Growing Readers Together

Becoming aware of how our spoken language works and how this relates to reading is one aspect of developing as an accomplished reader. In the last newsletters we provided suggestions of ways to help your child develop an ear for rhyme. Here are some ways to help your child generate rhyming words.

• Ask your child to tell you a word that rhymes with another word. (ex. "Tell me a word that rhymes with dish.")
• Ask your child to tell you a farm animal that rhymes with a word. (ex. "Tell me a farm animal that rhymes with pow.")
• Ask your child to tell you a food that rhymes with a word. (ex. "Tell me a food that rhymes with lizza.)

Children who are able to hear sounds in words have an easier time learning to read. This is an important pre-reading skill. Here are some suggestions for helping your child hear the beginning sounds in words.

• Ask your child to tell you the first sound in a word. (ex. "What is the first sound in pan?")
• Ask your child to tell you the beginning sound that is the same in three words. (ex. "What sound is the same in fix, fall, and fun?)

Children who are able to identify the letters of the alphabet have an easier time learning to read. Being able to call out letter names quickly and easily is important. Here are some suggestions of ways to help your child identify letters and sounds.

• Read alphabet books to your child. Have her tell you the names and sounds of letters on the pages.
• Put sand or salt in a container and ask your child to draw letters with a finger.
• Ask your child to make letters with toothpicks, Legos, or Play Dough.
• Put magnetic letters on your refrigerator. Ask your child to sort letters by curvy, straight, tall, and short. Ask your child to show you certain letters.
• Play "Name that Sound." What sound do you hear at the beginning of ...?
• Play "Rhyme Time." I'm thinking of something that begins with the letter...and rhymes with... (What begins with the letter T and rhymes with boys?)
• Cut out a letter. Let your child cut out magazine pictures that begin with that letter sound and glue them on the letter.

It is important for children to become familiar with the way books work. They need to learn that books contain sentences, sentences contain words, and words contain letters. Here are some suggestions for helping your child become familiar with books.

• Ask your child to point to a word on a page.
• Ask your child to point to a letter on a page.
• Ask your child to find a period on a page.
• Write each word from a sentence on individual index cards. Mix the words up and ask your child to put them in the correct order.