Extra literacy support!

Dear Families,

The following are some links that will help you provide extra reading support at home for your child.

This link has many books that you can read with your child. In addition it has an activity to accompany it and a rhyme that goes along with it!

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/home.html#Monthly%20Materials

The next two links are for educators but I would like to use them for extra support for the children at home.
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/rimes_and_rhymes.htm

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/classroom_instruction.htm

In addition, please check out my phonics webquest on this blog. It has wonderful stories, games and songs that the children can play and learn from.


Here are a couple of extra ideas...

What kids can do to help themselves
Play with magnetic letters. See how quickly you can put them in alphabetical order while singing the alphabet song.
Look at written materials around your house and at road signs to see if you can spot familiar words and letter patterns.
Write notes, e-mails, and letters to your friends and family. Represent each sound you hear as you write.
When you're trying to sound out a word, pay close attention to the print. Try to look at all the letters in the word, not just the first one or two.
What parents can do to help at home
For a younger reader, help your child learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet. Occasionally point to letters and ask your child to name them.
Help your child make connections between what he or she might see on a sign or in the newspaper and the letter and sound work he or she is doing in school.
Encourage your child to write and spell notes, e-mails, and letters using what he knows about sounds and letters.
Talk with your child about the "irregular" words that she'll often see in what she's reading. These are the words that don't follow the usual letter-sound rules. These words include said, are, and was. Students must learn to recognize them "at sight."
Consider using computer software that focuses on developing phonics and emergent literacy skills. Some software programs are designed to support children in their writing efforts. For example, some programs encourage kids to construct sentences and then cartoon characters will act out the completed sentence. Other software programs provide practice with long and short vowel sounds and creating compound words.

OOOHHH... Here is one more sight! http://www.internet4classrooms.com/kplus_phonics.htmThank you!