Reading Environmental Print

     What is environmental print?  It is words or logos that children see around the house or around their town.  Things like Cheerios, McDonalds, Wendy's, Wal-Mart, Snickers, Pepsi, and traffic signs.
   Even if children cannot read, they can recognize environmental print.  This gives children an "I can read!" attitude.
     Using environmental print helps children begin to realize that print carries a message.  When Joseph was 2 every time he saw the golden arches with the word McDonalds he said, "There's my McDonalds.'
     Children who show little interest in print around their own environment also show that they have little awareness of print in other areas, like in books or writing.  As children become exposed to environmental print, this can transfer into recognizing words on a page.
     Make recognizing environmental print a game.  As you are driving around point to signs like stop, yield, etc.  Show your children that you can obey traffic signs because you can read the words.
     Read cereal boxes, juices, granola bars, grocery sacks and cleaning products around the house.  As things become empty cut out the environmental print.  Glue it on paper or cards.  Once you have cut out the logo, Cheerios, you can Xerox another one so you have two.  Make groups of two so you can play games like "go fish" and "concentration".

     This simple activity helps children become aware of print in their environment.  This is what we want.  Make your children aware of print that is all around them.  As they become aware other doors will open to them.  Give them a jump-start to life.  You are your children's greatest support system.  You are their first teacher.  By helping them recognize words, you help them learn the beginning skills of reading.  This opens the door as they learn that reading is fun and exciting!

Challenge Your Children

     As you and your children begin to enjoy your reading time together, challenge your children.  Select read-alouds that exceed your children's reading level.  Stretch their vocabulary and comprehension by reading them books that if they tried to read independently, would be on their frustrational level.
     Select high quality books.  Go to your local library for ideas about good children's literature.  Ask your children's teachers for help.  Select stories that have a theme or will relate to other stories you have read.
     As always, read with expression and fluency.  Stop to discuss vocabulary or sections of the story.  Stop and re-read a section if your children desire.  Discuss characters and the plot.  Ask questions and expect responses.  Discussion of the book before reading, during reading and after reading is important to promote reading comprehension ability in children.
     While you are reading the story, you want your children to experience the flow of the story.  Stopping and discussing the story, plot, or vocabulary sometimes breaks concentration, but you can always re-read parts of the book to continue with the flow of the story.
     Remember you are not just enjoying the story; you are doing so much more.  You are building your children's enthusiasm towards the written word.  "Reading aloud to children who are lagging behind their peers can have added benefits" to enhancing their reading skills. (p. 59 Strategies for Reading)  It is just as important and beneficial to your family to read to your children whether they are lagging behind or not.
     While reading be flexible.  Enjoy your children.  Enjoy reading together.  Remember you are modeling a love of reading!

Read to Pre-School Children

     As your children turn 3-5 your reading can become more interactive.  This means that if you or your child feels a need to stop and talk or ask questions, then stop and talk about the book.  Make sure your child is actively involved in the reading experience.
     This is a time when you can begin to teach concepts of print.  Point to the words on the page.  Teach your child that there are words and spaces.  Show them where you begin to read on the page.  Track your finger along the words.  Show them a period.  Show them that when you get to the end of a page you need to turn the page and find the new words to continue on with the story.
     When you read aloud at this age your child will develop new oral language skills.  This includes recognizing rhyming words, understanding and developing vocabulary, using words in context, and recognizing the alphabet in words.
     At this age parents can best involve their children by talking about the book together.  Ask questions, make predictions, talk about the pictures and define words together.  All this works together to broaden your child's oral language and comprehension of stories.
     As you read these stories expand them with literacy-related play, drama, singing, and art activities.  Literacy can enrich your life as well as the lives of your children.  Read about a gingerbread man, and then make a gingerbread man.  Read about winter and make a winter diorama, a snowman, or go play in the snow.  Read about a glacier floating in the ocean, and float an ice cube in a glass of water.
     The world is open to you.  Use your imagination.  The sky is the limit!

Read to Toddlers

     Your child is growing and now he/she can sit, listen and hold a book.  Continue with your 15 minutes a day reading schedule.  Now is the time to add a few things to your reading routine.

     Choose books your toddler is interested in.  Sturdy books, like board books are perfect for their young hands and cannot be easily ruined or torn.

     Find books with large pictures and just a few words.  Label books are great at this age.  Look for books that have large pictures, with bright colors and shapes on the pages.

     As you teach your child single words on the page, touch the word, then touch the picture, and then touch something around the house or in their toy box.  Like: Nose, picture of a nose, and then touch your nose and their nose.  Another example: Ball, picture of a ball, then a real ball!

     There is no one best way to read aloud to your child.  Choose stories with rhymes, raps, chants and pictures.  This stimulates oral language development.  Choose songs that are made into books, like: Eency Weency Spider, or Five Speckled Frogs.  Children develop a favorite book.  It is OK to read this book over and over, as often as your child wants.

     Read with enthusiasm and expression.  This is an important part of reading and children will mimic this in their play and later in their own reading development.  Let children see you enjoying a good book.

     Reading then becomes a family activity.  Young children will copy their Mom, Dad, and older siblings.  Let your home become a great place to model reading.  When reading is a priority to you it becomes a priority to your children.

