READING TIPS
A - ALPHABET
AHOY
Draw a three masted
ship on a piece of poster board. On each mast, place hooks
(use either bent paper clips or bent brass fasteners). Cut
index cards in fourths, use a paper punch to punch a hole
in the top of each card. On the index cards print words for
your child in alphabetical order. Give your child the cards
and have him/her put the cards on the masts in the correct
alphabetical order.
B - "BANG
GAME"
Cover an empty Pringles
can with red paper. On the lid place a yellow piece of fringed
paper to look like the sparks you would get from a firecracker.
Inside the "bang" can place cards which have words,
sentences, or concepts which you may want to reinforce. On
several cards, put the word "Bang". Playing the
game would be done in this manner. (For purpose of example
we'll use word cards with one word on them to help improve
word recognition). Any number of persons may play. The first
person shakes the can, takes out a word and pronounces it.
If correct, the player keeps the card. If incorrect, the card
goes back into the container. The next player takes his/her
turn. This continues for three or four minutes. If a player
picks a "Bang" card, all of his/her cards must be
put back into the container. The player with the most cards
wins.
C - CHECKERBOARD
READING
If you have an old
checkerboard, you can recycle it to use as a teaching tool.
For example, if you want to reinforce vocabulary you might
do this. On each black square, put a word whose meaning your
child does or should know. In order to make a move and keep
the checker on the space, the word and its meaning must be
given. Aside from the change of using words on the squares,
the game is played as a regular checker game.
D - DRILL
SANDWICH
Flash cards are
often used to help improve word recognition. To help students
learn words better and feel more positive about the learning
situation you might use this "sandwich activity".
For this activity you would have ten flash cards. Seven of
the cards contain words known by the child - three of the
words are unknown. Cards should be organized in this manner:
three known, one unknown, two known, one unknown, one known.
As the child learns the unknown words, they become part of
the known word bank.
E - ECHO
READING
When reading with
your child at night, stand or sit behind your child. As your
child reads aloud, you should read also. This will help the
child hear immediately any words that the child may be saying
incorrectly.
F - FISH
FOR FACTS
Make a "fishing"
pole out of a pencil, string and a small magnet. Cut out fish
shapes. On one side print a statement that is either a fact
or an opinion. Attach a paper clip to the back of each fish.
Put the fish, clip side up on a table. Have your child use
the "fishing" pole to catch a fish. Once the fish
is "caught", your child reads the statement, tells
whether it is a fact or an opinion and why they chose fact
or opinion.
G - GUESS
WHO
Describe a character
from a book, movie or television. See if your child can identify
the character from your description.
H - HALLOWEEN
HAUNTERS
Make a word recognition
activity using sentences which contain seasonal words.
(Halloween Haunters--Each
of the sentences below has a Halloween related word hidden
in it. See if you can find the hidden words. For example:
Eric, Andy, and Jennifer went camping.
Peg hosted a party
at her home.
We saw it change
colors yesterday.
Do you part your
hair on the left side?
Which Jeopardy category
do you like best?
Grab a toy and take
it to the playground.
Mr. Skelet once
told us a scary story.
This car, yellow
umbrella and coat are mind.
Before we go to
camp, we need to pack our pump, kindling, food and blankets.
I - IT'S
ALL IN YOUR MIND
Put a number of
objects, both large and small on a tray. Show the tray to
your child for one minute. Take the tray away or cover it.
Now ask your child to tell you what items were on the tray.
J - JUMBLED
NURSERY RHYMES
Type or print nursery
rhymes on a piece of colored paper. Use a different color
for each nursery rhyme. Cut the nursery rhyme into four sections.
On the back of each section put a number-1 on back of the
first lines, 2 on the back of the second lines, 3 on back
of the next lines, and 4 on back of the last lines. (The numbers
serve as a means of self-checking). Put all the cut up rhymes
in an envelope, mix them up, have your child take out all
the sections and put them together. remind your child that
all sections of a given nursery rhyme will be the same color.
With older children you could cut poems into sections.
K - KEY
WORDS
Have your child
read a selection from a book, newspaper, or magazine. Ask
your child to underline or write down important words.
L - LISTEN
TO THIS
Listening skills
are very important. To help develop these skills try taking
your child on a walk and ask him/her to listen carefully.
When you return have your child list all the sounds heard.
M - MENU
MADNESS
When visiting a
restaurant ask if they would give you a copy of the menu.
