Improving Children's Reading and Writing - Strategies for Parents

The following ideas are intended to help increase your child’s understanding of reading and writing skills and to develop confidence in learning, while providing parents with a general framework for how to get this all done. Choose two or three of the following strategies and use them throughout the year.

General Reading and Writing Improvement Strategies:

Read to your child
Model good habits by reading in front of your child
Check your child’s assignment list daily
Provide a consistent time to study each day without distractions or media
Visit the public library frequently
Join public library summer reading programs
Provide opportunities for your child to attend theater performances
Use reading software or online games or apps, if available
Provide activities that relate reading and writing to daily life

Have your child write the menu for dinner
Have your child locate letters and words on food containers
Have your child help write a shopping list and have them check off the items on the list as you shop
When traveling, write words in a grid and have your child color in the boxes as they see the words on signs

Vocabulary Development:

Notice street and store signs together and talk about what they say and mean
Build vocabulary by having conversations with your child regularly

Talk about the people you see and the types of jobs they have
Talk about the colors and shapes of things you see
Sing songs you both know
Talk about the places you’re going and what you see along the way
Ask your child specific things about their day

Open-ended topics are especially good for building vocabulary. Have your child answer questions like:

When I grow up I want to be…
My family…
The only thing I could think of was…
One night I woke up so scared that…
I am happiest when…
When I feel angry I…
A trip I’d like to make is…
On the weekend I would like to…
My favorite television show….

Provide word search or crossword puzzles
Play word games (such as Scattergories®) to help develop word choice and categorizing skills
Read a challenging book aloud to your child to give exposure to higher level words
Label objects around the house with sticky notes
Describe objects using a simile or metaphor (e.g., the car is as red as an apple, or the clouds are like cotton balls)

Word Study:

Play word games

Practice word play with your child by saying words and having them say a rhyming word
Practice synonyms and antonyms by saying a word and having your child say a word that means the same or the opposite
Play games such as, “I’m thinking of a word. Who can guess a letter in it?”
Say one letter of the alphabet and have your child name the next three letters in order
Say a letter and have your child name the letter that comes just before that letter
Locate pictures in magazines and practice identifying the beginning and ending sounds of each picture
Play word games such as Hangman® or Scrabble®

Have your child look in old magazines and cut out pictures of people, places, and things (nouns), and then have them categorize the pictures any way they want
Say a letter and then have your child name an animal or food that begins with that letter (or, to further challenge the child, try having them name an animal or food that ends with that letter)
Name an animal, object, or country. Have your child use the last letter of that word and think of a word in the same category that begins with that letter, then take turns with subsequent words
Circle words in a newspaper or magazine that start with the same letter or are in the same word family (e.g., words ending with –ing or –unk)
Practice writing spelling words in shaving cream or pudding smeared on a plate
Color the consonants blue and vowels red
Have your child post their weekly spelling words on a sticky note and put it on the bathroom mirror

Reading Comprehension:

Read a story or have your child read

Have your child pick their favorite part
Ask your child to think of alternative solutions to a problem
Have your child predict what will happen next
Ask your child to change the ending
Make up a sequel

Use audio books to follow along with text
Have your child make a list of things that could never happen, things that might happen, and things that are sure to happen
Monitor your child’s reading by:

Asking literal questions about the facts
Asking inferential questions about what they think it means
Asking critical questions about how they might use the information, like:

Why did the author choose to use this particular word?
How could the author have explained this better?

Compare and contrast movies with previously read books
Provide high interest literature, including magazines
Provide reference materials and activities that encourage your child to use reference skills
Read newspaper articles with your child and discuss events in the news. Discuss:
What is the importance of the news?
What might happen as a result of these events?
What actions might have led to different results?
As children become more conscious of their larger society, they might begin to think about and investigate some of the following areas:
Providing food for the growing population of our nation
Living on the moon
Living peacefully with other nations
The impact of inventions on everyday life
After watching a movie, have your child retell the movie from beginning to end in the correct order, and using details, describe their favorite scene
While you’re reading to your child or when your child is reading to you, encourage them to create their own movie in their mind; have them draw pictures of the story
When reading together, after each paragraph ask the child ‘wh’ questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why?) to see if they are understanding

Writing:

Encourage your child to keep a journal (for travel, family events, or feelings)
Encourage letter writing, pen pals, and thank-you notes
Have your child write a declarative statement, interrogative question, and exclamatory sentence about a picture in a magazine. An example would be: There is a barn on the farm. What animals live in the barn? There are baby chickens hatching in the barn!
Have your child write a story, song, poem, or article about a family event and then read it back to an adult
Have your child write a conversation using correct punctuation. The conversation could be between two of their favorite TV characters, two characters in a book, or even two members of their family
Students who become interested in certain aspects of the news should be encouraged to write letters requesting information or commending the actions of some person in the news
Encourage students to write to their Congressperson. Their office staff is glad to supply information about current affairs—new bills being considered, their opinions regarding certain issues, and so on. They will often respond to letters that request information or ask questions

The original text appeared on an article which you can access here.

School District of Black River Falls

Improving Children's Reading and Writing - Strategies for Parents