, "Did that make sense?" If your child does not self-correct, read the word and have her reread it. Then have her read the sentence correctly.
Featured Videos
Does That Make Sense?
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reminds her son that everyone makes mistakes and she will help him fix any mistakes.
- Mom asks her son to reread the word he missed (eat) correctly and then read the whole sentence again for another opportunity to practice.
- Mom makes sure what her son read makes sense to him by ensuring each word was read correctly and asking him questions about what he read.
Help your child pay attention to what they read and self-correct when a word is misread.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud to you while you help your child recognize and correct misread words.
- Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
- Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel
- If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff
- Splat the Cat Series by Rob Scotton
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Oral reading practice is when children read out loud. It is very important that students in first grade have many opportunities for oral reading practice. As children read out loud, it is important to have a more proficient reader that listens and offers help when needed. As children read out loud, they get better at reading words correctly, quickly, and with the right expression (fluently). Reading words quickly means reading them at the same pace in which we talk. When you read with the right expression, you understand what commas, periods, and question marks mean. Reading with expression shows that you understand what you read when you, for example, change your voice to be excited when a character is excited. When children read fluently, they can focus their attention on understanding what they read, rather than trying to figure out how to read the words. The more children practice reading out loud with support, the better readers they will become!
There are many ways to support your child in oral reading practice. You can echo read and read together.
- Echo reading means the more proficient reader reads part of a book out loud and then the child reads the same part out loud. Thus, the child echoes what you read. As you echo read with your child, make sure that he or she follows along while you read by looking at the words as you read them. Your child should point to the words as he or she reads the same thing you read. This is to make sure your child is paying attention to the words and not just repeating what you say.
- Reading together means you and your child read the same thing out loud at the same time. When you read at the same time, make sure your child follows along by pointing to each word. You can slow your pace of reading down a little when you read at the same time. Always offer positive encouragement and let your child know how proud you are because he or she is practicing reading.
The encouragement and support children receive as they read out loud will help them become more fluent and confident readers. Be patient as children learn to read and remind them often of how proud you are of them for practicing reading.
Featured Videos
Echo Reading (Sheep in a Jeep)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reads at a conversational pace and with expression to model fluent reading.
- Mom encourages her son to point to the words as he reads and reviews words (leap, tug, shrug, heap) to make sure he understand what they are reading.
- Mom tells her son she is proud of him for practicing reading.
Reading Together (The Pout-Pout Fish)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom points to the words as she and her son read together.
- Mom asks about and explains important words (pout, frown, glum) to build vocabulary and make sure her son understands what they are reading.
- Mom offers positive support by having fun with the book and telling her son he did a good job reading.
Use this bookmark as a reminder of the importance of reading every day with children. One side of the bookmark describes Echo Reading and the other side describes Reading Together.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud to you as you Echo Read and Read Together.
- Corduroy by Don Freeman
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
- You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Second Grade
These activities provide families with information about how to support children as they practice foundational reading skills at home.
Learning to read begins at home through everyday parent-child interactions, long before children attend school. Your continued support of literacy development throughout elementary school positively affects your child's reading ability.
These Family Activities include easy-to-follow plans to help you support your child's foundational reading skills at home. Materials needed for each Family Activity, such as word cards, are included. They begin with simpler activities and progress to more difficult ones. You may want to start with the first activity and move to the next when you notice that your child has a firm understanding of the content from that activity. We encourage you to select appropriate activities for your child, and feel free to set aside anything that seems too difficult. The goal is to engage your child in activities that promote learning in a positive environment, not to induce frustration. The activities should be completed with the child, frequently, with patience, and positive feedback. Using the activities at home will be a fun way to spend family time together!
The activities were excerpted from a Second Grade Teacher's Guide to Support Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills, currently under development, which is free online:
You can also access these videos free online: REL Southeast's 2nd Grade Family Involvement - YouTube
Second Grade: Recommendation 1: Developing Language
Expose your child to the formal language that is common in books and in school.
Having a conversation about a book will develop your child's vocabulary and build knowledge about the topic of that book. Whether you are reading a fairy tale, a picture book, an informational book, or any other text, you can engage in a discussion as you enjoy reading together.
Informational books contain factual information, like an article about the water cycle, a book about animals that hibernate, or a biography, which is a description about someone's life. Reading and talking about informational books can help your child develop their language and improve skills like problem-solving.
It is best to choose books about topics which are interesting to your child. You can read books from your home or borrow a book from your child's classroom library, school library, or the public library. You can also access books on laptop computers, tablets, digital reading devices, and smartphones. Websites such as Project Gutenberg provide free access to books and mobile formats especially for smartphones. Don't forget to look through your smartphone's app store for free apps containing books for children.
To talk while you read, use a tool called CROWD to ask different types of questions to prompt a discussion about a book. See the Talking While You Read Tri-folds for how to use CROWD. The texts in the tri-folds are arranged from easiest to most difficult (Tri-fold 1, Tri-fold 2, and Tri-fold 3).
Featured Videos
Talking While You Read Using CROWD
Key Points About the Video
- Mom encourages her son to point to the words as he reads because she knows that his accuracy is better when he points to the words.
- Mom asks different types of questions using CROWD (Completion, Recall, Wh, and Distancing).
- Mom encourages son to look back at the text to find the answers to the questions.
The Talking While You Read Trifold includes an overview of how to use CROWD. There is also a text with questions placed where they are most helpful to prompt your child.
The Talking While You Read Trifold includes an overview of how to use CROWD. There is also a text with questions placed where they are most helpful to prompt your child.
The Talking While You Read Trifold includes an overview of how to use CROWD. There is also a text with questions placed where they are most helpful to prompt your child.
