Archives For early reading

Reading Focus

Julie Haden —  : Oct 28, 2014 — Leave a comment

Often times my parents will tell me that their children are having a hard time focusing when reading – especially the parents of kids just beginning to read independently. Here are a few techniques to try with your child to help increase their reading focus, fluency and comprehension.2014 10 28 focus

First, when your child is reading aloud, track each word for her with your finger as she reads. If she misreads a word or makes a mistake, keep your finger on that word so she is aware of her mistake until you teach her the correct word or help her focus on the skipped words.

Another way to increase focus while your child is reading aloud is to ask questions periodically about the context of the text or story to insure she understands what she is reading. Help bring her focus to the main idea and specific details about the story.

Finally, bring your child’s attention to words that she misreads aloud. As you track the words while she reads, highlight words that she misreads. So you can review these words with her, copy a chapter at a time as she progresses in the book or text. Then after each chapter, review missed words with your child. This technique also teaches your child to be aware of how many words she skips, since skipping too many words might affect her comprehension of what she reads.

By practicing these three techniques, you are teaching your child how to have greater focus as she begins to read independently.

What helps your child learn to have focus while reading?

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Fast, Fun Vocabulary for Your Young Child

Julie Haden —  : Oct 14, 2014 — Leave a comment

Want a fast, fun way to expand your preschooler’s vocabulary and understanding? I found one while working with a student who is an English Language Learner. English Language Learners often have limited exposure to English vocabulary at home. Vocabulary is important to building reading skills and listening comprehension as well as increasing conversational speech.

zoo toobMy new student and I started playing what I call “prop” stories. Prop stories start with small three-dimensional toy figures, or pictures on felt or magnets, that depict animals, people or other realistic or fanciful objects. A blank background can work or you can use a specific background like a zoo theme for example. The key is to focus on your child’s specific interests.

To introduce these prop stories, I model the story first using specific sentences, which I ask my student to repeat. For example in my zoo prop story I might say, “A mother takes her son to the zoo. They see the penguins swimming in the water. They see the elephants swinging their trunks.”

As your child gets more comfortable with vocabulary and sentence structuring, he can begin to create his own stories without your prompting and labeling of words.

zoo feltProp stories are great for children as young as 18 months – 2 years and for older children too. You can find materials for your child’s prop story around your home or can purchase magnetic and felt story sets at teacher school supply stores.

Prop stories are fun. Your child will see them as play and will be motivated by the imaginative interactions with you. As your child plays with you, she expands her vocabulary and language skills as you label the words and create a better grasp on sentence structuring. Your child’s creativity grows too as your child creates and tells stories.

How do you help build your child’s vocabulary through play?

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Feel Good – Tutoring For Your Child

Julie Haden —  : Sep 30, 2014 — Leave a comment

2014 09 29 Bella and DragonYour child will benefit from tutoring whether she needs some enrichment in reading or is struggling. Regardless of the reason to start with a tutor, remember: “It’s never too late!”

Some of my parents who call me about tutoring feel guilty for either not catching the learning challenge or waiting too long to begin tutoring. I tell them not to feel guilty. Until your child is in school and her teacher lets you know, your child’s underlying academic difficulties may be hard to see. Knowing when your child might benefit from tutoring is even less evident. Sometimes as a parent, you might not know until your child’s teacher recommends tutoring.

Your enthusiasm is critical when your child needs tutoring. Focus on your child’s strengths and challenges, both in a positive way. Remember that overcoming challenges and learning new strategies takes time. Continue to have high expectations, but give your child time to learn new skills. Your child’s tutor can give you a gauge of your child’s pace after a few sessions and suggest strategies that you can use to encourage your child.

For example, I often tell my parents to track words for their child as she reads aloud to help with missed words and help increase fluency. Additionally, I find that some of my students who have dyslexia and struggle with reading will also have very strong listening comprehension skills. Therefore, I often suggest to my parents that they balance challenging their child to read books with playing to their child’s strength by providing audio books.

If your child is dyslexic, make your focus her strengths, not her label. I see this happen with parents sometimes – forgetting that their child is so much more than the label would suggest. In many ways, parents are better off just eliminating the label when they talk to their child about having dyslexia. Otherwise, their child may start to think, “I’m the child with dyslexia. That’s why I can’t spell.”  Instead, focus on strategies that help your child be successful.

For example, your child’s tutor might find that she is having difficulties with her reading comprehension in her science text. A tutor might recommend that you help in between sessions by using the strategy of reading the questions at the end of your child’s science chapters before she starts reading the text for specific information. This allows your child to think about the information that she should look for as she reads.

We all learn in different ways and that’s the key message to tell your child. I often tell my daughter that although I’m a great speller, I have to work harder on math. This makes her realize that we all have skills to improve upon. As a tutor, I often say this to my students, “We all have strengths and weaknesses.”

