For Parents

The road to becoming a reader begins early in a child’s life and continues for many years. Parents can help their children along this road in many ways.  The tips below are only a few examples.

• Find opportunities for your child to spell and write
• Encourage your child to write often --for example, letters and thank-you notes to relatives and friends, simple stories, e-mails, and items for the grocery list.
• Help your child learn the correct spellings of words.

• Find opportunities to help your child develop vocabulary, knowledge of the world, and comprehension.
• Talk about new words that your child has read or heard. Ask her to make up sentences with the new words or use the words in other situations.
• Help your child use the dictionary or thesaurus to check on the meanings of new words she reads or hears.
• Help your child become aware of prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Point them out in books you are reading together or in print materials around the house. Ask her to think of other words related to the words you are discussing.

For more information on what parents can do, click here to find Institute publications on K-3 children’s reading development.

Last updated: Sunday, 26-Jul-2009 18:50:57 EDT