Books to Share
Take turns reading or listen to your child read. Stop after each page or so to ask questions to prompt discussion. Use a tool called CROWD to ask different types of questions to prompt a discussion about the book.
- Completion Ask your child to complete a sentence or a phrase from a book you are reading.
- Recall Ask about details of what you read.
- Open-ended Ask about a picture in the book.
- W- Ask wh questions that begin with Who, What, Where, When, or Why.
- Distancing Ask questions that relate something in the story to your child's life.
- Charlotte the Scientist is Squished by Camille Andros
- The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive by Scholastic
- There's No Place Like Space: All About our Solar System (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library) by Tish Rabe
- Pop! by Meghan McCarthy
- Smart About Chocolate: A Sweet History by Sandra Markle
Stories are written for enjoyment and are typically not true. An example of a story is The Three Little Pigs. Stories often include characters, a setting (or where the story takes place), a problem, and a solution. The characters in The Three Little Pigs are the three pigs and the wolf. The setting is at the pig's houses. The problem is the wolf blows down the pig's houses. The solution is all the pigs live in the strongest house made of bricks, which the wolf cannot blow down. Reading and talking about stories can help your child develop their understanding about how stories are organized and can improve comprehension.
It is best to choose books about topics which are interesting to your child. You can use books from your home or borrow a book from your child's classroom library, school library, or the public library. Also, keep in mind that you can access books on laptop computers, tablets, digital reading devices, and smartphones. Websites such as Project Gutenberg provide free access to books and mobile formats especially for smartphones. Don't forget to look through your smartphone's app store for free apps containing books for children.
Featured Videos
Talking While You Read Stories (The Day the Crayons Quit)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom and son take turns reading.
- Mom facilitates a conversation at the end of the book by asking questions about the story and using the bookmark as a resource.
- Mom asks questions that refer to typical characteristics of any story (character, setting, problem, and solution).
- Talking While You Read Stories Bookmark (235.07 KB)
Use the Talking While You Read Stories Bookmark to ask questions about the characters, setting, problem, and solution while reading a story with your child.
Oral language is the way we communicate with others through speaking and listening. Vocabulary knowledge is a crucial part of oral language and includes understanding the meaning of words, how to use them, and how to pronounce them.
Oral language practice will help your child expand his or her vocabulary. Children with strong oral language skills and larger vocabularies typically become better readers. The best ways to give your child a strong foundation for learning to read are to read to, talk to, and listen to your child every day. Talk about people you know, places you go, and experiences you have together. Writing with your child also helps with oral language development.
- Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer. For example, instead of asking, "Did you have a good day?" ask, "What was your favorite part of school today?" Continue to ask questions about your child's response. If the answer was "Recess," ask, "Who did you play with?" "What did you do?" "How do you play that game?"
- When you speak with your child, model speaking in complete sentences and providing details. Use the words your child says and expand on them. For example, if your child points to a car and says, "Yellow car!" say, "That is a bright yellow car that is moving quickly! Where do you think that person is going?"
Featured Videos
Talking and Writing in the Kitchen
Key Points About the Video
- Children have fun talking about and making a grocery list of ingredients for chicken noodle soup.
- Mom fully involves both children in the creation of the grocery list by asking one son to draw pictures and the other son to write words.
- Mom asks many questions and fully involves children in the conversation.
Use these questions, activities, and conversation starters to have fun while you talk and write in the kitchen.
Use this activity to make a grocery list with your child. Ask your child questions and engage in conversations while you grocery shop together.
Second Grade: Recommendation 2: Linking Sounds to Letters
Linking individual letter sounds to letters is typically achieved by second grade. However, if a child needs practice with pulling apart and putting together sounds in spoken words and linking sounds to letters in print (M says /m/), please visit Supporting Your Child's Reading at Home, First Grade, Recommendation 2.
Second Grade: Recommendation 3: Blending Letters, Recognizing and Reading Words
Help your child blend letters to read words and recognize common word parts and words, and encourage them to write words.
Blending is the ability to put letter sounds together to read a word. To read a word, children must know the sounds the letters represent in the word and be able to blend those sounds to come up with the correct word. For example, after children know the letter sounds /f/ for f, /i/ for i, and /sh/ for sh, they learn to blend those sounds together to read the whole word. When they see the word fish, they are able to say, "/f/ /i/ /sh/, fish." We call this, blending because you are putting sounds together to read a word.
Help your child identify short or long vowels and read words.
Featured Videos
Fun With Consonant Blends and Digraphs
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains that a digraph is two (or more) letters that make one sound (sh says /sh/).
- Mom explains that a consonant blend is two or more consonants next to each other that keep their individual sounds (You can hear the /s/ and the /l/ in the word sleep).
- When her son has difficulty with the /ch/ (as in chick), Mom models it for him and has him practice it several times.
Help your child blend consonant blends and consonant digraphs from left to right to read a word. A consonant blend is two or more consecutive consonants that make their individual sounds (sl, gr, ft). A consonant digraph is two consecutive letters that are read as a single sound (ch, th, sh).
R-Controlled Vowel Sort
Key Points About the Video
- Dad reviews the r-controlled vowels on the activity sheet before they begin the activity.
- Dad provides positive feedback to his son: "Great job, buddy!"
- Dad uses words in a sentence to model oral language and help his son understand the word.
Help your child identify r-controlled vowels (ar, er, ur, or, ir) in words and spell those words.
For the following activities, your child will blend letters, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words. Use the documents below as needed before or while engaging in the activities.
Sound-spelling patterns consist of letters that are often combined to make a specific sound. Common sound-spelling patterns can include consonant patterns, vowel patterns, and syllable patterns. See examples below (not an exhaustive list of examples).
