Phonological Awareness
Read books with rhyme. Talk with your child about what makes words rhyme. Ask your child to tell you the words on the page that rhyme with each other, focusing on the sounds they hear, not the words they see. Say a word and have your child count/clap/tap the number of syllables in the word.
Online Resources for Students:
Jack Hartmann: Blending Onset and Rime
PBS Kids: Rhyming Games
Go Noodle: Syllables
Online Resources for Parents:
Slide and say
Phoneme Manipulator
Phonics
Begin with identifying the letters in your child’s name. Once your child is able to identify and name the letters, provide him or her with activities to build speed and accuracy in letter recognition.
Online Resources for Students:
CVC Emergent Phonic Readers
Teach Your Monster To Read
Sight Word Hopper
Sesame Street
Online Resources for Parents:
Print Awareness
Ways to Teach Print
Alphabet Knowledge
Picture Sort
CVC Emergent Phonic Readers
Vocabulary
Help students learn new words and meaning by reading different types of books.
Online Resources for Students:
Prefix and Suffix Song
Sort, Sort, Sort
Online Resources for Parents:
Antonym Memory
Ways to Boost Your Child's Vocabulary
Multiple Meaning Bugs
Reading Rockets
Cube Word Sort
Reading Comprehension-Literature
Before Reading: Look at the cover and talk about what the book might be about.
During Reading: Ask your child who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Encourage your child to use information from the book to support his or her thinking. Check out the Talking While You Read video for more tips!
After Reading: Talk about what happened. Encourage your child to retell the story using prompts such as a retelling glove.* You can even use sidewalk chalk to create a long, curvy line. Walk along the line as you retell the story together.
Online Resources for Students
PBS Kids
Parts of a Story
Online Resources for Parents
Favorite Book Characters
Talking While You Read
The Retelling Glove
Reading Comprehension-Informal Text
Before Reading: Talk about what you and your child already know about the topic. Ask your child what he or she wants to learn more about.
During Reading: Ask your child who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Where (do clownfish live)? How (are alligators and crocodiles alike/different)? Why (is a whale classified as a mammal)? Pay attention to what the photographs and/or illustrations are teaching, too.
After Reading: Talk with your child about what you have learned. Ask your child: What was this book mostly about?
Online Resources for Students
PBS Kids
Brain Pop Jr.
What's The Main Idea
Online Resources for Parents
Guide to Nonfiction
Reading Rockets
Oral Language
Encourage conversations in your home and in social settings. Every social interaction gives your child a new opportunity to practice using oral language.
Spark interactions whenever you can and support your child’s language development. Ask questions, rephrase the child’s answers, and give prompts that encourage the oral conversations to continue.
Maintain eye contact when your child is speaking to you and encourage your child to do the same when you are speaking, in order to support his/her listening skills.
Online Resources for Parents
Strategies for Speech and Language Development
Expanding Your Child's Vocabulary
Listening and Learning
Writing
Before Writing: Provide materials for writing: plenty of paper and things to write with. Talk with your child as much as possible about his or her ideas and opinions.
During Writing: Encourage your child to write, even if he or she is scribbling. Work together to label the pictures and write simple sentences.
After Writing: Turn your child’s writing into a book. Tape the drawing onto construction paper. You can even use recycled cereal boxes to create a cover. Bind the book with yarn or ribbon.
Online Resources for Parents
Craft a Kid's Journal
Develop Your Child's Writing Skill
Tips for Helping Young Kids to Write