Parent University

1. Parent University A parents guide to reading and writing with your child.

2. Deer pair ants, Ur stoodnt wil b brnging hom riting, doo not b skaird ov the speling. The inglish langwij is kunfewxing two lern. Cidz us “phonetic” speling in thair wrk to xpres thair thouts. Foursing cidsz too us cunveshunal speling reedooss thair dezir and abilite to rite. It iz mi job 2 teech ur child two uz reesorsis and lerning to beecum a “Smartie Writer”. U can hlp ur child bi incoruging thim at eech divelupmentil stag. Axks ur child to reed and esplane thair riting to u. Az yor child lerns about the inglish langwij tha will mak the tranzishun to “Adult Writing”. Thank u four ur saport, The Kindergrden Tem

3. Developmental Stages of Writing • Letter strands ASDk0w20mas/opdsmapGso. • Beginning sounds only Vhszbandbk. • Beginning and ending sounds with some high frequency words The hsizbg and blk. • Phonetic Spelling The hows is big and blak.

4. Strategies for sounding out words… • Stretch and Snap • Chomp and Slide • Tap it out • Stretch like a rubber band Whatever strategy you use, remember that your child should only write the letters of the sounds that THEY hear. Although it is very helpful for you to stretch out the words for them, do not force them to “hear” sounds they don’t.

5. High Frequency Words Vs. Phonetic Spelling High Frequency Words and Spelling Patterns Why is phonetic spelling important? Without phonetic spelling, students would be greatly limited in their writing. If the child does not know the high frequency word you cannot expect them to spell it correctly. They will need phonetic spelling. (Ex. “of” might become “uv”) Students feel empowered when they can express themselves through writing. Phonetic spelling allows them to safely do so without feeling as if they must spell the word correctly. • High frequency words should be spelled correctly once the child has learned the word. • High frequency words are taught because the are frequently read and written. Most high frequency words cannot be sounded out. • Only certain spelling patterns are taught in the early years (Kindergarten and 1st grade).

6. Why is your child writing? Writing for a purpose Handwriting Proper letter formation Writing on the lines correctly Tall letters, short letters and letters with a tail Able to distinguish between capital and lowercase letters (even the one that look the same, ex. Cc). * We have expectations for handwriting, however it is important to remember why the child is writing, to write for a purpose or to practice handwriting. • Does the writing make sense? • Is it telling a story (fictional or nonfiction), a thought or feeling, a poem, etc? • Is your child using high frequency words and phonetic spelling? • Are capital and lowercase letters in the correct spot? • Is there proper punctuation? • Writing from the top to the bottom and the left to the right.

7. Reading Strategies

8. Before Reading • Review the title and cover • Take a “book walk” or “picture walk” • Ask your child, “Do you have any questions about this story?” • Make predictions • What do you think this book is about? • What do you think will happen? • What do you think about the characters?

9. During Reading • Point to the words while reading. • Have the children sound out words and think about the story when making a guess. • Encourage and refer to strategies chart if the child struggles with a word. • Try to refrain from just telling the word-instead show them how you would figure out the word. • Re-read the sentence to regain meaning after sounding out the word.

10. What do I do when I come to a word I do not know? • Look at the picture. • Look at the beginning letter of the word and get your mouth ready to stretch it out. • Blend the sounds together. • Look for chunks- ex: sit has the sight word it inside. • Think about what would make sense, what would sound right, and what looks right. • Make a guess and check it. • Go back and re-read the sentence with the new word. Remember to praise the children on their effort and what they are doing to figure out the words. The process is just as important as the end product!

11. Example: I see a dancer.

12. After Reading • TALK about the book! • Reading is not only reading the words but gaining meaning from what is read or comprehension of the book. • Think about the predictions that were made. Were there any correct predictions or surprises? • Discuss the characters, the setting, and the events that happened in the story. • Discuss with your child their favorite parts or characters and any connections they may have… Does this story remind you of anything? • Comprehension Strategies

13. After Reading Activities • Act out the story (with or without props. • Make up a sequel to the story. • Draw pictures that show the events in the story then use them to retell the story. • Read the book again and again! • Write about their favorite part or a connection they may have! • Learn about the author and/or illustrators • Talk about his/her life. • Look at his/her other books. • Draw a picture of the character in these books.

14. Stages of Reading Kindergarten and 1st grade Expectations

15. Level 2-3 Nonfiction-End of Kindergarten expectations Strong picture support, consistent placement of texts (at the bottom), predictable, simple sentence patterns, familiar topics.

16. Level 3-4 Fiction-End of Kindergarten expectations Moderate picture support, consistent placement of texts (at the bottom), may include dialogue, varied sentence structure, familiar topics.

17. Level 5-6 Nonfiction-End of 1st 9 weeks expectations for 1st grade. Moderate picture support, 2-3 repeated sentences, familiar topics, sight words appear frequently,

18. Level 15-16 Fiction-End of 1st grade expectations. Less picture support, 3 or more sentences on each page, varied sentence patterns, sophisticated vocabulary, background knowledge needed.

19. Level 15-16 Nonfiction-End of 1st grade expectations. Less picture support, 3 or more sentences on each page, varied sentence patterns, sophisticated vocabulary, background knowledge needed.

20. Reading Aloud Why is reading to your child important?

21. We read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: • to reassure • to entertain • to bond • to inform or explain • to arouse curiosity • to inspire

22. But in reading aloud, we also: • Condition the child’s brain to associate reading with pleasure • Create background knowledge (schema) • Build vocabulary • Provide a reading role model for fluent reading