Syllable Pattern Examples
| Pattern Type | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant Patterns | Consonant digraphs are two or more consonants next to each other that make one sound. | th (this) sh (fish) tch (patch) |
| Consonant blends are two or more consonants next to each other that make their individual sounds. | st (stop) ft (raft) scr (script | |
| Silent-letter combinations are two consonants next to each other where one says its sound and the other is silent. | kn (know) wr (write) mb (lamb) | |
| Vowel Patterns | Vowel teams are two or more letters next to each other that say one vowel sound. | ea (weak) igh (night) oa (boat) |
| Vowel diphthongs two vowels next to each other that begin with one vowel sound and changes to another vowel sound within the same syllable. | ow (cow) oi (noise) | |
| r-controlled vowels are vowels followed by r. | ar (car) er (her) ir (sir) or (afford) us (fu) |
A syllable is a word part with a vowel in it. Usually, a word has as many syllables as it has vowels. Vowels are a, e, i, o, u. The other letters (like b, c, d, f) are consonants.
- Cat has one syllable.
- Picnic has two syllables (pic-nic).
- Yesterday has three syllables (yes-ter-day).
Syllable Pattern Examples
| Syllable Pattern | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Open | A syllable ending with a vowel sound that is spelled with a single vowel letter (a, e, i, o, or u). | me pro/gram mu/sic |
| Closed | A syllable ending in one or more consonants and a short vowel sound spelled with one vowel. | hat dish bas/ket) |
| VCe | V stands for vowel. C stands for consonant. e is the silent e at the end of a syllable or word. A syllable pattern that ends in silent e, which makes the vowel before it a long sound (say its name). | stripe shine bake |
| Vowel Team | A syllable that has multiple vowels spelling the vowel. | tooth pain train/er |
| Vowel-r | A syllable that has at least one vowel followed by an r. The r always comes directly after the vowel (ar, er, ir, or, ur). | car bird cor/ner |
| Consonant-le | A final syllable that contains a consonant followed by le. The e is always silent in this syllable pattern. | sim-ple puz-zle a-ble |
Featured Videos
Floss Spelling Rule
Key Points About the Video
- Dad clearly explains the floss rule and provides examples at the beginning of the activity.
- Daughter uses her favorite color markers to complete the activity.
- After several practice opportunities, Dad asks his daughter to explain the difference between words that follow the floss rule and those that do not.
Help your child practice the floss spelling rule. When a one-syllable words ends in f, l, or s, double the final f, l, or s (sniff, fall, mess). We call this the floss spelling rule because the word floss follows this rule and includes the letters f, l, and s to help us remember the rule.
Long Vowel Spelling Patterns
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains and shows examples of long o spelling patterns before beginning the activity.
- Mom does the first one to show her daughter how the activity is to be completed.
- As each word is spelled by the daughter, Mom uses it in a sentence to promote vocabulary and oral language.
Help your child identify long vowel spelling patterns and spell words.
Vowel Diphthong Bingo
Key Points About the Video
- Siblings have fun identifying vowel diphthongs while playing bingo.
- Oldest son engages both siblings in the activity.
- Oldest son encourages siblings to use the word in a sentence to promote language development.
Help your child identify vowel diphthongs (ou, ow, oi, oy) in words.
Double the Consonant and Add -ing or -ed Spelling Rule
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains the double the consonant spelling rule and provides examples at the beginning of the activity.
- Mom reviews the double the consonant rule with each word her daughter spells.
- Mom asks her daughter to use a word in the sentence to promote language and vocabulary development.
Help your child practice the double the consonant spelling rule. We use this rule when we add -ing or -ed to a word. When a vowel is followed by a consonant in a one-syllable word, double the consonant and then add -ed or -ing (swim/swimming, shop/shopping, mop/mopped).
Help your child practice the "change the y to i and add the ending" spelling rule (rely + ed = relied).
Help your child identify open and closed syllable patterns to read and spell words. An open syllable ends with a vowel sound that is spelled with a single vowel letter (a, e, i, o, or u). Examples include me, pro/gram, mu/sic. A closed syllable has a short vowel ending in a consonant. Examples include hat, dish, bas/ket.
Help your child identify and sort words with open and closed syllable patterns.
Help your child identify VCe syllable patterns to read and spell words. A VCe syllable pattern ends in silent e, which makes the vowel before it a long sound (say its name). Examples include stripe, shine, bake.
Help your child identify the vowel team syllable pattern to read and spell words. A vowel team syllable pattern has multiple vowels spelling the vowel. Examples include train/er, boat/ing.
Vowel Team Syllable Pattern Practice
Key Points About the Video
- Dad discusses what vowel teams and syllables are to make sure his son understands before starting the activity.
- Dad is patient and encouraging ("you're doing a great job") throughout the activity.
- Dad points out and explains the "tricky" words (boatload, toenail). These words are compound words, and each include two vowel team syllables.
Help your child identify the vowel team syllable pattern in words.
Map and Swoop Vowel-r Syllable Pattern
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains vowel-r syllable patterns before beginning the activity.
- Mom explains the meanings of unknown words (cursor) to promote vocabulary development.
Help your child identify the vowel-r syllable pattern in words. A vowel-r syllable pattern always has at least one vowel followed by an r. The r always comes directly after the vowel. Examples include start, learn, doc/tor.
Understanding common word parts like base words, prefixes, and suffixes will help children break words into smaller, meaningful word parts, which can help them read, write, and understand more challenging words.
