Literacy Activities

Literacy activities do not always have to be overt. It is possible to take steps to improve your child’s reading without doing any direct teaching. This applies to a preschooler just beginning to learn his letters as well as an upper-elementary reader.

One: Check your environment.
Is your home filled with stuff to read? You, and your child, need to see many readable items in your house every day. There should be bookshelves in every bedroom, in the family room or den, the playroom, even in the kitchen for all those cookbooks! Comic books, novels, poetry, biographies, art or craft books, how-to books, magazines, a newspaper, instruction manuals, classics, etc.

Two: Get the books.
A visit to the public library needs to be on your weekly schedule. “Going to the library” should not be seen as a chore but as an enjoyable activity in a fun and interesting place. Let your child choose his books while you are picking yours. Alternatively, help him find some and then ask him to help you! Together investigate the non-fiction section to find a book on an activity or subject you both love, such as origami or baseball.

Three: Do the reading.
Set aside time each day to pull out your own library books. Get yourself a subscription to a magazine about something you love: dogs, motorcycles, gardening, or antique collecting. Read to yourself when your child is in the room. Your child needs to see you engaged with a book or magazine regularly.

Four: Read with your child.
Go through that non-fiction book you both chose at the library. Read to your child and then ask her to read what she can to you. If she can’t read yet or doesn’t want to read aloud, don’t worry about it. Just read. Yes, you can read to an older child, perhaps a chapter or two of longer books such as the Harry Potter or Little House on the Prairie series. Perhaps you read one chapter, your child reads the next.

Five: Gift your child with books about subjects he loves.
Let him have his own little library in his room with his favorite fiction and non-fiction books. Even if he doesn’t like reading, get him books on a subject he loves. The more the book has to do with his favorite activity, the more likely he is to read it.

If reading is a regular literacy activity in your house, your child will view reading as a normal part of life. The more she reads, the better a reader she becomes.

****
Michelle B. writes about literacy and ECE training for the DaddyTeller group.

Add this to your literacy activities! Here is a simple and fun game to play with your beginner reader to reinforce letter-name remembering and letter-sound practice.

Keep a coloring book or two with a subject matter your child enjoys separate from his regular coloring book stash. For this activity, pull out a picture that is not too detailed, so you can lightly pencil in a letter in the individual spaces. Fill a letter your child is currently working on in each space.

How the game is played: Show your child the letter in a space and ask her to tell you the name of it. If she gets it right, she gets to choose a color and fill that space in. After she finishes coloring that space, it’s your turn. Your preschooler then points to a letter and asks you what letter it is. Be sure to give her the correct answer and color in the space. By taking turns, this allows your child to ask you the name of a letter she is unsure of.

If he does not know it, tell him the name of the letter and take your turn. When your child gets them correct consistently, on one of your turns answer with the wrong letter. He will probably gleefully tell you that you cannot color this turn! Do not give a wrong answer until you are sure your child will catch it.

If your child wants to continue this game and is getting them all correct, or for the next time you play, make it more challenging by asking for the letter’s sound. When she is ready, ask for words that begin with the letter to which you are pointing.

Be sure to hang your completed game picture on the refrigerator in celebration of a game well played! Keep your literacy activities fun!

Find some good coloring books at Amazon!

***
Michell B is a contributor to a variety of websites including http://www.homeschooltheater.com

Literacy does not begin to happen when your child heads off to kindergarten. Rather, it is a gradual process that begins in earliest babyhood, with hearing their parents and siblings speak. It continues to develop through their toddler and preschool years. A parent’s interaction with their child is crucial for a smoother journey into successful reading.

So how can a parent encourage such early literacy? Quite easily, actually. Beginning literacy activities do not require flash cards or workbooks. You do not have to “teach” reading. Rather, have fun with your baby! By reading to, talking and playing with your child you are increasing the development of language connections in his brain. Point to signs and read them aloud. Sing lullabies and silly songs. Repeat back to your baby the beginning sounds she attempts. Talk to your baby every time you pick him up, about whatever you are doing. Talk about the different textures he feels, such as the soft blanket or the fuzzy stuffed bear. Ask her questions, such as, “Do you see the yellow flower?” It doesn’t matter that the baby is too young to answer. She is busy learning about conversations and language!

You will encourage your child’s literacy growth simply by immersing him into your own world of reading. Read to your little one. Often. If you have your own reading to do, your own book will work just as well with a small baby. This is because the subject matter is not important yet, but rather the feel-good association that will be established between reading and laying in the loving parent’s arms and hearing the soothing voice. The child will develop a joyful view of reading by this relationship of comfort and love with the reading experience.

As your baby watches you brush your teeth, eat your dinner and talk on the phone, she learns that these are things adults do. So it should be with reading and writing. He will learn that you read the newspaper, cereal box, mail, webpages. That you write shopping lists, notes, recipes, addresses. And that this is a part of adult life.

By doing these simple activities, you will be laying the groundwork for the successful reading that lies in your baby’s future.
***
To get started in storytelling with your child, come learn about the DaddyTeller Book.

Literacy Activities belong in your family, too! You and your preschooler can have some fun ending boredom and building literacy skills at the same time while driving in the car.

On the road, challenge your little one to point to signs he sees and say any he recognizes, such as fast food businesses or stop signs. Start with “A” and see how far through the alphabet you can go by taking turns calling out letters you see on the signs.

Provide a space for books and writing pads and pens, within easy reach of your child. Tell a story. Call out the items you see beginning with a certain sound. Ask questions, such as, “What animals do you see?” or play I Spy. Look for different states on license plates.

Recite nursery rhymes or tongue twisters together. Play rhyming games, where one of you says a word and the other says one that rhymes with it. Sing children’s songs. Play a children’s audio book. Dig into early childhood fun!

These are all simple activities you and your little one can do to pass the time in the car, but each one also increases your child’s early reading skills. This is a perfect time to play with some of these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3IvvfoZgBA Here is a short video about using storytelling in your car, the doctor’s office and more. A bit of literacy coaching!

Welcome. Learn about literacy activites for the classroom and home.