How can you help your child at home?
- Read aloud to your child daily so they hear what "good readers" sound like.
- Listen to your child read daily, and give them an opportunity to figure out the words on the book they read.
- Help your child learn to recognize and form upper and lowercase letters.
- Practice letter sounds and ask them about words that begin with a letter. Example: A sounds like /a/. Which word starts like /a/- alligator, dog, or cat?
- Practice reading and writing sight words.
How can you help when your child is stuck?
Here are some ideas of things students hear during lessons when they stop at a tough word:
Please, please, please do not say "Sound it out" as soon as your child stops at a difficult word. This works only a small percentage of the time.
- Try something.
- What would make sense? (whether their attempt is right or wrong)
- Does that sound right?
- Does that look right?
- Go back and try again. (Have your child read back from the beginning of the sentence)
- Get your mouth ready.
- Does the tough word look like another word you know?
- Do you see any parts in the word you know?
Please, please, please do not say "Sound it out" as soon as your child stops at a difficult word. This works only a small percentage of the time.