The word help is called a base word because it can stand alone and has meaning. It is also called a base word because we can add to it to change the word. For example, we can add the ending -ful, for the word helpful. When we add a word part to the end of a word, it is called a suffix. We can also add a word part to the beginning of a base word. When we add a word part to the beginning of a base word, it is called a prefix. For example, the prefix un- can be added to helpful to make the word unhelpful.
| Word | = | Prefix | + | Base Word | + | Suffix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unhelpful | = | un | + | help | + | ful |
Featured Videos
Base Words and Inflectional Endings
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reviews what they started before dinner to remind her son of what the activity was all about.
- Mom asks her son the meaning of the inflectional endings -es and -ed to make sure he understands the meaning of the words they review.
- Mom prompts her son by asking him to say the whole word, the base word, and the inflectional ending.
Help your child break words into base words and endings.
Contraction Bingo
Key Points About the Video
- When her daughter doesn't find I've, Mom tells her that it will have an I first to help her find the contraction.
- Mom has her daughter read the word cards and asks her what contraction makes up the words.
- Mom encourages her daughter to look on both bingo cards to find the contraction to provide more practice opportunities.
Help your child practice identifying the words that make up contractions.
Prefix or Suffix?
Key Points About the Video
- Mom discusses the meaning of each word to promote vocabulary development.
- When her daughter can't remember the word prefix, Mom gives her a choice, "Is it a suffix or a prefix?"
- Mom and daughter enjoy painting and reading words with prefixes and suffixes.
Help your child identify prefixes and suffixes.
Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. For example, when children see the word soil, they are able to say, "/s/, /oi/, /l/, soil." There are many ways to support your child in reading words. For example, provide opportunities for your child to practice reading words in a list or on flashcards. It is also important for children to practice reading words in sentences and stories.
Featured Videos
Let's Read!
Key Points About the Video
- When her son encountered a difficult word, Mom encouraged him to separate the word into individual sounds (still) or parts (badly) and then read the whole word.
- Mom talks about important vocabulary (tour, caught her eye) in the story.
- Mom asks her son questions about what he read to encourage language development and ensure he understood what he read.
Help your child read words in a list and then read text that contains these words.
Help your child read words in a list and then read text that contains these words.
Help your child read words in a list and then read text that contains these words.
High-frequency words are words that appear frequently in books. Examples of high-frequency words are again, every, know, could. It is important that children learn how to read high-frequency words automatically, correctly without hesitation. The more your child reads and writes high-frequency words, the better he or she will get at reading them automatically.
There are many activities that families can do to help their children read high-frequency automatically.
- Show your child the high-frequency word because. Have your child say the word, write the word, and then say the word again.
- Use the provided high-frequency word cards as flash cards and time your child as he or she reads a stack of them. You can place words that were challenging for your child in a separate pile, so you know which words need more practice. The goal is to read more words correctly in less time each time you engage in the activity.
Featured Videos
Read and Spell High-Frequency Words
Key Points About the Video
- Dad provides several opportunities for his daughter to read and spell each word.
- Daughter uses her favorite color markers to complete the activity.
- Dad has his daughter write a sentence using high-frequency words of her choice to provide more practice opportunities.
Help your child practice high-frequency words (always, because).
Just because a book contains challenging words, it doesn't mean that you can't read it with your child. Before reading a book with your child, skim it to see if there are any challenging and important words. For example, Tyrannosaurus rex would be considered challenging to read, but are important words in a book about dinosaurs. Words also may be challenging because the child has not learned the sound-spelling pattern contained in the word or the word contains irregular sound-spelling patterns as in the words resource or necessary. Select three such words that appear most frequently in the book. Introduce the words to your child before you read the book. Point to each word in the book and tell your child how to pronounce it and what it means. Ask your child to point to the word and say it. If there are too many challenging words, you can read the book aloud to your child rather than have him or her read it to you.
Featured Videos
Challenging and Important Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reviews the main idea of the book since they are reading the book over several days.
- Mom reviews three challenging and important words (independent, razor, treasure) and relates them to something familiar to her son before reading.
- When the challenging and important words appear as they read, Mom asks her son what they mean.
Follow the steps on this bookmark to discuss challenging and important words with your child as you read books together.
Books to Share
A list of informational books to read with your child. Use the provided bookmark as a reminder to talk about challenging and important words that appear often in the book.
- Emperor Penguins by Roberta Edwards
- Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak
- Fly Guy Presents: Dinosaurs by Tedd Arnold
- Pet Heroes by Nicole Corse
Second Grade: Recommendation 4: Reading for Understanding
Support your child in reading accurately, at a conversational pace, and with expression so they understand what they read.
As your child practices reading out loud, it is important to help him or her to read words correctly and quickly. When children can read words accurately and fairly quickly, they can focus their attention on understanding what they are reading instead of trying to identify each word.
There are two important things families can do to help their child read words correctly and quickly.
- Read out loud to your child every single day! Reading to your child can be a special time to spend together. It will show him or her that reading is important and fun! Reading aloud will help your child understand what reading should sound like, and provides a model of how to read words correctly, quickly, and with expression! Reading with the right expression means that you are talking like the characters in the book--your voice sounds excited when the character is excited or sad when the character is sad.
- Encourage and help your child as he or she reads out loud. You may need to help your child when she or he comes to a word that is difficult to read. You might provide a reminder by saying, "Let's say each part of this word and the put the parts together to read it." Any reminder that encourages your child to use what he or she already knows to figure out the word can be helpful. As you read with your child, remember to be patient as reading is a skill that takes a lot of practice. Be sure to let your child know that you are proud of his or her progress! The support and encouragement you give your child will help him or her improve in reading.
When choosing books for your child to read out loud, select books that are of interest to your child, are not too easy or too hard, and are linked to his or her experiences or concerns. For instance, if your child is interested in animals or is afraid of the dark, it can be helpful to select books on those topics.
