Creating a Literacy-Rich Home

1. Creating a Literacy-Rich Home Adeline Dajuste Theresa Jakubec

2. What is Literacy? • Literacy is the ability to read, write, listen, speak and to think critically. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and is essential for eradicating poverty. • Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. • The following slides explain the different components of literacy.

3. Oral Language • Children who do not hear a lot of talk and who are not encouraged to talk themselves often have problems learning to read. • Spoken language is built by talking and listening. *STRATEGY* • Talk with your child regularly to foster his/her oral language development.

4. Phonics • The relationship between sounds and spoken words, for example, b-a-t = bat • For Kindergarten knowing letter sounds is a crucial foundation skill to master. *STRATEGY* • Create Alphabet cards to practice letter sounds. • When reading with your child have him/her sounds out unknown words. • Looking at pictures can help with unknown words. Example, the word elephant may be too difficult to read. • Have older children use the cloze procedure. For example, skip the word and go back to fill in the appropriate word. • For all strategies, children should go back and reread the sentence again for fluency.

5. High Frequency Words • High frequency words are the most frequently occurring words in spoken and written language. 100 words account for almost half of all the words we read and write. • Sight words- these are irregular words they have uncommon letter sounds relationship. A reader must learn to recognize them without having to sound them out. Some examples: have & said. *STRATEGY* *Handout* • Practice reading and writing high frequency words. • Play memory game using index cards. • Use magnetic letters on the fridge or cookie sheet. • Orally spell words.

6. Comprehension • The ability to understand, gain meaning, and speak and write knowledgably about what has been read. *STRATEGY* • Talk about the books your that your child is reading. Fiction • Ask who, what, where, when, why and how questions to guide your discussion. Informational Text/Nonfiction • What is the topic of this book? • What facts have you learned from and about this text?

7. Fluency • Fluency is the ability to read text accurately, and quickly, with expression and comprehension. • When reading is slow, too much energy is focused on decoding and not enough attention is being paid on understanding, therefore comprehension is lost. • Children are encouraged to read books that they are familiar with to develop fluency. *STRATEGY* • Read and reread books over and over again. • Echo reading-parent read a sentence, paragraph or page and child repeats. • Choral reading-parent and child reads a sentence, paragraph or page together.

8. Vocabulary • The words we must know in order to communicate effectively. • Oral vocabulary refers to the words we use in speaking or recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to the words we recognize or use in print. • Good readers read more to become better readers and learn more new words. It is a cycle. *STRATEGY* If your child comes to a word he/she does not know the meaning of: • reread the sentence and think about what makes sense • look the word up in a dictionary or online.

9. How do we measure literacy in school? • MCAS • A-NET • DRA • Ongoing Formative Classroom Assessment

10. Developmental Reading Assessment:DRA The DRA: • assesses the characteristics of good readers: comprehension and oral reading fluency. • enables teachers to systematically observe, record, and evaluate changes in student reading performance. • provides teachers with information that helps determine students independent reading level. • can also be used to document changes over time in each students’ reading ability.

11. When is the DRA administered? • The DRA is administered in September, January, and June. Children who do not meet the grade level benchmark are progress monitored in between assessments to receive instruction to meet their needs to work towards grade level standards. • Your child’s DRA scores will be available to you at the end of the evening.

12. The Home School Connection • Ask your child about his/her day. Be specific…What did you learn in math? or What book did you read today? • Have a work area free of clutter for your child to read and do his/her homework. • Be sure homework is completed nightly and returned to school each day . • Maintain regular contact with your child’s teacher and attend conferences and school events. • YOU ARE HERE SO THANK YOU!!! 

13. Time • Set aside regular time for reading in your home, independent of school work. • This time could be 20 minutes before bed or before school whatever fit your schedule. • Have a set time to turn off the TV/Video games. Experts recommend no more than 2 hours of total screen time per day.

14. How to Build a Literacy Rich Home? • Leave all sorts of reading materials (books, magazines, colorful catalogs etc.) in accessible places. • Make sure your child sees you reading, you are your child’s primary example. • Encourage older children to read to their younger siblingsor vice versa. • Share your reaction to what you’ve read and encourage your child to do the same.

15. Tips on Building Your Child’s Literacy Skills For reluctant readers, try to notice what attracts your child’s attention. Even if all they do is look at pictures, then build on that interest. • Type of book: fiction/non-fiction • Books based on Movies/TV • Magazines or Comic Books • Audio or Interactive books **STRATEGY** • Visit the Library to borrow books and explore its offerings.

16. Literacy in Everyday Activities • Shopping: writing a list and reading the circular together promotes literacy importance and necessity. • Cooking: reading the recipe and following directions enables phonics, vocabulary and reading comprehension.

17. Literacy in Occasional Activities Special Events: • make your own cards for birthdays and holidays • write thank you notes. Trips: • planning… look at maps and brochures before you go. • during…write postcards and keep a journal.

18. Playing Games • Games like Scrabble, Rory’s Story Cubes, Scattergories, and Pictionary foster vocabulary and oral language. • When playing games like Sorry, Monopoly, or Battleship, etc… ask your child to explain the strategic moves they made. This will develop key skills necessary for reading comprehension.

19. Conclusion “Everybody is genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree then it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein

20. Thank you for your time. Theresa Jakubec Adeline Dajuste Time for • Questions? Tables set up with • Resources • Book Selection • DRA Scores Your children are back!  We hope to see you at future literacy nights!