So remember, be positive and embrace your child’s learning challenges just as you do her strengths. Tutoring is a great way to help your child feel more confident and catch up on her skills. Remind yourself that you are an amazing parent because you are helping your child tackle challenges and build on strengths. As a parent of an incredible 8-year-old daughter, I remind myself of this each day.

What are ways you help your child to overcome challenges?

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Your Early Reader with 5 Easy Ideas

Julie Haden —  : Sep 7, 2014 — Leave a comment
  1.  Touch each word as you read to your child to emphasize that each is separate and unique. Emphasize that you are reading from left to right to teach directionality.
  2. Put objects that all begin with the same letter sound in a bag or box. Have your child pull them out. Say each object’s name emphasizing its beginning sound.  For example, cat begins with the |c| sound just like cow.  Then let them pull out more objects that make the same sound.
  3. Frequent the library. Help your child pick out books that they are interested in and age appropriate.  This shows them how much you value reading.  Let them see you reading your favorite books too.
  4. Play rhyming games.  This can be great fun on road trips or walking outings together.  For example, you might say, “I saw a cat on a mat with a _____. ” Let them fill in the blank.  There are no wrong answers in this game, except the sillier the better including nonsense words!
  5. When you teach letter names, use letters that are lowercase because this is what they will see in books.  Save capital letters until after they’ve mastered the lowercase.  You can find a set of lowercase letters at a teacher’s supply store.

Use these 5 ideas to start having fun cultivating an early reader!

What are some ideas you’ve used with your child to promote early reading?

Bella and Julie

First published October 3, 2013.

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Reading Games for Your Child: Target Dollar Aisle Inspired

Julie Haden —  : Aug 27, 2014 — 2 Comments

One of my favorite things to do is create learning games. This one was inspired in the aisle of the Target dollar aisle. Inspiration lies in every bin for teaching materials and learning games. Especially, when I have specific skills I know I need to work on with certain students.

bag of blocksMy walk down the aisle last week inspired a game that I call Word Family Mystery Box Grab. (Please don’t trademark this.) My inspiration came in the form of primary colored counting blocks – 18 per bag – the red blocks for vowels – all the other colors for the consonants letters. When I teach vowels, I always differentiate them from consonants by making them the color red.

To make the game, first identify the word family you want to work on. The “at” family of words is a great place to start with your child. (Think about all of those great books for your child about cats and hats!) Start by making your child’s game by writing the letter “a” on the red block, on both sides, and the letter “t” on the other consonant blocks – any color other than red.

atThen make letter blocks that your child will choose as the first sound of an “at” word. These consonant letters will make real words when added to the start of your new “at” blocks. For example, you can add the letter “c” to “at” to create the word “cat”. It can be fun to throw in a letter or two that doesn’t make a real word is fun, like “g” added before “at”. It will help your child gain confidence reading any word, even if, as one of my five-year-old students told me, “It’s a nonsense word.”

box of blocksNext put all the initial consonant letters in a box with an opening in the top. The opening should be big enough for your child to use his or her little hand to pull each letter out one at a time. (You can use a bag, too.) Before you start the game, lay out the two blocks that represent “at” middle letter vowel sounds and final consonant letter sound. Put all of your blocks for letters that can go in front of “at” in your bag or box.

The game begins when you ask your child to pull a letter out, add it to the “at” part, and then read the word. Next, have your child hand you the first letter sound block, and then pick another letter sound block to start a new word again. Repeat until the box is empty.

Multiple children can take turns and tally how many words they spell and read, or your child can play with you. Except when you build your word, have your child read the word to you.

word familyI love this game because you can use any vowel-pattern, word family you want. I recommend starting with the short “a” word families and then try other vowel-pattern, word families. Some suggestions for when your child masters “at”: try “ad”, “ag”, “ap”, or “ack” word families. Organize your word families using Ziploc bags – to identify each word family and separate the specific letters that go with each family.

Here is one game inspired by the dollar aisle.

What are some simple reading games that you have created for your kids?

 

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Official USPTO Notice of Allowance: U.S. Trademark: ROADMAP2READING

Joel Haden —  : Aug 26, 2014 — 4 Comments

One step at a time…

slide 5

 

“No opposition was filed for this published application.”

– TMOfficialNotices@USPTO.GOV

 

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Make Your Early Reader’s World Better!

Julie Haden —  : Aug 16, 2014

With the school year starting, has early reading made your child’s world a better place? Research shows that if your child is an early reader, he or she is likely to be better prepared for the Common Core State Standards adopted by 45 States, which expect kindergarteners to:

  1. take in information faster through listening comprehension and independent reading
  2. have more vocabulary and strong verbal skills
  3. have a strong reading foundation

These skills will prepare your child to demonstrate knowledge through standardized tests, public schools’ measure of student knowledge today.

slide 24Research supports that your child will benefit from early reading enrichment. The best research on the benefits of early enrichment comes from Dr. James Heckman – winner of the Noble Prize in economics in 2000 and professor of economics at University of Chicago. The world knows him best for his paper, “Schools, Skills and Synapses”, which concluded that early reading and other enrichment for preschoolers yield the greatest return.

