Reading!

Parent Reading Support in the Kindergarten Year

Jatina Jones, Jayme King, Jasmine Mack, Lizabeth Mattson

Welcome to our Family Reading

Guide!
Within this presentation we will present some ideas that we
hope you will enjoy trying with your child at home.
Each childs family is his/her first teacher, and we hope that
we can partner with you to help your child improve his/her
reading.
If you have any suggestions or ideas of things we might try at
school that you think would enhance your childs experience
with reading, please let us know.

Letters!
A major building block of reading is knowing the letters of the
alphabet and the sounds they (normally) make.
We all know that many word spellings in English do not follow
simple rules, and that letters sometimes make different
sounds.
When we first teach children to read, we focus on the one
main sound that each letter makes. The letter chart on
the upcoming slide shows a picture that starts the with main
sound for each letter in the alphabet.

Using the Letter Chart

Use the letter chart to say the letter with your child, say the
name of the item pictured and then say the first sound in that
word, which is the main sound for that letter.
Do this with your child over and over again.
Ask them to say the letter and the sound it makes.
If they cant remember the sound, have them say the name of the item
pictured and then ask which sound that word starts with.
If they dont have the answer, give it to them.

Every time you practice this your child will get better at
remembering each letter and its main sound.

Aa apple
Bb boat
Cc cat
Dd dog
Ee elephant
Ff fox
Gg gate
Hh hammer
Ii igloo
Jj jar
Kk key
Ll leaf
Mm mitten
Nn net
Oo octopus
Pp pumpkin
Qq - queen

Rr robot
Ss sun
Tt table
Uu umbrella
Vv
vegetables
Ww watch
Xx x-ray
Yy yoyo
Zz zebra

Links
We also have some great videos you can link to online or on
your phone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36IBDpTRVNE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs

Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dNI74FZ6Vc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq3yfQnllfQ

Read with your Child

What do we mean?
You have probably heard that reading with your child often can
help him/her to learn to read better.
Sometimes when sitting down to read with a child, the parent is
unsure exactly what to do. Here are some tried and true methods:
Two types of books You will most likely be reading a book with
pictures on every page. The difference is, some of these books
have very few, simple words. These books are books that your
child might be reading soon. The other types of books have a
good deal of text on each page, and are meant to be read to
children for pure listening enjoyment. Both types are great!
Allow your child to turn the pages.

Read with your Child

What do we mean?
Look at the pictures together and ask questions.
Pointing yes pointing! It is very helpful for you to point to each word as
you read. An important aspect of learning to read is understanding that
each word is a set of letters separated by spaces from other words.
When you point to each word as you read, you reinforce that idea.
Show that the beginning of a sentence has a capital letter and the end
has a period (or question mark or exclamation point). Help your child
learn what all of these things are called.
Let your child read parts. The words might repeat so much that your
child can say them with you, or s/he might be able to guess a word by
looking at the picture. Let him/her read words s/he knows, such as I,
a, the, etc.

Links
Here are some links to videos about how to read with your
child:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZSlUVrCJRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Kxhu1mLCw

Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TC8c2se0xs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OG2Q6pPQYw&t=3s

More Tips:
Encourage kids to read anything! Even if it isnt a book,
anything that will keep a child engaged is always a win!
As a parent, it is important for you to know your options. If
homework is too hard, other activities can be given to match
your students developmental level.

 Never discourage your student when wanting to

read about a subject they are excited about.
Encourage your student to read to you. Having an
audience makes a huge difference when
sharpening reading skills.
Focus and build reading skills on your students
strengths, not their weaknesses.

 Never make reading seem like a punishment, try to keep it

positive, even when your student become overwhelmed.
Limit the amount and type of television your student watches.
This has a major effect on students reading performance. Try
to substitute TV time for a reading-related activity.

 Play language games to help your

student become aware of the sounds
of language.
Encourage your student to write!
Writing makes a major difference
when developing reading skills.
Try to make practice sessions
relatable. Have your student help
make a grocery or to-do list. Pretend
youre in a restaurant and have your
child take your order, These are all
things that children will enjoy doing
simply because they are things you
(their parent) does every day!

