1. Ready, Set, Read!
What Parents Need
to Know and to Do
to Ensure Their
Children are Ready
to Learn to Read
2. Become a Reading
Advocate for Your
Child!
All parents want their children to learn to read in
Kindergarten and first grade.
3. Many children—as many as 35% will
struggle as they begin to learn to read.
http://www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/c1/inde
This website will help you get your
child to get ready, set, read!
4. There are four areas that are
foundational for getting children ready
to read:
Language/Vocabulary Development
3. Print Awareness
4. Knowledge of the Alphabet
5. Phonological Awareness
Let’s explore each area. Learn what they are, find
some resources, and provide some learning
activities for your children.
6. Vocabulary
What is it?
◦ to know the meanings
of words read
◦ to know the meanings
of words heard
◦ to use a variety of
words in spoken and
written language
7. Research Evidence
Children enter school with a listening vocabulary ranging
between 2500 to 5000
Vocabulary differences at grade 2 may last throughout
elementary school (Biemiller & Slonin, 2001)
Children who enter with limited vocabulary knowledge grow
more discrepant over time from their peers who have rich
vocabulary knowledge ( Baker, Simmons & Kame’enui 1997)
86-98% of the words recorded in each child’s vocabulary
consisted of words also recorded in their parents’
vocabularies ( Hart & Risley, 2000)
8. Children must develop “receptive
language”.
This is their listening and following
directions language.
9. Expresses wants and needs
Responds to questions
Names pictures/objects
Initiates conversations
Speaks in sentences
Imitates
Retells simple stories
Children must develop
“expressive language”.
10. Use High-Quality Oral Language
•Model good language use
<INSERT AUDIO EXAMPLE WITH ICON>
•Engage in daily oral language
<INSERT AUDIO EXAMPLE WITH ICON>
•Read aloud good literature
•Use less “business” talk at home
11. Business Talk Conversations
◦ Come here! ◦ Tell me about…
◦ Stop that! ◦ How was ….?
◦ Be quiet! ◦ What do you think
◦ Sit down and eat! about…?
◦ Go watch TV! ◦ Why is …..?
◦ Clean your room! ◦ Do you think …..?
◦ Go to sleep! ◦ Who is …..?
◦ Get in the tub! ◦ What do you like?
Less “Business” Talk—More
Conversations!
13. Picture Books to Read Aloud to an Infant or Toddler
AUTHOR TITLE
Ahlberg, Janet & Allen Each Peach Pear Plum
Arnold, Tedd No Jumping on the Bed
Barton, Byron Trucks
Brown, Margaret Wise Goodnight Moon
Bruna, Dick Miffy
Carlstrom, Nancy White Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear
Gibbons, Gail Trains
Hill, Eric Where’s Spot?
Martin, Bill Jr., & John Archambault Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Martin, Bill, Jr., & Eric Carle Brown, Brown Bear, What Do You
See?
Numeroff, Laura Joffe If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
Oxenbury, Helen Tom and Pippo Make a Friend
14. Books for a First-Grade Student
Beginning Reader-First Stage
Author Title
Brown, Laura Krasny •Rex and Lilly: Playtime
•Rex and Lilly :Family Time
Eastman, P.D. Go, Dog Go!
Seuss, Dr. Hop on Pop
Ziefert, Harriet •Cat Games
•Harry Goes to Fun Land
•A New House for Mole and
Mouse
15. Print Awareness
What is it?
Knowledge that people read the
text, not just look at the
pictures
Awareness of how to read a
book-right side up, starting with
the first page and continuing to
the end; the left page is read
first, and the text is read from
left to right
Understanding that words are
units separated by white spaces
16. Ways to Help Your Child Develop Print Awareness
What Your Child Needs to Know What You Can Do to Help
Words are read, not the pictures Point to the printed words as you read aloud
Words are read across the page Follow along with your finger as you read
from left to right.
A book is read turned “right side up,” Ask your child to open the book to the first
and pages are turned from right to page for you. Ask her to turn the pages
left.
Words are composed of letters. Make a sign for your child’s door with her
name. Show your child the letters in her
name. In books show your child that the
white space separates the word.
Each letter has a capital and small letter Although children are generally taught the capital
form and be written in many fonts letters first, it helps if they have an awareness
that there are two forms for each letter. Take
one letter (for example, an A) and pint out all the
different sizes and shapes of A’s.
18. Children should be able to recognize and to
name all the letters of the alphabet—
capital and lowercase and out of order!