Sadly, his research supports that children who are not reading on level by third grade generally do not even graduate high school. There is just too much “catch up” time. Once behind, these children cannot keep up with the academic rigors as they progress. What happens to these kids? Many go to prison, become pregnant as teenagers, or at best are unemployed.

My own experience supports the research. Over the years, I have volunteered regularly in public schools to help at-risk, early elementary students who were reading way below grade level. Even at third grade, most were motivated, but were very aware of how far behind they were in reading. By third grade, some had been suspended already for fighting and other acts of frustration. All of my at-risk, public school students would have performed better in school with reading enrichment experiences as preschoolers.

If your children are successful in school, they will go on to be successful in life! My experiences as an educator and parent – and data – support this conclusion. When we emphasize early reading, we can make our children’s world a better place – a place where they are successful and happy!

What skills have helped your children succeed in school?

Updated from an article first published on October 14, 2013.

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Bonding Time with Books Read Aloud

Julie Haden —  : Aug 7, 2014 — Leave a comment

My daughter was sick for the past two days. As we were snuggled in bed, my eight-year old who has been reading independently since age two, asked, “Will you read to me, Mommy?”

Her request immediately brought back memories of her younger days sitting on my lap as I read favorite stories to her. In part through those experiences, we developed a close bond as I helped cultivate my early reader.

Here are a couple favorites that your infant, toddler or preschooler might enjoy hearing you read as you snuggle:

black on whiteFor your infant up to age 6 months. As an infant, my daughter loved to have me read and act out Peek-a Book by Janet Ahlberg. This story takes your infant from breakfast to bedtime with opportunities to play peek-a-boo in each of the book’s scenes. Another great book for this age is Black on White by Tana Hoban. Using this book, you can share familiar shapes with your baby, talk about each picture to expand vocabulary and have fun together.

For your infant at age 6 to 12 months. I Can by Helen Oxenbury focuses on body awareness. Have fun with your infant as you explore her world as the baby in the story jumps, stretches and dances throughout this book. Where’s Baby by Tom Paxton is a great book for your little animal lover. In this book, a kitten searches for its friend the baby. The fun rhyming text provides a playful twist on hide-and-seek as you enjoy the book’s beautiful artwork together.

(For more suggestions to cultivate your early reader as an infant, please see my First Year blog series that starts with Month 1: Your Child’s Journey to Early Reading)

699px-GoodnightmoonFor your toddler to age two. Ingrained in my memory is Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon. My husband and I must have read this all time favorite a 1000 times at our daughter’s request for a bedtime story. In this classic, mother bunny takes baby bunny through all the rituals of getting ready for bed. This incredible book will help encourage your child’s bedtime rituals. Next, The Itsy Bitsy spider by Lorianne Siomades beautifully illustrates this classic rhyme in a way that your active toddler can act out. Your child will practice motor control with her fingers as she follows the rhyme with you and sings the lyrics.

(For more toddler book recommendations, please see my article Top five board books! The most chewed list for your early readers!)

For your preschooler. The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff is a favorite from my childhood, and for my preschool students. In this classic story, a brave little elephant, Babar, escapes the capture of hunters who kill his mother. Alone, Babar heads to the city where a kind old lady educates him. Wiser, Babar returns to the great forest where he is crowned king of the elephants. Another favorite is The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone, Caldecott-honored artist. Paul Goldone’s illustrations make this book amazing. When I read this aloud, my preschoolers love this story because it invites the reader to use dramatic expression and tone-of-voice. My preschoolers beg me to read the story again and again.

(For more preschooler book recommendations, please see my article Julie’s Recommends New Books for your Preschool Reader.)

These are a few of my favorite books that your infant, toddler or preschooler might enjoy hearing you read aloud.

What are some books your child enjoys hearing read aloud?

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APP: “Reading aloud to your child matters.”

 Posted by Julie Haden on : Jul 22, 2014 In Blog , , , , , ,
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“Read aloud to your child.” Say the experts!

Julie Haden —  : Jul 16, 2014 — Leave a comment

I was so happy to read the American Academy of Pediatrics’ public announcement: “Reading aloud to your child starting at birth is important.”

Why is it important?

First, the first three years of life is one of the most important times for healthy brain development. Reading aloud has a significant effect on that development.

Bella and JulieSecond, reading aloud noticeably increases vocabulary development. It teaches other important communication skills like voice intonation and facial expression changes to demonstrate nonverbal communication cues.

Third, reading aloud increases pre-literacy skills, like listening comprehension, which will help your child succeed once formal school begins.

What are some of your favorite books to read aloud?

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