Featured Videos
When You Read to me (Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur!)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom encourages her son to use his finger to point to the words as he reads.
- Mom helps her son read challenging words (helped, song) by modeling how to read them and then asks him to read the sentence again for another opportunity to practice.
- Mom and son have fun talking about the book.
On one side of this bookmark are tips to use as you read out loud to your child. On the other side are tips for when your child reads out loud to you.
Books to Share
A list of suggested informational books that you can read to your child to model reading words correctly, at a conversational pace, and with expression.
- Emperor Penguins by Roberta Edwards
- Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak
- Fly Guy Presents: Dinosaurs by Tedd Arnold
- Pet Heroes by Nicole Corse
Experienced readers know when their reading does not make sense because they have misread a word. Once they realize they misread a word, experienced readers can correct their mistake. Beginning readers don't always notice when they misread a word because they don't always pay attention to what they are reading. Therefore, it is important to show children how to recognize misread words when they read. A reader should think about what he or she is reading and decide whether it makes sense or not, that is, self-monitor. We also need to show children how to self-correct when they misread a word. Improving the ability to self-monitor and self-correct will help children understand what they read and become better readers.
Families can help children monitor what they read and make corrections when words are misread. As you read to your child, you can provide examples of how to recognize when words are misread by "thinking out loud." You can say things like, "That didn't make sense. I'm going to read that sentence again." When your child reads to you and misreads a word, ask her to stop and see if she can correct the error. If not, reread the sentence with the missed word exactly how your child read it and ask, "Did that make sense?" If your child does not self-correct, read the word and have her reread it. Then have her read the sentence correctly.
Featured Videos
Does That Make Sense?
Key Points About the Video
- When a word error is made, mom reads the sentence as her son read it and asks, "Does that make sense?" to provide her son an opportunity to self-correct.
- Mom has her son reread missed words correctly and then read the whole sentence again.
Help your child pay attention to what they read and self-correct when a word is misread.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud to you while you help your child recognize and correct misread words.
- Dog Man (Series) by Dav Pilkey
- The Magic Tree House (Series) by Mary Pope Osborne
- Owl Diaries (Series) by Rebecca Elliott
- The Best Seat in Second Grade by Katharine Kenah
- The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Oral reading practice is when children read out loud. It is very important that children in second grade have many opportunities for oral reading practice with a proficient reader that listens and offers help when needed. As children read out loud, they get better at reading words correctly, quickly, and with the right expression (fluently). Reading words quickly means reading them at the same pace in which we talk. When you read with the right expression, you understand what commas, periods, and question marks mean. Reading with expression shows that you understand what you read when you, for example, change your voice to be excited when a character is excited. When children read fluently, they can focus their attention on understanding what they read, rather than trying to figure out how to read the words. The more children practice reading out loud with support, the better readers they will become!
There are many ways to support your child in oral reading practice. You can echo read and read together.
- Echo reading means the more proficient reader reads part of a book out loud and then the child reads the same part out loud. Thus, the child echoes what you read. As you echo read with your child, make sure that he or she follows along while you read by looking at the words as you read them. Your child should point to the words as he or she reads the same thing you read. This is to make sure your child is paying attention to the words and not just repeating what you say.
- Reading together means you and your child read the same thing out loud at the same time. When you read at the same time, make sure your child follows along by pointing to each word. You can slow your pace of reading down a little when you read at the same time. Always offer positive encouragement and let your child know how proud you are because he or she is practicing reading.
The encouragement and support children receive as they read out loud will help them become more fluent and confident readers. Be patient as children learn to read and remind them often of how proud you are of them for practicing reading.
Featured Videos
Echo Reading (Danny and the Dinosaur and the New Puppy)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom models reading with expression, which is an important part of reading fluently.
- Mom praises son for using expression (different voices for different characters) as he reads.
Reading Together (Danny and the Dinosaur and the New Puppy)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom slows her pace of reading a little so they can read at the same time.
- Mom uses her finger to point to the words as they read together.
- Mom reads with expression, an important part of reading fluently.
Use this bookmark as a reminder of the importance of reading every day with children. One side of the bookmark describes Echo Reading and the other side describes Reading Together.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud to you as you Echo Read and Read Together.
- The Magic School Bus Series by Joanna Cole
- Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems
- The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywait
- Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?: All About Weather (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library) by Tish Rabe
Third Grade
These activities provide families with information about how to support children as they practice foundational reading skills at home.
Learning to read begins at home through everyday parent-child interactions, long before children attend school. Your continued support of literacy development throughout elementary school positively affects your child's reading ability.
These Family Activities include easy-to-follow plans to help you support your child's foundational reading skills at home. Materials needed for each Family Activity, such as letter cards, are included. They begin with simpler activities and progress to more difficult ones. You may want to start with the first activity and move to the next when you notice that your child has a firm understanding of the content from that activity. We encourage you to select appropriate activities for your child, and free feel to set aside anything that seems too difficult. The goal is to engage your child in activities that promote learning in a positive environment, not to induce frustration. The activities should be completed with your child frequently, with patience, and with positive feedback. Using the activities at home will be a fun way to spend family time together!
The activities were excerpted from a Third Grade Teacher's Guide to Support Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills, currently under development, which is free online:
You can also access these videos free online: REL Southeast's 3rd Grade Family Involvement Guide - YouTube
Third Grade: Recommendation 1: Developing Language
Expose your child to the formal language that is common in books and in school.
Having a conversation about a book will develop your child's vocabulary and build knowledge about the topic of that book. Whether you are reading a fairy tale, a picture book, an informational book, or any other text, you can engage in a discussion as you enjoy reading together.