19. Most educators recommend teaching the skills in
the following order:
AGE SKILL ACTIVITY
2-4 Letter naming •Recite/Sing the ABCs
•Read ABC books
4-5 Letter recognition •This is a B
•Use plastic letters
•Read ABC books
•Form letters in clay, bubbles, sand, etc.
5-6 Letter sounds •This is a B and it says /b/
•Read rhyming books
•Do word activities involving recognition of
beginning, ending, and rhyming sounds.
•Match pictures of objects to letters
20. Discriminate and identify the 44 sounds
in our spoken language
Distinguish separate words in a sentence/
syllables in words
Identify rhyming words
Recognize common beginning, ending, and
middle sounds of words
Identify syllables in words
Manipulate sounds in words to create new
words
Phonological Awareness
21. The 44 Sounds in the English Language
5 Short-Vowel Sounds
short /ă/ in apple
short /ĕ/ in elephant
short /ĭ/ in igloo Insert icon/audio
short /ŏ/ in octopus of this….
short /ǔ / in umbrella
18 Consonant Sounds
/b/ in bat /k/ in cat and kite
/d/ in dog /f/ in fan
/g/ in goat /h/ in hat
/j/ in jam /l/ in lip
/m/ in map /n/ in nest
/p/ in pig /r/ in rat
/s/ in sun /t/ in top
/v/ in van /w/ in wig
/y/ in yell /z/ in zip
22. 7 Digraphs
/ch/ in chin /sh/ in ship
unvoiced /th/ in thin voiced /th/ in this
/hw/ in whip * /ng/ in sing
/nk/ in sink
* (wh is pronounced /w/ in some areas)
6 Long-Vowel Sounds
long /ā/ in cake long /ē/ in feet
long /ī/ in pie long /ō/ in boat
long /ū/ (yoo) in mule long /ōō/ in flew
3 r-Controlled Vowel Sounds
/ur/ in fern, bird, and hurt
/ar/ in park
/or/ in fork
Diphthongs and Other Special Sounds
/oi/ in oil and boy
/ow/ in owl and ouch
short /ŏŏ/ in cook and pull
/aw/ in jaw and haul
/zh/ in television
24. DIBELS
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early
Literacy Skills
Quick one minute assessments that let us know if our
students are “on track” to be readers. Help schools
provide enough instruction to get students back on
track as readers.
Helps schools see where they need to focus to help
our children learn to read at each grade
Helps us see where we as parents can help at home to
help our children learn to read
25. Phonological awareness must be mastered
before children are able to conquer
phonics.
Phonics is the skill of looking at letters and
producing the sounds the letters make. If
children do not have sound awareness
mastered, they will struggle with phonics.
A struggle with phonics will result in
having trouble reading.
Phonological Awareness…
26. When children enter Kindergarten in Alabama,
they take a diagnostic test called DIBELS.
This test checks to see if children are “on track”
to be readers.
Kindergarteners are tested on alphabet
knowledge and phonological awareness.
The research (insert link to research) tells us that
if these two things are not in good shape,
children may have trouble learning to read.
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early
Literacy Skills
28. What is Letter Naming Fluency
(LNF)?
It is a one minute assessment
It is an indicator of risk of reading problems
It is not one of the 5 areas identified by the National Reading
Panel and Reading First as one of the critical areas of
reading
It is tested in fall, winter, spring of K also fall of first grade
Students should be able to name 25 random letter names in
one minute by the end of K
29. Probe 1
c c N u Q M u h S i
Letter
Naming
n b e N F f o a K k
g p k p a H C e G D
b w F i h O x j I K
Fluency
x t Y q L d f T g v
T V Q o w P J t B X Target goal of at least
Z v U P R l V C l W 40 by spring of
Kindergarten
R J m O z D G y U Y
Z y A m X z H S M E Student identifies
q n j s W r d s B I upper- and lower-case
letters for 1 minute
r A E L c c N u Q M
Total: ____/110
30. What is Initial Sound Fluency
(ISF)?
One minute assessment given at beginning and middle of K
Outcome goal of identifying 25 first sounds in words in one
minute by middle of K.
Example:
◦ Shown four pictures and told the picture names, the student can
point to the one that begins with the correct sound given. Point to
the one that begins with mmmm
31. Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
University of Oregon
Initial Sound Fluency -Sample
Example
This is mouse, flowers,
pillow, letters (point to each
picture while saying its name).
Mouse begins with the
sound /m/ (point to the mouse).
Listen: /m/, mouse.
Which one begins with
the sounds /fl/?
32. What is Phoneme Segmentation
Fluency (PSF)?
