Help Your Child Learn To Read

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Help Your Child Learn To Read

• This workshop will give you the tools to help you
  help your child.

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Purpose

• The purpose of this workshop is to help first
  grade parents gain a better understanding of what
  they can do at home to help their child learn to
  read.
• It will teach you the tools used in your childs
  first grade classroom so there will be a
  consistency and a connection between school and
  home learning.
• It will give parents a knowledge base of how to
  select appropriate materials and how to use these
  materials effectively in order to meet the
  individual needs of your child.

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What needs or concerns do you have with helping
your child with reading at home?
Time To Share
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From This Workshop You Will Learn the Following

• How to
• Help prepare your child before reading a book
• Cue your child when they come to a word they
  dont know
• Teach them skills that will help them read
  independently
• Select appropriate books for your child
• Teach your child how to think about what they are
  reading in order to gain meaning from the books
• Read orally with them in order to build their
  vocabulary
• Find useful websites that support their literacy

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Taking a Book Walk Before Reading

• The purpose of taking a book walk is to interest
  your child in the story, relate it to their
  experiences, and provide a frame of meaning that
  will support this.
• The introduction should be conversational rather
  than a prescribed story review or series of
  questions. It should use important vocabulary or
  proper names that may be difficult.
• It debugs the book by directing the childs
  attention to new text features they will need to
  use as readers.
• Fountas Pinnell, 1996

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How to Take a Book Walk

• Read aloud the title and the author with your
  child.
• Tell your child what the book is about.
• Call attention to any difficult words, asking
  your child to locate it and look at its specific
  features.
• Have your child look through the pictures and
  gain some meaning as to what the story is about.
• Ask your child to make some predictions.
• Now They Are Ready to Read

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During Reading

• Listen to your child as he/she reads aloud to
  you.
• Try not to interrupt and allow him/her time to
  try and solve difficult words on their own.
• Observe what he/she is doing as they read. Pay
  attention to any errors but do not interrupt.
• Allow your child to try and solve any
  difficulties on their own.

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The Three Reading Cue Systems

• Meaning Cues
• A Sense of story
• Prior Knowledge
• Illustrations

Meaning Cues come from childrens life
experiences. Meaning is represented in their
memories and in the language they use to talk
about that meaning. (Clay, 1993a)
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The Three Reading Cue Systems

• Structure Cues
• Natural Language
• Knowledge of English
• Grammatical Patterns and Language Structures

Structure comes from knowing how oral language is
put together. Language is rule-governed words
are strung together conforming to
rules. (Clay, 1993a)
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The Three Reading Cue Systems

• Visual Cues
• Sounds and Symbols
• Print Conventions
• Directionality
• Words/Spaces
• Letters
• Beginnings/Endings
• Punctuation

Visual information comes from knowing the
relationship between oral language and its
graphic symbols the letters that are formed
into words, divided by spaces, and arranged on
the page, as well as the conventions of print
such as punctuation. (Clay, 1993a)
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How To Cue Your Child

• Ask What would make sense here?
• (Meaning Cue)
• Ask What would sound right here?
• (Structure Cue)
• Ask What does it look like?
• (Visual Cue)
• These cues will help them look at the meaning of
  the text, the letters that make up the word, and
  what they know about the English language.

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Lets Try Using Meaning Cues!
Correct Sentence The bear is eating with his
paws. Child Says The dog is eating with his
paws.
Now, what do you say?

• Point out Look at that word again (pointing to
  bear). Lets look at the picture and think
  about whats happening in the story.
• Question What kind of animal is that? Does it
  look like a dog or something else?
• Remind So when we are reading, we can use the
  pictures to help us with words we dont know.

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Lets Try Using Structure Cues!
Correct Sentence I got a new bike. Child Says
I got a not bike.
Now, what do you say?

• Point out Look at that word again (pointing to
  new). Lets think about the way we talk.
• Question You said I got a not bike. Does that
  sound right? Do we say it that way?
• Remind So when we are reading, we can think
  about the way we talk to help us understand what
  the story is saying.