It is best to choose books about topics which are interesting to your child. You can read books from your home or borrow a book from your child's classroom library, school library, or the public library. You can also access books on laptop computers, tablets, digital reading devices, and smartphones. Websites such as Project Gutenberg provide free access to books and mobile formats especially for smartphones. Don't forget to look through your smartphone's app store for free apps containing books for children.
Featured Videos
Incredible Inferences
Key Points About the Video
- Mom describes what an inference is before they play the game.
- Mom asks kids to show evidence from the text to support their inference.
- Mom and kids have fun playing the game.
Help your child make inferences by using evidence from what he or she reads to make a logical conclusion.
Summarize a Story
Key Points About the Video
- Mom and daughter discuss what a main idea is before beginning the activity.
- Daughter reads the beginning of the story, writes a summary of it, and then discusses the summary with Mom. This is repeated with the middle and the end of the story.
- Mom discusses the meanings of words that may be challenging to understand (despise).
Help your child summarize what he or she reads to support comprehension.
Use this bookmark to engage your child in conversation about the main ideas and details of what you read together.
Books to Share
Here is a list of suggested book to practice summarizing. Although, you can summarize anything you read. Take turns reading or listen to your child read. Stop after a chapter, if a long book, and ask your child to tell you the main ideas and important details. You can do this at the end of a short book.
- Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, Paula Kahumbu
- Goose and Duck by Jean Craighead George
- Koala Lou by Mem Fox
- The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
- Ice Cream Elisha Cooper
Oral language is the way we communicate with others through speaking and listening. Vocabulary knowledge is a crucial part of oral language and includes understanding the meaning of words, how to use them, and how to pronounce them.
Oral language practice will help your child expand his or her vocabulary. Children with strong oral language skills and larger vocabularies typically become better readers. The best ways to give your child a strong foundation for learning to read are to read to, talk to, and listen to your child every day. Talk about people you know, places you go, and experiences you have together. Writing with your child also helps with oral language development.
- Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer. For example, instead of asking, "Did you have a good day?" ask, "What was your favorite part of school today?" Continue to ask questions about your child's response. If the answer was "Recess," ask, "Who did you play with?" "What did you do?" "How do you play that game?"
- When you speak with your child, model speaking in complete sentences and providing details. Use the words your child says and expand on them. For example, if your child points to a car and says, "Yellow car!" say, "That is a bright yellow car that is moving quickly! Where do you think that person is going?"
Featured Videos
Dinner Table Talk
Key Points About the Video
- Adults listen to daughters and ask open-ended questions to extend the conversation.
- Family has fun discussing what they would invent and their favorite super power.
- Mom ensures that all family members have opportunities to participate in the conversation by asking each family member the same questions.
Baking Conversations
Key Points About the Video
- Caretaker describes how recipes are organized (ingredients and steps).
- Child reads the steps of the recipe and is actively involved in every step of the recipe.
- Caretakes uses words (for example, chill, dough, fluffy, batter, scoop) to describe what they are doing.
- Caretake describes the reason why they are doing specific things to deepen child's understanding of concepts (for example, the science of baking, why make a test batch, why place cookies near center of baking sheet).
Use these questions, activities, and conversation starters to have fun while you talk and write in the kitchen.
Chatting About Chores
Key Points About the Video
- Mom and daughter discuss what chores are and why they are important.
- Mom talks about the meaning of responsibility.
- Mom is positive and has daughter determine her own chores, state why each chore is important, and write them on the chore chart.
Use this activity to talk about and make a list of chores your child can do.
Synonyms and Antonyms
Key Points About the Video
- Dad makes sure son knows what a synonym and antonym are by having him give examples before beginning the activity.
- Dad explains meanings of words that may be unfamiliar (for example, courteous). Dad uses words in sentences that his son can relate to (for example, "Your sister comes into your room and ruins your Legos.")
- Dad asks son to use words in sentences to make sure he understands the meaning of each word.
Help your child practice identifying and writing synonyms and antonyms.
Talk About Words
Key Points About the Video
- Mom describes the meanings of the antonyms (opposites): stranger, relative.
- Mom relates the meanings of words to her daughter's experiences.
- Mom asks questions to prompt daughter to describe why she decides to place words where she does on the continuum.
- Mom helps daughter read unfamiliar words by giving her cues. For example, "That's a long a." (stranger) And, "Sound it out." (sob).
- Mom asks daughter to read all the words after they are placed on the continuum for another opportunity to practice reading.
Deepen your child's understanding of related words and help enhance your child's vocabulary.
Third Grade: Recommendation 2: Linking Sounds to Letters
Help your child link sounds in speech to letters in print.
Linking individual letter sounds to letters is typically achieved by second grade. However, if a child needs practice with pulling apart and putting together sounds in spoken words and linking sounds to letters in print (M says /m/), please visit Supporting Your Child's Reading at Home, First Grade, Recommendation 2.
Third Grade: Recommendation 3: Blending Letters, Recognizing and Reading Words
Help your child blend letters to read words and recognize common word parts and words, and encourage them to write words.
Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. To read a word, children must know the sounds the letters represent in the word and be able to blend those sounds to pronounce the correct word. For example, after children know the letter sounds /f/ for f, /a/ for a, and /n/ for n, they learn to blend those sounds together to read the whole word. When they see the word fan, they are able to say,"/f/, /a/, /n/, fan." By the time your child reaches third grade, he or she should be able to read many words automatically, without having to think about blending the letter sounds. However, when your child encounters an unknown word, blending together the individual sounds of the letters can help him or her figure out the word.
Featured Videos
Map A Word
Key Points About the Video
- Mom describes that each box represents one sound. So, there may be more than one letter in each box.
