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Supporting Your Child's Literacy: Learning to Read (PK-3rd Grade)

Your child is in school now, but that does not mean that you have to or should stop being a literacy teacher. Just like when he/she was a baby or toddler, continue to engage with him/her in rich conversation that builds language, vocabulary, and background knowledge. The better your child can and does interact with the people and world around, the better he/she will be able to interact with and understand the texts he/she encounters in school.  

As your child is beginning to read: 

  • Play games with the sounds or pieces of language. You don’t even need to be looking at the letters. For example, ask about the beginning sounds or the ending sounds in words. Talk about how many words are in a sentence you said. Have fun with rhyming. 

  • When you read to him/her, pause to point out specific letters and have him/her point them out to you. 

  • Model how you read from left to right by allowing him/her to see you move your finger under the text as you read. 

  • Stop to ask your child questions about what you are reading. 

As your child becomes a reader: 

  • Continue to read with your child. We can never provide our children with too many models of reading or too much food for conversation and language nutrition. Talk about the new information or themes they may encounter. Highlight new vocabulary. 

  • Allow your child to reread familiar books to you. This reinforces accuracy and automaticity and gives him/her the opportunity to explore reading with expression so that a question sounds like a question or the feelings of a character sound like the feelings of the character. 

  • As you encounter new vocabulary together, do not just explain the meaning of the word, have your child apply it, and look for ways to apply the new words later on when the book is not in front of you to extend exposure and deepen understanding. 

To learn more ways to support your child as a reader visit the following websites: 
Reading Rockets: https://www.readingrockets.org/literacy-home/reading-101-guide-parents 

Colorín Colorado: https://www.colorincolorado.org/reading-tip-sheets-parents