Encouraging reading is an important part of a my job, but sometimes our students can struggle to enjoy what comes naturally to others.
Family Time is so important...why not make reading a part of this valuable time with your kids? Remember to keep it fun and light- I know that is easier said then done some days.
Reading at Home can make a huge difference !
1. Ask "why" when children tell you they want something or want to do/not do something.
2. Use the word "because" after "No, not tonight".
3. Give reasons- you to them and them to you.
4. Encourage questions & explore answers.
5. Explain & discuss issues or problems in your house, neighborhood, & community.
6. Compare how things are alike and different-videos, movies, food.
7. Look for patterns.
8. Describe & categorize items.
9. Tell your children what you value & why.
10. Encourage & celebrate opinions
1. Create a reading space...
Make a reading area or fort where your child can read and relax on his or her own. Add blankets, pillows, and a variety of books, and your child will have a reading corner where he or she can read a book whenever the urge to read hits.
2. Act out the story...
Help your child bring some extra excitement to reading by using his or her imagination. Have your child draw pictures of what he or she is reading, act out the scene, put on a character puppet show, or make up alternate endings.
3. Pick the right books...
Making reading fun starts with selecting a book your child will enjoy reading. Ask your child what kinds of stories he or she likes reading best (Adventure? Fantasy?) Make a list of books in these categories and use it to help your child choose what he or she will read next.
4. Make connections between books and life...
Make connections between what your child is reading and your child’s own experience. Read adventure books before you take a camping trip, dinosaur books before you visit a museum, and so on. This will help make reading (and learning) more exciting for your child!
Kids are drawn to games and playing—it’s how they best learn. Sight word games enable you to tap into a fantastic way for your child to absorb information, without making learning something to dread:
Go Fish: Write your child’s sight words twice on index cards or card stock, and shuffle them like a deck of cards. Take turns asking one another if either of you have a sight word in your hand. Any pairs of matching sight words gets stacked in a pile, with the first person to have zero cards winning the game.
Memory Game: Using the same stack of sight word pairs, lay the cards face-down on the floor. Take turns flipping two cards over, trying to remember where each sight word is. The person who can match the most sets wins the game.
Word Search: Create your own word search using your list of sight words! Help your child find these words in the puzzle. Click here to make your own word search.
Simple Word Search: Want to keep it even simpler? Write a word on a piece of paper, and have your child go through her deck of sight word cards to find the match.
Bingo: Like the classic game of Bingo, make Bingo cards with a few sight words. Randomly read aloud sight words, marking (or placing a small item) on each square with the matching sight word.
Word Stomp: Does your child love to be active? Print a few sight words, one on each sheet of paper. Scatter these sheets on the ground face-up. You might want to tape them to the ground to avoid slipping. Then, randomly select a few sight words, and if your child sees the word on the ground, have him stomp or jump to it from where he is.