One minute assessment given middle of K, end of K and in
beginning, middle, and end of first grade
Outcome goal is to be able to separate words into individual
sounds by the end of K and to be able to do at the rate of
35 sounds per minute
Reaching outcome goal critical skill for becoming a good
reader and speller
Continue to test through first grade, goal doesn’t go up
33. Example
Say these specific directions to the
student:
I am going to say a word. After I say the word,
you tell me all the sounds in the word. So, if I
say, “sam,” you would say /s//a/ /m/.
Let’s try one (one-second pause). Tell me the
sounds in “mop”. If the student says /m/ /o/
/p/, you say, very good. The sounds in “mop” are
/m/ /o/ /p/.
34. Administration Look at this word (point to the
first word on the practice
Directions probe). It’s a make-believe
Practice word. Watch me read the word:
Items /s/ /i/ /m/ “sim” (point to
sim lut
each letter then run your finger
fast beneath the whole word). I
can say the sounds of the
letters, /s/ /i/ /m/ (point to
each letter), or I can read the
whole word “sim” (run your
finger fast beneath the whole
word).
Your turn to read a make-believe
word. Read this word the best you
can (point to the word “lut”). Make
sure you say any sounds you know.
35. Parents can download samples of DIBELS
tests to guide them in helping their
children with the skills assessed.
It is important that parents focus on
helping their children learn the skills
measured and not “teach them the test”.
https://dibels.uoregon.edu/
36. What about time?
Time to play (games, games, games!)
◦ 15-20 minutes daily
Time to work (practice, practice, practice!)
◦ 20-30 minutes daily
Time to celebrate (brag, brag, brag!)
◦ 10-15 minutes daily
37. Learning the skills thoroughly is
critical for helping children get…
Ready, Set,
Read!
38. Some people there are
who, being grown, forget
the horrible task of
learning to read. It is
perhaps the greatest
single effort that the
human undertakes, and
he must do it as a child.
- John Steinbeck, 1982 Nobel Prize
Winner for Literature
39. Game Apps
MeeGenius! – Free
Small Talk Phonemes – Free
Phonics Genius – Free
Mels Phonics NonPhonics Lite Part 1 & Part 2 – Free
ABC Magic Phonics – Free
Zap Phonics Reading Games – Free
Phonic Soup – Free
Match Phonics – Free
Phonics Fun 1, 2 & 3 – Free
First Words with Phonics Lite – Free
BaldiMatch:Phonics - $ .99
Little Reader - $ .99
Phonics Dojo - $1.99
Hi! Phonics - $1.99
Montessori Crosswords – Learn Spelling with Phonics - $2.99
41. Counting, Matching, and Naming Letters
G
F
What You Need
•Set of plastic alphabet letters-preferable capital letters
•Mat that you make on an 11” x 17” piece of firm paper. Trace the plastic letters and fill them in, in an arc
shape, so that the plastic letters will fit over the letters written on the arc. The arc should extend from the
lower left to the lower right corner.
•What You Do
•Ask you child to count how many letters there are.
•Then ask your child to place the plastic letters on the matching letters on the arc of the mat.
•Teach her the name of each letter, introducing about four new letters per day. For example, “This is the
letter A.”
•After she can differentiate the letter shapes and has been taught the names of each letter, ask her to say
the name of the letter as she places it in the position on the arc.
•Repeat often, until your child can recognize each letter, place it over the corresponding symbol on the arc on
the mat, and say the name of each letter. Generally, it takes several weeks for a child to master all the letters.
42. Learning The Sequence of the Alphabet
A
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ F
C
X
E
What You Need
C
Set of plastic alphabet letters
A slightly different mat made on an 11” x 17” piece of firm paper. List the letters in order in a straight line
across the top to provide a reference for the child. This time, instead of the letters composing the arc, draw
a line to form the arc. Then provide three “anchors” by writing the letter A at the lower left corner of the
arc, the letter Z at the lower right, and M and N at the midway point at the top of the arc.
What You Do
Ask your child to take the plastic letters out of the container and place them right side up in the center of
the arc.
Then ask her to find the A and place it.
Next find the Z and place it, followed by the M and N.
The child then begins with B, Then C, and so on, placing all the letters in order along the arc.
When your child has finished sequencing the letters, ask her to check it by touching and naming each letter,
starting with A and moving to Z. The alphabet across the top of the mat can serve as an additional reminder.
Repeat this activity frequently until the child can place all the letters in the proper order within two minutes.
Generally, it takes several weeks for a child to master this task.
