Reading Tips for First Grade Parents
by Lois Johnson
November 10, 2009
Here are some helpful hints for working with your child at home. Happy Reading!
First Grade: What to do at home
The top three
- Talk often with your child to build listening and talking skills.
- Read to and with your child--often. Talk to him about the words and ideas in books.
- Ask your child's teacher how you can help your child practice at home what he is learning at school.
Support what your child is learning in school about relationships between letters and sounds
- Listen to your child read books from school. Be patient as your child practices. Let him know you are proud of his reading.
- Say the sounds of letters and ask your child to write the letter or letters that represent the sound.
- Ask your child to point out the letter-sound relationships he is learning in all of the things you are reading together--books, calendars, labels, magazines, and newspapers.
- Play word games. On cards, write words that contain the letter-sound relationships he is learning at school. Take turns choosing a card and blending the sounds to make the word. Then use the word in a sentence.
Encourage your child to spell and write
- Say a word your child knows and have him repeat the word. Then help him write the word the way he hears it.
- Write a word on paper and cut the letters apart (or use plastic or foam letters). Mix the letters and have your child spell a word by putting the letters in order.
- As you are reading with your child, point out words that have similar spellings, such as hop and pop. Ask him to write similar words, for example, top, mop, and cop.
- Encourage your child to write often--for example, letters and thank-you notes, simple stories, and grocery lists.
Help your child build vocabulary, knowledge of the world, and comprehension
- When you read together, stop now and then to talk about the meaning of the book. Help her make connections between what's happening in the book and her own life and experiences, or to other books you've read together. Ask her questions so that she talks about the information in a non-fiction book, or about the characters or events of a fiction book. Encourage your child to ask questions. Ask her to explain what the book was about, in her own words.
- Before you come to the end of a story, ask your child to predict what might happen next or how the story will end.
- Talk about new words and ideas that your child has read or heard. Ask her to make up sentences with the new words or use the words in other situations. Help her to find out more about new ideas by using appropriate web sites.
- Read magazines and newspapers together. Get him interested in what's happening in other parts of the world.
