Dear Family,
If you are looking for ways to support your child's reading at home, then I hope you will find the information on this page useful and beneficial for you and your child. Much of the information here will give you tools and resources to use at home. My hope is that this page will be easy for you and your child to use independently. However, there are many links, documents, and videos to digest. Please take it slow, and try one thing at a time until you find what works best for your child. If none of these options are working well for you, then please contact me so we can figure out other strategies to help your student. My door is always open, and I am glad to assist you in anything and everything that will help your child to be successful at school. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have, and thank you for taking initiative in supporting your child's literacy development at home.
Highest Regards,
Gina Weber
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." -Helen Keller
If you are looking for ways to support your child's reading at home, then I hope you will find the information on this page useful and beneficial for you and your child. Much of the information here will give you tools and resources to use at home. My hope is that this page will be easy for you and your child to use independently. However, there are many links, documents, and videos to digest. Please take it slow, and try one thing at a time until you find what works best for your child. If none of these options are working well for you, then please contact me so we can figure out other strategies to help your student. My door is always open, and I am glad to assist you in anything and everything that will help your child to be successful at school. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have, and thank you for taking initiative in supporting your child's literacy development at home.
Highest Regards,
Gina Weber
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." -Helen Keller
Tips for supporting an emergent reader
1. Get to know your child's learning style: visual, auditory, and/ or tactile.
The video below offers a great description of each, and gives tips on ways to meet reading needs based on each learning style.
The video below offers a great description of each, and gives tips on ways to meet reading needs based on each learning style.
2. Try listening to a book on CD:
There is a FREE public library within walking distance to our school. Not only do they have a variety of books at all reading levels, they also have "Listen and Read Kits" available for you to check out. All you need is a CD player! Books on CD can also be purchased at an affordable price through both Amazon.com and Scholastic Book Clubs.
3. Turn on the Closed Captioning:
Does your child love to watch television? If so, then turn on the Closed Captioning while they are watching. The words will scroll across the screen as they are being spoken. It's like an animated audiobook!
4. Use the Shared Reading Technique:
Below is a video tutorial for parents that will teach you strategies to use when reading at home with your child. The video offers great techniques that are best for students struggling with reading rate, reading accuracy, and reading fluency.
There is a FREE public library within walking distance to our school. Not only do they have a variety of books at all reading levels, they also have "Listen and Read Kits" available for you to check out. All you need is a CD player! Books on CD can also be purchased at an affordable price through both Amazon.com and Scholastic Book Clubs.
3. Turn on the Closed Captioning:
Does your child love to watch television? If so, then turn on the Closed Captioning while they are watching. The words will scroll across the screen as they are being spoken. It's like an animated audiobook!
4. Use the Shared Reading Technique:
Below is a video tutorial for parents that will teach you strategies to use when reading at home with your child. The video offers great techniques that are best for students struggling with reading rate, reading accuracy, and reading fluency.
5. FREE Internet Resources:
The links below will take you to some websites that offer leveled texts which can be read online. The great thing about this is that on most of them, your child can click on a word being read to them, and the computer will tell them the word.
RAZKids- A FREE account is made available to all students in our class. If you don't know your child's log-in information, please contact me and I will send the information home to you.
Starfall.com- This site is very interactive, and even has accommodating games and worksheets that go along with the stories being read! There are a lot of other free games and texts for most primary reading levels.
Oxford Owl- This is a brilliant site from the U.K. that has a wealth of resources for parents. There is helpful information about both reading and math. They also have a large selection of FREE eBooks on a variety of reading levels. A reader can choose to listen to the text, read along with the audio text, or read it on their own first and then check their reading with the audio. There are also online activities that go along with some of the books. .
6. Play Games with Sight Words:
Your child may already have a small set of 'Fry's Fluency Phrase Cards' in their Communication Folder. These cards, as well as any sight word flash card, can be used like the question cards in a board game.
Here's how it works:
1. Make sure you have a stack of cards for your child to practice. They can use the 'Fluency Phrase Cards,' sight word flash cards (these can be purchased at most dollar stores), or homemade cards created with note cards and our Word Wall words.
2. You will also need some dice, small trinkets for spot markers, and a game board. While most game boards will work, here is a link to print your own at home: Game Board Printable. (Your child can choose their own game board, and decorate it however they like.)
3. Play like you might play the game of Candy Land. A player rolls the dice, moves their trinket that number of spaces, draws a card, and reads what is on the card while the opponent checks their reading. If the student is correct they may go again. If they are incorrect they must move back to where they were before rolling the dice.
The links below will take you to some websites that offer leveled texts which can be read online. The great thing about this is that on most of them, your child can click on a word being read to them, and the computer will tell them the word.
RAZKids- A FREE account is made available to all students in our class. If you don't know your child's log-in information, please contact me and I will send the information home to you.
- Raz-Kids allows students to practice reading skills at their individual level. Students will increase to higher reading levels as they complete a variety of reading tasks. Students work to earn points to use in a variety of games included on the site.
Starfall.com- This site is very interactive, and even has accommodating games and worksheets that go along with the stories being read! There are a lot of other free games and texts for most primary reading levels.
- Depending on your child's current reading level, I recommend starting at the Learn to Read page, and having your child play the games and complete the free printable worksheets that go along with each story. You can even print the stories so your child can make their own mini-book to read to friends and family members at home.
Oxford Owl- This is a brilliant site from the U.K. that has a wealth of resources for parents. There is helpful information about both reading and math. They also have a large selection of FREE eBooks on a variety of reading levels. A reader can choose to listen to the text, read along with the audio text, or read it on their own first and then check their reading with the audio. There are also online activities that go along with some of the books. .
- I highly recommend visiting the Expert Help- Helping Struggling Readers page of their website. There is a library of videos for parents that offers ways to understand and assist a struggling reader at home.
- Our class username is: weberclass and the password is: cougar1
6. Play Games with Sight Words:
Your child may already have a small set of 'Fry's Fluency Phrase Cards' in their Communication Folder. These cards, as well as any sight word flash card, can be used like the question cards in a board game.
Here's how it works:
1. Make sure you have a stack of cards for your child to practice. They can use the 'Fluency Phrase Cards,' sight word flash cards (these can be purchased at most dollar stores), or homemade cards created with note cards and our Word Wall words.
2. You will also need some dice, small trinkets for spot markers, and a game board. While most game boards will work, here is a link to print your own at home: Game Board Printable. (Your child can choose their own game board, and decorate it however they like.)
3. Play like you might play the game of Candy Land. A player rolls the dice, moves their trinket that number of spaces, draws a card, and reads what is on the card while the opponent checks their reading. If the student is correct they may go again. If they are incorrect they must move back to where they were before rolling the dice.