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Lets Try Using Visual Cues
Correct Sentence I go to school. Child Says I
went to school.
Now, what do you say?
Point out Look at that word again (pointing to
go). Lets look at the letters in that
word. Question You said went. Does that look
right? What would you see at the beginning if it
said went? What would you see at the end? What do
you see at the beginning of that word? And at the
end? What do you think it could be? Remind So
when we are reading, we need to look at the
letters in the word to figure out what it is.
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After Reading

• Engage your child in a conversation about the
  story.
• Encourage your child to develop and defend a
  well-grounded interpretation of their own
• Provide opportunities for your child to express
  their thoughts about characters and events with
  open-ended discussions
• These types of aesthetic responses will help your
  child gain a love for reading and will enhance
  cognitive aspects.
• (Murphy, 1998)

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Key Points

• Ask your childs teacher what his/her reading
  level is and if they can send hoe some books at
  their level. Your local library will also have
  leveled books or you can search online.
• Be sure the book you choose to read with your
  child is something they can handle. If you find
  them making lots of errors, try a different book.
  
• Do not correct every mistake!
• Let them try it first on their own, if they get
  stuck use appropriate questions to help them
  figure it out on their own.
• After reading, then go point out one or two
  places where you can use the cues.

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Book Selection

• If a childs eyes are skimming over the words and
  he/she finishes the book with no grasp of the
  plot line and no visual images, then a reading
  experience can be destructive.
• Books should provide enjoyment and engage
  children through humor and interesting stories.
• If your child is reading well and finding new
  learning opportunities on a particular level, the
  selection is probably about right.
• Stories that are characterized by novelty, humor,
  conflict, and surprise build intrest and
  intrinsic motivation.
• (Calkins, 2001)
• (Fountas Pinnell, 1996)
• (Elley, 1989)

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How To Select Appropriate Books

• Ask your childs teacher what their reading level
  is. The local library and book stores have
  leveled books for you to choose from.
• If you are selecting books on your own, look for
• Clear text layout
• Clear print
• Not too many lines of text on each page
• Sufficient space between words
• Allow your child to select books from his/her
  level that they find interesting.

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MAKING MEANING
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How to Make Meaning During Reading

• Making Text-to-self Connections
• Does something from the story remind them of
  something that has happened in their own lives?
• When they can relate to the events or characters,
  this helps them have a better understanding of
  what is happening or the way the characters are
  feeling (Owocki, 2003)
• What to say
• What does this remind you of?
• How does this connection help you understand the
  story better?
• Has this connection changed your thinking?
• Read Aloud Books to Support this strategy
• The Relatives Came by Cynthis Rylant
• Fireflies by Julie Brinkloe
• My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston

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How to Make Meaning During Reading

• Making Text-to-text Connections
• Does the characters or events in this story
  remind them of any other stories they have read?
• These type of connections help them relate their
  knowledge of the story to other stories to gain a
  better understanding. (Owocki, 2003)
• What to say
• Does this story remind you of any other stories
  you have read?
• Have you seen something like this in another
  book?
• How does this connection help you better
  understand they story?
• Real Aloud Books to Support This Strategy
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Oliver Button
  is a Sissy by Tomie DePaola
• Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie dePaola and
  The Two of Them by Aliki

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How to Make Meaning During Reading

• Visualizing
• When children visualize, the create mental
  pictures in their head based on what they have
  read and what they have experienced in their
  lives.
• It involves using all of their senses to get a
  better understanding of the story.
• (Owocki, 2003)
• What to say
• What pictures, smells, sounds, tastes, and
  touches do you think of as you are reading this?
• How does this help you understand the story
  better?
• Read Aloud Books to Support this Strategy
• Night Sounds, Morning Colors by Rosemary Wells
• The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer
• Quiet, Please by Eve Merriam

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How to Make Meaning During Reading

• Making Inferences
• This strategy involves using background knowledge
  to make decisions about texts.
• Many feeling and thoughts are not explicitly
  stated texts.
• (Owocki, 2003)
• What to say
• How do you think the character is feeling?
• What do you think this means?
• How does this help you understand the story
  better?
• Read Aloud Books to Support this Strategy
• Miss Maggie by Cynthis Rylant
• If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow
• Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