Use the menus for some reading activities at home. Have your
child look at the menu and then ask some questions. For example:
Which special would be the better deal? How much would it
cost if you got an order of french fries with your sandwich?
N - NEWSPAPERS
Newspaper can be
used for a variety of activities. Here are a few you might
want to use:
Use the add pages
to have younger children find and circle:
-- specific words,
-- specific letters.
News articles can
be read by older children. Once the articles have been read
ask your child to:
-- answer who, what,
where, why, how questions.
-- underline key
words.
O - OH NO
Use the "no"
word puzzle to help your child develop vocabulary and dictionary
usage skills. All the words contain the word no.
NO_ _ A part of
your face.
_NO_ _ A ageless dwarf who lives in the earth.
_NO_ A form of crystal precipitation.
NO_ _ _ A type of cacti.
NO _ _ _ A kind of book.
NO _ _ _ _ To let someone know.
_ _ _ _ NO_ _ A reference note placed at the bottom of a page.
P - PHONICS
HOPSCOTCH
On a sheet of poster
board, paste 10-12 colored pieces of paper cut into various
shapes. On each shape print a word. Put the game board on
the floor. Your child tosses a coin or small beanbag onto
the game board. Your child will have to say the words and
give the vowel sound found in the word.
Q - QUIET
TIME
At least twice a
week set aside fifteen minutes for a "quiet time"
when all the family members sit down and read silently. After
the silent reading some family members may want to share something
about what they have read.
R - REWRITES
After your child
has finished reading a story encourage him/her to rewrite
the ending to the story.
S - SYNONYM
CONCENTRATION
Take thirty index
cards and write the numbers from 1 to 30 on one side-one number
on each card. On the other side write pairs of words that
are synonyms-one word per card. Turn the cards over so that
the number side is up. Players take turns calling two numbers
(one number at a time). The cards are turned over. If they
match, the player keeps the cards and takes another turn.
If they don't match, the cards are turned back to the number
side and the next player takes a turn. The player with the
most matches wins.
T - TIC-TAC-TOE
CATEGORIES
Make a tic-tac-toe
grid. In each section print three to five words that are related
in some way. The game is played just like a regular game of
tic-tac-toe with only one change. Before putting the X or
O in the section, the player must correctly identify the category
to which all the words belong.
U - USING
CONTEXT CLUES
Many times when
a child doesn't know a word, he/she may be able to figure
out the word by using context clues. To do this your child
reads the sentence and inserting the word "blank"
for the unknown word. As the child reads the sentence, he/she
tries to use the remaining words to help figure out the unknown
word.
V - VISUAL
DISCRIMINATION
There are a number
of ways to build visual discrimination skills. Here are a
few suggestions.
-- Make a pattern
using toothpicks. Have your child reproduce the pattern.
-- Cut small swatches
of fabric. (Two pieces should be cut from each piece of fabric).
Put all the pieces in a container. Your child is to take out
the pieces and match the ones that have the same color or
pattern.
-- Show your child
a picture that has some hidden objects in it. See how many
hidden objects your child can find.
-- Look for pictures
that have some things that are incorrect (trees upside down,
etc). Ask your child to locate all the things wrong with each
picture.
W - WESTERN
UNION
After reading a
story, ask your child to write a telegram to someone telling
about the story. Since telegrams must be brief, your child
must focus on the main ideas from the story.
X - "XACT"
LOCATION
To give your child
practice in using an index, play "Xact" Location.
On index cards write questions that might appear in your child's
social studies book. To play the game, your child selects
a card, reads the question, and sees how fast he/she can locate
the answer. Sample questions might include:
What is the capital
of Pennsylvania?
What is a delta?
How many time zones
are in the Unite States?
Y - YELLOW
PAGES
The yellow pages
of the phone book can provide a variety of activities for
children. Some questions you might ask which would require
your child to use the yellow pages are as follows:
How many auto dealers
are located in our town?
Who could you call
if you need glasses?
Where can we go
tonight for dinner?
Which florist will
deliver a balloon bouquet?
Z - ZOO
REPORTER
Cut a window approximately 6"
x 1" in the middle of a file folder. Cut two circles
approximately four inches in diameter. Divide each circle
into eight sections. One circle print the names of zoo animals.
On the other circle print actions. Connect the wheels to file
folder, making sure they spin. Ask your child to spin each
wheel. Your child is to use whatever appears in the window
as a starter story. |
