Not by the Book
If your children like to sing along with the car radio, go shopping with you or try jobs like gardening or auto repair, you have a great opportunity to help them improve their reading and writing skills.
Singing songs and reciting rhymes can help a child hear and match the sounds in words. Seeing and recognizing words on signs at favorite restaurants and stores can be an impromptu vocabulary lesson.
Here are some examples of everyday family activities that can encourage children’s growth in language skills:
Driving to the Beat. Ask your child to pick out a favorite cassette or compact disk with songs or poems. Play it whenever you travel in the car, and sing or recite the lyrics. The lesson: hearing and responding to rhyming sounds.
Shop Till You Drop. When grocery shopping with young children, point out and read words on signs, advertisements and labels. With older children, ask them to read labels and prices on foods, such as “Bananas--59 cents.” Share your grocery list with them, and invite them to help you gather items by reading labels and matching what you need. The lesson: relating words to objects.
Demonstration Station. Choose any household job, such as preparing a meal, fixing a flat tire or gardening. Invite your child to watch and help out. Talk while you work. Explain each step and discuss what you want to accomplish. After your demonstration, review the steps with your child, and then ask him or her to tell how to do it. Explain that completing each step is important for schoolwork and in real-life situations. The lesson: organizing and completing steps of an assignment.
In the Bag. You will need a paper bag, some tape and a set of letters on separate cards placed inside the bag (you may want to omit the letter “X”). Shake the bag and invite your child to choose a letter. Say the letter sound, and then ask your child to search the house for an object that begins with that sound. For example, if your child chooses an “R,” he or she might go to the refrigerator. Ask the child to tape the letter to the object and run back to the bag for another letter. Use the oven timer to signal when time is up. See how many objects your child can identify in that period. Play again and try to beat the time. The lesson: relating letter sounds to objects.
Laugh It Up. Laughter is a great way to check on how well children understand what they read. Select funny stories, poems or articles. Invite your child to listen or read. Watch closely: Does the child laugh or smile? Talk about what you both thought was funny. The lesson: demonstrating comprehension.
News Reporter. Invite your child to write a brief report about a special family or school event. Help your child with the report so it sounds like a newscast. Write the finished report on poster board or a large sheet of paper so your child can use it like a TelePrompTer and read it aloud from a distance. Encourage your child to produce broadcasts for the family--live or on video or audiotape. Make a report just before a holiday, and send the tape to relatives as a gift. The lesson: writing, reading and speaking naturally.
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Linda Clinard teaches reading methods courses in UC Irvine’s department of education and is the author of “Family Time Reading Fun,” set for release in December (Creative Teaching Press, Cypress).
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Tips for Parents
For more ideas about helping your children with reading and writing, try these sites on the World Wide Web:
American Library Assn. Information about award-winning children’s books and parent resources. https://www.ala.org/alsc/
Eric Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education. Information about the education and development of gifted and disabled people. https://www.cec.sped.org/ericec.htm
Eric Clearinghouse on Reading, English and Communication. Information about parent involvement in reading. https://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/
International Reading Assn. Special-interest group on parent involvement. https://www.reading.org/
Orton Dyslexia Society. Explores research and treatment of dyslexia. https://ods.org
Read-Write-Now. Helps families in fostering good literacy habits. https://www.udel.edu/ETL/RWN/RWN.html
Researched by Linda Clinard / For the Times
