The Reading Railroad 009

In this issue:
I. Fun Pre-reading Games and Parties
II. Free Booklets Offered to Boost Kids’ Reading
III. Why Parents Play an Important Role in Their Child's Reading Success
IV. The Reading - Writing Connection
V. Fun Free Interactive Sites for Reading & Science
VI. Book of the Month for Kids
VII. Working from Home
VIII. Past issues of the Reading Railroad

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I. Fun Pre-reading Games and Parties

• Play silly word games. Make up lists of rhyming words - the sillier the better! For example see, wee, tee, hee, plea, me! It doesn’t have to make sense. As a starter, use your child’s name, such as "Jimmy, wimmy, bimmy, trimmy!" Have your child add to the list!

• Play more word games with your child while you’re in the car. Say a list of words that begin with the same letter, such as bat, ball, bring, box, boot.
  Ask, "What do you notice about these words?"
  

  Later, you can add in some words that begin with a different letter (for example bat, ball, bring, box, boot, chicken) and ask,
  

  "Which word starts with a different sound?"

• Help your child learn about categories with another fun game. Think of some words describing members of a category, and then add a different word to it (bear, lion, monkey, zebra, truck). Ask your child,
  "Which one is different?"

  Follow up with the question,

  "Can you add another word to the list?"

• Sing in the car! Turn on a tape or CD with children's songs and have a sing-a-long.

• Suggest reading games. When your child has a friend over, they can both pretend to be the Berenstain Bears, for example, or Thing One and Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat.

  Encourage dramatic play based on the characters. Shop for wacky costumes at flea markets or thrift shops to add to the fun. (Besides encouraging reading, this stretches their imaginations.)

• Have a story book theme based party - i.e. teddy bear book party. Invite your child’s friends to bring a teddy bear and a book about a teddy bear to a neighborhood park. Children can play with their bears on the swings, sandbox, etc., and then they can share their teddy bear stories. This helps children understand that reading is fun, and that they can discuss books together.
  You can ask,
  "How was this teddy bear book different from that one?"

  This theme party based on children's books can also be extended to a hat party, a truck party, or a doll party. Use any item that your child and her / his friends love and appears in a toy form as well as book form.

II. Free Booklets Offered to Boost Kids’ Reading
(Deseret News)
Studies show that about 40 percent of American school-age children are reading below their grade level and that about 60 percent of children have difficulty mastering reading, according to Partnership for Reading, a collaborative effort by three federal agencies.

However, poor readers can bring their skills up to grade level in 90 percent to 95 percent of the cases with prevention and early intervention programs, according to the group.

The organization produced A Child Becomes a Reader, two free booklets, that offer activities parents can do with their children to boost reading skills and vocabulary. Go to The Partnership for Reading Program and click on "Recommended Resources." Booklets also can be ordered by calling (800) 228-8813 or by writing to the National Institute for Literacy, EdPubs, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, Md. 20794-1398.

III. Why Do Parents Play an Important Role in Their Child's Reading Success?
If you haven't read the report put out by The National Center for Education Statistics about the correlation between reading knowledge and skills, and high reading proficiency of young children, then click here to read the full report.

(Washington Post) The Federal Government assembles a mountain of information that reveals both important and interesting trends in education. This year’s report notes that differences in reading skills, often observed in later grades, are present when children enter kindergarten and persist or increase during the first two years of school. Click here for more highlights of the 2003 report.

IV. The Reading-Writing Connection
Include your child in household activities that have elements of reading and writing.

• As you write your grocery shopping list, give your child a sheet of paper and dictate the items to him / her.

  For younger children who do not spell yet, ask them what they think needs to be put on the list. As they watch and listen, say the word and spell it outloud as you write it on the list. For your primary grade child who is beginning to learn to spell, help him / her to spell the words as s/he is writing the shopping list.

  If you use coupons, ask your child to cut out the coupons of the items that are purchased for the household. Then, ask your child to look through them and select the ones you will use for this week.

  Take your child to the supermarket and ask him / her to read each item from the list as you shop. If your child cannot read the word, tell your child what the printed word says. (This is not a reading lesson)!

• When planning a vacation, let your child see the road map and help you plan the route.

  Discuss the starting point and your destination, and let him / her follow the route between these two points. (You can even do this if you are traveling to a friend's house that lives near you.)

  Encourage your child to write to the chamber of commerce of your travel destination for brochures that note particular points of interest. When you go home make a book with your child about your adventures on the road!

V. Fun Free Interactive Sites that encourages Reading & Science

• StoryPlace consists of two libraries, the Preschool Library and Elementary Library with fun activities and themes added each month.

• BBC has a wonderful inactive site.

• Fun For ScienzKidz.
  Parent guided science activities. Lot so fun things to do like "dancing raisins," homemade bubbles, making slime.

• Invention at Play
  Fun things to do for all ages.

VI. Book of the Month for Kids

One Grain of Rice. Exotic, beautiful, and instructive, this "mathematical folktale" by author-illustrator Demi emerged from her love of India. The narrative and the evocative illustrations combine to create a real sense of the culture and atmosphere of this romantic land.

VIII. Past issues of the Reading Railroad
Back Issues of the Reading Railroad

To go to How to Build A Train Table from The Reading Railroad 009