Interactive Activity: Now Hear This!

Children are great mimics. When you tell stories, your child will begin to tell stories, too.
What you'll need:
Your imagination
What to do:
Have your child tell stories like those you have told. Ask: "And then what happened?" to urge
the story along.
Listen closely when your child speaks. Be enthusiastic and responsive. Give your child full
attention.
If you don't understand some part of the story, take the time to get your child to explain. This
will help your child understand the relationship between a speaker and a listener and an author
and a reader.
Encourage your child to express himself or herself. This will help your child develop a richer
vocabulary. It can also help with pronouncing words clearly.
Having a good audience is very helpful for a child to improve language skills, as well as
confidence in speaking. Parents can be the best audience a child will ever have.
Source: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/25-activities-reading-and-writing-fun
(This site has great activities and techniques for parents , students and reading practice)

Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70hoV-YYRkE
https://youtu.be/z2_IZvGBmZs

Sources
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing
-reading-skills/helping-kindergartener-learn-to-read
http://cehdvision2020.umn.edu/cehd-blog/tips-to-help-struggli
ng-readers/

Comprehension

Parents read this one time without

stopping!
Cynical Beliefs About Human Nature and Income: Longitudinal and Cross-Cultural Analyses
Olga Stavrova and Daniel Ehlebracht
University of Cologne
Based on the existing literature on worldview beliefs, cynical hostility, and Machiavellian
cynicism, we suggest that holding cynical beliefs about human nature can be detrimental
for individuals income. Cynical individuals are more likely to avoid cooperation and trust
or to overinvest in monitoring, control, and other means of protection from potential
exploitation. As a result, they are more likely to forgo valuable opportunities for
cooperation and consequently less likely to reap the benefits of joint efforts and mutual
help compared with their less cynical counterparts.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2015 American Psychological Association 2016, Vol. 110, No. 1, 116132

After reading turn to a partner and

discuss these questions
1.
2.
3.

Was this easy to read?

Did you get stuck on words?
Were you able to comprehend what you were reading?

Reading Comprehension

Relate
That is what reading feels like to our kids. It is very important that we
practice with our kids and show them support. Reading is far more
than just being able to make and pronounce words. Our kids have to
be able to process and understand what they are reading.

Practice
Tips
1.
2.
3.

Have students Read a book once for word recognition and pronunciation
Have student read again for clarity and understanding
Ask question along the way.

Example
My name is Bob.
I have a dog.
He is big
I have a fish
It is yellow
I like pets
I like dogs more than I like fish.
Some questions to ask are:
What is the main character's name?
What kind of pets does he have?
What color is his fish?
Is his dog big or small?
Which does he like more?

Shine Like The Parent You Are

Ask questions that will make them think back to the story and that
will show you that they understand what they read.
Practicing this at home as much as possible will help them
tremendously in the classroom.

ESL LEARNERS &

How parents Can
help their children
read!

Common Myths about ELL

Students and reading:
An English language learner is not participating because he/she
does not care, or want to participate in the classroom
A student that speaks English well as able to read/write English
well
A student that is silent in class does not understand English
Learning English will diminish the child's first culture or language
Once a child learns English, they begin to forget their first
language
(going over this with parents should take about 5 minutes)

Lets watch this video to help us

learn more about

Please save all questions for

the end,
Thank You!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wlJwugS13o (total amount of this should

take 15 mins with video
question and answers to
parents)

Activity to show parents how it

feels to be an ELL in classroom:
** ONLY RELEVENT TO THOSE THAT DO NOT SPEAK SPANISH****
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2VotSRJoBQ

Questions On Video:
What was the teacher saying?
What was subject was he teaching?
What was the first word he said?
What language was he speaking?

This is what it feels like to be an English language learner

when you are going into a English classroom.

Questions?
Comments:

You are the biggest influence in your childrens lives,

remember that you can be their biggest advocate for them,
and they rely on you for that!