- Mom says encourages her son to say each sound in the word to help him spell the words (for example, /sh/ /ee/ /p/, /l/ /igh/ /t/, /sh/ /e/ /ll/.
- Mom is patient and encouraging.
Help your child spell and read words with different letter-sound combinations.
How Many Words?
Key Points About the Video
- Mom has daughter spell words with letter cards and write them on the board for another opportunity to practice.
- Mom gives hints to determine which words to spell (for example, "Sometimes I like to make the ending of the word, -at, and then change the beginning letter to see how many words we can spell.")
- Mom describes the meaning of words that may be unfamiliar (for example, raw).
Help your child build, blend, and read words using letter cards.
Building Words With r-Controlled Vowels
Key Points About the Video
- Mom makes sure son knows what r-controlled vowels (ar, er, ir, or, ur) are before beginning the activity.
- Mom uses words in sentences and engages son in discussions about the meanings of words (for example, march, stern, storm).
- Mom prompts son by saying individual sounds in words to help him spell the words (for example, "Which two letters say /ch/?").
Help your child read and spell words with r-controlled vowels (ar, er, ir, or, ur).
Understanding common word parts like base words, prefixes, and suffixes will help children break words into smaller, meaningful word parts, which can help them read, write, and understand more challenging words.
The word help is called a base word because it can stand alone and has meaning. It is also called a base word because we can add to it to change the word. For example, we can add the ending -ful, for the word helpful. When we add a word part to the end of a word, it is called a suffix. We can also add a word part to the beginning of a base word. When we add a word part to the beginning of a base word, it is called a prefix. For example, the prefix un- can be added to helpful to make the word unhelpful.
| Word | = | Prefix | + | Base Word | + | Suffix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unhelpful | = | un | + | help | + | ful |
Featured Videos
Word Part Detective
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains how to be a word part detective. Mom shows her son how to analyze the first word (indifferent).
- With each word, Mom has her son do more and more of the work until he is analyzing words independently.
- If her son does not know the meaning of a word, Mom explains the meaning (unpleasing, identical, intermittently) to make sure her son understands each sentence.
- Mom is enthusiastic and encouraging.
Help your child read challenging words by having him or her practice a strategy called word part detective. Your child will look at a word and take it apart by its word parts to help him or her read the word.
Adding Prefixes and Suffixes to Build Words
Key Points About the Video
- Before beginning the activity, Dad makes sure his son knows that a prefix is added to the beginning of a word and a suffix is added to the end of a word.
- Dad has son read the list of base words to make sure he knows them.
- After a prefix or suffix is added to a word, Dad asks his son the meaning of the word or to use it in a sentence to make sure he understands the new word.
Help your child add prefixes and suffixes to base words.
Help your child use grammatical endings to build and read words.
Help your child add prefixes and suffixes to root words to build many words using the same root word.
Blending is the ability to put sounds together to read a word. For example, when children see the word soil, they are able to say, "/s/, /oi/, /l/, soil." There are many ways to support your child in reading words. For example, provide opportunities for your child to practice reading words in a list or on flashcards. It is also important for children to practice reading words in sentences and stories.
Featured Videos
Let's Read!
Key Points About the Video
- Dad reminds his son to follow along with his finger as he reads.
- Dad models fluent reading (reading words correctly, at a conversational pace, and with expression) when it is his turn to read.
- Dad explains difficult words (pursue) and asks questions during and after reading to make sure his son understood what was read.
Help your child read words in a list and then read text that contains these words.
Help your child read words in a list and then read text that contains these words.
High-frequency words are words that appear frequently in books. Examples of high-frequency words are again, every, know, could. It is important that children learn how to read high-frequency words automatically, correctly without hesitation. The more your child reads and writes high-frequency words, the better he or she will get at reading them automatically.
There are many activities that families can do to help their children read high-frequency automatically.
- Show your child the high-frequency word laugh. Have your child say the word, write the word, and then say the word again.
- Use the provided high-frequency word cards as flash cards and time your child as he or she reads a stack of them. You can place words that were challenging for your child in a separate pile, so you know which words need more practice. The goal is to read more words correctly in less time each time you engage in the activity.
Featured Videos
Read and Spell High-Frequency Words
Key Points About the Video
- Dad explains high-frequency words and how they will complete the activity before they begin.
- For each word, the daughter reads it, writes it, spells it out loud, and reads it again.
- Dad has daughter say the whole sentence before she writes it.
Help your child practice high-frequency words (about, laugh).
Just because a book contains challenging words, it doesn't mean that you can't read it with your child. Before reading a book with your child, skim it to see if there are any challenging and important words. For example, Tyrannosaurus rex would be considered challenging to read, but are important words in a book about dinosaurs. Words also may be challenging because the child has not learned the sound-spelling pattern contained in the word or the word contains irregular sound-spelling patterns as in the words resource or necessary. Select three such words that appear most frequently in the book. Introduce the words to your child before you read the book. Point to each word in the book and tell your child how to pronounce it and what it means. Ask your child to point to the word and say it. If there are too many challenging words, you can read the book aloud to your child rather than have him or her read it to you.
Follow the steps on this bookmark to discuss challenging and important words with your child as you read books together.
Books to Share
A list of informational books to read with your child. Use the provided bookmark as a reminder to talk about challenging and important words that appear often in the book.
- Moto and Me by Suzi Eszterhas
- Awesome Minds: The Inventors of LEGO Toys by Erin Hagar
- You Can Be an Entomologist: Investigating Insect with Dr. Martins by Dino Martins
- The Toad: The Disgusting Critters Series by Elise Grave
Third Grade: Recommendation 4: Reading for Understanding
Support your child in reading accurately, at a conversational pace, and with expression so they understand what they read.