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How to Make Meaning During Reading

• Questioning
• Good readers generate questions as they read.
• Questioning helps them to think deeply about the
  text. (Owocki, 2003)
• What to say
• Do you have any questions about the story so far?
• Where could you find the answers?
• Read Aloud Books that Support this Strategy
• Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger
• Amelias Road by Linda Altman
• All I See by Cynthia Rylant

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Key Points

• At this age, children may need your helping in
  thinking deeply about the text.
• These strategies can be used with books the
  students are reading or with books you read aloud
  to them.
• Discussions about reading will create a strong
  foundation for supporting listening and reading
  comprehension.
• Active readers are effective readers. They use
  all kinds of knowledge and experience to
  understand the authors message.
• (Owocki, 2003)

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Reading Orally to your child

• During book-reading episodes, parents can
  introduce new words, test, and reinforce
  childrens recall of new information.
• Parents should ask clarifying questions to
  continue discussions on topics introduced by the
  child in relation to the story.
• It is through social interaction between a
  learned adult and a child that learning occurs.
• Oral story reading is a significant source of
  vocabulary acquisition.
• (Elley, 1989)

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What you should do when reading to your child?

• Read stories more than once.
• Point out illustrations that match new vocabulary
  concepts so your child can associate a new label
  with a familiar concept.
• Read the text as presented but emphasize certain
  words by repeating them.
• Ask why? Questions or open-ended questions more
  frequently than what? and where? questions.
• Use recasts which builds on a childs statement.
• For example, child says, Heres a frog. Parent
  says, Its a big, green frog.
• (Senechal Cornell, 1993)

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Lets See an Example

• The following video clip demonstrates a parent
  and child reading together. Pay close attention
  to the strategies the parents use in helping the
  child pay attention to the words and meaning of
  the stories.

Click the TV to view the video clip
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Websites That Support Childrens Reading

• Beaverton School District Leveled Book Database
  this site will help you find out the level of
  particular books
• http//registration.beavton.k12.or.us/lbdb/defaul
  t.htm
• Houghton Mifflin Education Place this site has
  online books with related activities
• http//www.eduplace.com/rdg/hmr06/
• Interactive Games this site has literacy
  learning games
• http//www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interacti
  ve/
• Reading Skills Rocket this site has learning
  activities that correlate with the stories read
  from the basal reader in first grade
• http//www.harcourtschool.com/menus/trophies/acti
  vities/reading_skills/gr1.html
• Starfall this site has activities to enhance
  reading skills in word work and comprehension at
  different ability levels
• http//www.starfall.com

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References

• Calkins, L.M. (2001). The Art of Teaching
  Reading, NewYork Longman.
• Clay, M.M. (1993a). An observation survey of
  early literacy achievement. Portsmouth, NH
  Heinemann.
• Elley, W.B. (1989). Vocabulary acquisition from
  listening to stories. Reading
• Research Quarterly, 24, 174-187.
• Fountas I.C. Pinnell, G.S. (1996). Guided
  Reading Good First Teaching For All Chldren.
  Portsmouth, NH Heinemann.
• Juel C. Minden-Cupp, C. (2000). Learning to
  read words Linguistic units and instructional
  strategies. Reading Research Quarterly. 35,
  458-492.
• Miller, D. (2002). Reading With Meaning.
  Portland, ME Stenhouse.
• Murphy, S. (1998). Remembering that reading is a
  way of happening. The Clearing House, 72, 89-96.
• Owocki, G. (2003). Comprehension Strategic
  Instruction for K-3 Students. Portsmouth, NH
  Heinemann.
• PBS Kids. (2005). Retrieved July 3, 2006.
• Pressley, M. (2001). Comprehension instruction
  What makes sense now, what might make sense soon.
  Reading Online. 5, Retrieved from Retrieved July
  1, 2006 from http//www.readingonline.org.
• Senechal, A. Cornell, E.H. (1993). Vocabulary
  acquisition through shared reading experiences.
  Reading Research Quarterly, 28, 361-374.