    

Why Read to Your Baby?

     You have a new baby in your arms.  This child is tiny and perfect, a gift from heaven.  You want the best for this perfect child.  What can you do to help your child reach his/her potential?

    Read to your baby!  Make a goal to read at least 15 minutes a day.  “Children who learned to read early without formal instruction often came from homes where parents had read aloud to them regularly.” (Dolores Durkin 1966).

     When a child is young, this child hears sounds and eventually learns to talk and express language.  This come from listening to you read and talk to them.  As your child grows he/she learns new ideas and concepts by experiencing life and listening to you read.

     When your read a picture book to your child you are relaxed and enjoying the pictures and story along with your child.  Your child begins to realize that reading is enjoyable and it will peak his/her interest in learning to read as he/she grows and has the ability to hold a book and turn pages.

     “Having young children listen to stories is…a vital part of early literacy…because it builds capabilities such as…children’s vocabulary, and pleasure associated with storybook reading.” (Lenses on Reading p.45)

     Make sure you put time for reading with your children on your schedule.  Make it a priority.   If you have one child, read just to him/her.  If you have more children gather them around you.  Read books that you enjoy now, or books that you enjoyed as a child.  Make reading important in your family.  15 minutes a day of quiet family time will grow into a lifetime of enjoyed reading experiences!

Reading a Story Together

Reading is a magical adventure. When you open a book you are taken away to explore new things. You can ride a dragon, or be transported back in time. You can be moved to tears, or laugh until your sides ache. If we want our children to get interested in books we have to read stories they are interested in.

In school when we read with the children in a "shared reading" activity. We do a pre-reading phase, read the story and then post reading phase. To cover all three of these areas it is not hard--you may already do it naturally--but it is nice to know that you are doing things that actually help children learn to read.

During the pre-reading phase, introduce the story. Read the title and do a picture walk, look at the pictures in the book. Make predictions about what the story will be about. Teach your child when you make a prediction it is OK if your prediction is wrong. Predicting just involves your child in the story. This helps your child relate the pictures, or title to things that they already have experienced, background knowledge.

Next start the reading phase. Read the story with expression and enthusiasm. If you come to a part that has a repeating text have your child join in. As you are reading have them make predictions about the story. Ask questions. Not just about what happened but higher order questions, like how they are feeling or what may happen next.

During the post reading phase discuss the story and ask questions. Ask high ended and open ended questions. These are questions that don't have just one answer. For example, after reading the Three Billy Goats Gruff, ask your child what he thinks will happen to the goats now that they have gotten across the bridge and the troll is gone. Follow up activities can include, writing, drawing, story retelling, acting out the story or something motivating to your child.

Re-reading the story almost always follows this. Read it as often as your child wants. Don't read it until everyone is bored, let your child be the guide.

The techniques of shared reading helps promote childrens' literacy development in:

1) Word recognition (have them look for words or letters they are familiar with.)

2) Vocabulary development (stop and define words along the way. Have them use the word in a sentence)

3) Comprehension (retell the story and talk about plot and characters).

4) Fluency (as a child listens to you read, then he will hear proper expression and that is what he will want to copy).

Reading has many levels. Make this an enjoyable time. Listening to Mom or Dad read can be one of the hi-lights of the day. Literacy is a natural process that begins at home. As children start to learn to read strict instruction is needed in phonics and phonemic awareness, but during this listening stage, relax and enjoy. Help children enjoy a positive feeling about stories as they listen to you read to them.

Reading and Society

In order to participate fully in society, reading is essential. "Reading is the most important skill for success in school and society. Children who fail to learn to read will surely fail to reach their full potential." (Hall and Moats 1999.)

In Teaching Reading Source book it explains percentages of students being able to read.

5% of students come to school knowing how to read. With these students it is just a natural process.

20% to 35% of students find learning to read relatively easy.

60% of students find learning to read challenging and of the 60%

30% of students find it extremely difficult to learn to read.

How can we bridge that gap? There is an abundance of help available today. A child will learn to talk by age two just from listening to people talk around them, but we need to be taught to read! Successful teachers and families need to focus on 2 areas.

1) Phonics and phonemic awareness. (See: "Rhyming and Phonemic Awareness", "Blending Small Words", and "Mastering the Letters and Sounds" in this blog).

2) Rich and varied literature and writing practice. When you put these components together it helps your child learn to read. (See: "Reading Creates an Emotional Family Bond" in this blog).

Remember the steps we have talked about. (See: "Questions Answered", "Sight Words/ High Frequency Words", and Kindergarten Children Begin to Read").

1) Phonemic awareness or the alphabetical principle.

2) Phonics

3) Reading sight words

4)Vocabulary and reading comprehension

5)Continued reading

6) Maintaining the motivation to read and to learn.

"The less students read in the first grade, the less likely they are to read in subsequent school years." (Stanovich 1993)

Better readers read a lot more words. They continually build their vocabularies. Solution: until your child becomes a good reader, read to them and discuss vocabulary. We can bridge the gap until that gap is filled.

With good instruction from school and follow up help at home, your child will be off on the road to becoming a good reader. Remember the steps we have discussed and learn how to bridge the gap. It is worth it. Reading or not reading can impact a child's life. Make sure your child is on the positive end.