Literacy

LITERACY

Speaking and Listening

o As a family, choose a question that everyone has to answer. Take the time to listen to each other’s answers and be sure your child is also listening when it’s other peoples turns.

o Play would you rather. Take turns coming up with questions. It can be as simple as, would you rather jam or peanut butter? Or something as silly as, would you rather ride on the Triceratops or Pteranodon?

o Ask your child about something they are building or playing. Ask them to give you all the details of how the game works or what their build so for.

o Say a word such as pig, rat, dog, star, town, etc. See how many rhymes you can say together. Be sure they are getting the ending the exact same as the word.

o Say or show three words/pictures of words – one does not rhyme. See if they can pick out the two rhymes.

o Talk about syllables or parts of words. Say each person’s name in the family counting the parts (syllables) as you say them. You can clap or tap to help. A-man-da 3!

Reading and Viewing

o Choose at least 2-3 books each day. Have your child sit quietly looking at them, noticing the pictures, and trying to tell the story by looking at the pictures. They can do this independently or You can sit with them but specifically don’t read the words. This is about understanding that pictures help tell the story.

o Allow your child to make a cozy reading nook/fort. Take pillows, blankets, stuffies, flashlight/lamp and, of course, books! Watch how a cozy spot can make reading come to life.

o Read together after supper or at bedtime. It’s such a special way for everyone to slow down and relax. Ask lots of questions about what they think might happen. Point out special details in the picture. Talk about the characters feelings. Make sure your child has are settled and in a comfy spot so they can listen.

o Make a favourite story come to life by using stuffies or toys. Make some puppets and act it out or just talk about funny parts!

o Keep a list of snap words. Pick one and look for it when you read together.

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Writing and Representing

o Practice, practice, practice! The best way to become a good writer is to practice. Be sure your child is drawing, representing, adding details, stretching out unknown words and using snap words each day if possible.

o Write sentence starters and have your child finish them independently, drawing a picture to go with their writing. They may only hear the first sound, or first and last – that is okay! Some sentence starter examples are: I like ____, I love _______, I like to eat____, my favourite sport is ______, my favourite animal is____, etc. Be sure they are stretching out the words independently and that they are starting their letters from the top.

o Book making is a great way to practice writing. Fold some paper together, help them figure out if they are going to make a pretend story (fiction), or a real story (non-fiction), support them with coming up with an idea remembering that writers write about things they know (family, animals, things about them) and let them go! Remind them that pictures help tell the story – that may be all they do in their books, that is okay!