K-8 Literacy Self-Help Ideas

At Home Literacy Ideas for Students

(Some of these ideas are specific to primary school student learning, but ideas #6-10 are good practice for any age student struggling with reading skills.)

1. Play tic-tac-toe using sight words, letters, or spelling words. Students or partners can write words or letters on a board and then say the letter or word when it’s your turn and cross out with an x or an o.

2. Write sight words, letters, or spelling words in white crayon and then paint over them with watercolors and read aloud.

3. Write six letters, sights words, spelling words, cvc/cvce words (ex: pin/pine, cat/mane), or letters at the top of a paper. Number the words/letters with 1-6. Roll a die and see what number you get and then write the word or letter below.

4. Using flashcards with the alphabet or sight words, play a board game of your choice. Read the letter or word when it’s your turn. Move the number of letters in the word or use a die to move.

5. Use chalk to write letters, sight words, or spelling words on the sidewalk.

6. Provide a model of fluent reading. This can be an adult or an older sibling. Partner read with your child, taking turns reading the same text until the child becomes fluent.

7. Give your child many opportunities to read the same text over and over again. Provide corrective feedback.

8. Learn your child’s independent reading level: Students can read easily, making fewer than 5 mistakes for every 100 words (95% correct). Encourage your student to practice reading at this level.

9. Challenge your student to increase reading speed and fluency. Give your student a passage to read and time him/her for 1 minute. Count the words the student did not know. Subtract the # wrong from the total # of words read for a score (WCPM). Keep track of the scores as fluency increases.

10. Partner read with your student. Take turns reading short sections of a story/book at a time. Then pause to have your student retell what has happened in the story. Encourage using details like character names and precise events and settings.