43. Guess the Letter
What You Need
Two sets of plastic alphabet letters-preferably capital letters
Two 11” c 17” mats with or without the letters filled in on the arc
Two brown paper bags, or cloth bags, big enough to hold the letters
What You Do
This is a game that two children can play together or you can play with your child. The object is to
try to correctly identify and name the letters based on felling them without looking. The winner is
the first player to fill in all the letters on her arc.
The first player reaches into a brown paper bag and feels a plastic letter without looking at it. If
she can correctly name it, then she gets to place it on the arc on her mat and choose another letter.
She continues choosing letters until she makes a mistake.
Once a mistake is made, the turn rotates to the next player
The player who successfully identifies and places all the letters on her arc is the winner.
44. Snaky Letters
What You Need
Modeling clay or cookie dough
What You Do
Roll the pieces of clay or dough into
snake-shaped pieces for your child to use.
Help your child form the pieces into the shapes of letters.
If you cookie dough, make sure the letters with enclosed
circles (i.e., o, b, d, q) have plenty of space inside the circle
before baking. This will assure that the circles will not
close up when baked.
46. Parenting a
Struggling
Reader
Susan L. Hall, Ed.D
Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D
http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Struggling-Re
47. Road
to
the
Benita A. Blachman, Ph.D
Eileen Wynne Ball, Ph.D
Rochella Black, M.S.
Code
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Code-Phonological-Awarene
Darlene M. Tangel, Ph. D.
Before we look at each or these skills, I want to talk about something you can do at a very early age with you child that will benefit them in all of these areas. It is something that you are probably already doing, but you may not know how great the benefits are. It is READING ALOUD TO YOUR children!!!!~
The most obvious things you can do to with children is to read aloud. Young Children learn about the world around them through experiences, conversation, exploration, and play. Lack of background knowledge makes reading more difficult in elementary school, especially in the later grades when reading to learn replaces learning to read. A child who has listened to a book about glaciers will have an easier time understanding a story about climbing Mt. Everest You may not realize the importance of reading aloud- and all that a child can learn from simply listening. The most critical benefit is that the child gains knowledge of things, people and places. BENEFITS FROM READING ALOUD TO YOUR CHILD Increase speaking and listening vocabulary- a child with a large listening and speaking vocab has an enormous advantage in learning to read. Develops background knowledge about a variety of topics Becomes familiar with rich language patterns Think about what all a child can learn from just being read aloud: books are read: from left to right, front to back, letters correspond with words in our speaking vocabulary, SOOOO Continue reading to your child every day!!!!!!!!!!
Beginning at an early age children are exposed to print in their everyday life Print awareness concepts are learned when an adult reads- while reading the adult will show the child the book and interact with the child as the story is being read aloud While your child is strapped in the car seat on the way to the grocery store, she see the stop sign, a McDonalds sign, and in the grocery story will see Life, Total written on cereal boxes or may notice Pepsi, Coke on a billboard While watching Sesame Street on TV she/he may see letters and words. Print is everywhere in your child’s environment-on signs, t-shirts, food boxes, books, television All of this exposure to print provides your child the opportunity to begin studying letters well before receiving any instruction for adults in his/her life.
A child not only needs to be aware of the print surrounding her, a child need to understand some concrete concepts about how a book is read before beginning to read. Expose children to different types of printed materials,-books, magazines, newspapers, and menus Label objects in the classroom or home- Read big books and point to the words and follow the print with your finger as you read aloud, this way children can begin to understand that the story is read from the words, not the pictures, and that short spaces separate words
Preschool children can begin to explore letters by playing with alphabet puzzles, magnetic upper-and lower-case letters, sandpaper letters, and alphabet lotto games. Post an alphabet chart at the child’s eye level.
Learning to read is an amazing feat, performed by an amazingly complex organ, the brain. As Dr. Sally Shaywitz, author of &quot;Overcoming Dyslexia&quot; and co-director of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, often states, &quot;Reading is peculiarly human and yet distinctly unnatural.&quot; Reading has been described by neuroscientists as a &quot;high wire balancing act for the brain.&quot; Learning to read is one of the most complex things a human being does. Humans could speak for about thirty thousand years before they devised systems to write and read, and literacy continues to be an elusive goal for most of the world’s people.’ To read, we must translate a visual symbol system into speech and translate speech into meaning, and all of this must take place very rapidly so that we have mental space to think about and learn what we are reading.
This is one of several effective interventions for phonemic awareness and phonics..very inexpensive. Lessons do not have to be done in order but can be pulled out to respond to specifically identified skills children need.