As your child practices reading out loud, it is important to help him or her to read words correctly and quickly. When children can read words accurately and fairly quickly, they can focus their attention on understanding what they are reading instead of trying to identify each word.
There are two important things families can do to help their child read words correctly and quickly.
- Read out loud to your child every single day! Reading to your child can be a special time to spend together. It will show him or her that reading is important and fun! Reading aloud will help your child understand what reading should sound like, and provides a model of how to read words correctly, quickly, and with expression! Reading with the right expression means that you are talking like the characters in the book--your voice sounds excited when the character is excited or sad when the character is sad.
- Encourage and help your child as he or she reads out loud. You may need to help your child when she or he comes to a word that is difficult to read. You might provide a reminder by saying, "Let's say each part of this word and the put the parts together to read it." Any reminder that encourages your child to use what he or she already knows to figure out the word can be helpful.
As you read with your child, remember to be patient as reading is a skill that takes a lot of practice. Be sure to let your child know that you are proud of his or her progress! The support and encouragement you give your child will help him or her improve in reading.
When choosing books for your child to read out loud, select books that are of interest to your child, are not too easy or too hard, and are linked to his or her experiences or concerns. For instance, if your child is interested in animals or is afraid of the dark, it can be helpful to select books on those topics.
Featured Videos
When You Read to Me (Dingoes at Dinnertime)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom provides hints on how to read unfamiliar words so her daughter can use the letter-sounds and the sound-spelling patterns she knows to read unfamiliar words (wasted, precious, whirlwind).
- Mom models reading words correctly.
- Mom has her daughter reread sentences that are challenging for extra practice.
When I Read to You (Because of Winn Dixie)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom reads words correctly, at a conversational pace, and with great expression!
- Mom asks questions once in a while to make sure her daughter understands the story.
On one side of this bookmark are tips to use as you read out loud to your child. On the other side are tips for when your child reads out loud to you.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books that you can read to your child to model reading words correctly, at a conversational pace, and with expression. Although you can do these things with anything you read with your child.
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
- How Much is a Million? by David M. Schwartz
- Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Experienced readers know when their reading does not make sense because they have misread a word. Once they realize they misread a word, experienced readers can correct their mistake. Beginning readers don't always notice when they misread a word because they don't always pay attention to what they are reading. Therefore, it is important to show children how to recognize misread words when they read. A reader should think about what he or she is reading and decide whether it makes sense or not, that is, self-monitor. We also need to show children how to self-correct when they misread a word. Improving the ability to self-monitor and self-correct will help children understand what they read and become better readers.
Families can help children monitor what they read and make corrections when words are misread. As you read to your child, you can provide examples of how to recognize when words are misread by "thinking out loud." You can say things like, "That didn't make sense. I'm going to read that sentence again." When your child reads to you and misreads a word, ask her to stop and see if she can correct the error. If not, reread the sentence with the missed word exactly how your child read it and ask, "Did that make sense?" If your child does not self-correct, read the word and have her reread it. Then have her read the sentence correctly.
Featured Videos
Self-Monitor Understanding and Self-Correct Word-Reading Errors (Goldie)
Key Points About the Video
- Mom asks her son questions about the topic of the book and to make a prediction before reading.
- Mom praises son for self-correcting words that he misreads.
- Mom asks questions to help her son summarize what he read to make sure he understood what he read.
On one side of this bookmark are questions your child can ask him or herself before, during, and after reading. On the other side of the bookmark are tips your child can use make sure he or she understands what is being read.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud to you while you help your child recognize and correct misread words.
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
- The Puppy Place (Series) by Ellen Miles
- The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step-Into-Reading Series) by Natalie Standiford
- The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Oral reading practice is when children read out loud. It is very important that children in third grade have many opportunities for oral reading practice with a proficient reader that listens and offers help when needed. As children read out loud, they get better at reading words correctly, quickly, and with the right expression (fluently). Reading words quickly means reading them at the same pace in which we talk. When you read with the right expression, you understand what commas, periods, and question marks mean. Reading with expression shows that you understand what you read when you, for example, change your voice to be excited when a character is excited. When children read fluently, they can focus their attention on understanding what they read, rather than trying to figure out how to read the words. The more children practice reading out loud with support, the better readers they will become!
There are many ways to support your child in oral reading practice. You can alternate reading and read together.
- Alternated reading is when you and your child take turns reading a paragraph, page, or chapter out loud. You child continues reading, picking up where you left off.
- Reading together means you and your child read the same thing out loud at the same time. When you read at the same time, make sure your child follows along by pointing to each word. You can slow your pace of reading down a little when you read at the same time. Always offer positive encouragement and let your child know how proud you are because he or she is practicing reading.
The encouragement and support children receive as they read out loud will help them become more fluent and confident readers. Be patient as children learn to read and remind them often of how proud you are of them for practicing reading.
Featured Videos
Key Points About the Video
- Mom explains what a prologue is (an introduction to the book that tells what happened before chapter 1).
- Mom and son take turns reading so Mom can model fluent reading (reading correctly, at a conversational pace, and with expression).
- Mom provides her son tips on how to read with expression by reminding him what to do at periods, question marks, and explanation marks.
Use this bookmark as a reminder of the importance of reading every day with your child. One side of the bookmark describes Alternated Reading and the other side describes Reading Together.
Books to Share
A list of suggested books for your child to read out loud as you use Alternated Reading and Reading Together.
- Where the Sidewalk Ends (poems) by Shel Silverstein
- Punctuation Celebration by Elsa Knight Bruno
- You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman
- Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
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