Family Literacy Resources

Words are made up of individual sounds.  These individual sounds are called ‘phonemes’.  The ability to hear and recognize individual sounds within words is an important skill for reading development.  We blend sounds together when we read, and we pull words apart into their individual sounds when we write. 

Some things you can do at home:

• Identify first and last sounds.  While you’re driving or going for a walk together, ask your child to name something they see (e.g. “flower”) and ask them to tell you the first or last sound in the word (/f/ or /er/)
• Eye spy: I spy with my little eye something that starts with the sound /b/ or something that ends with the sound /k/ or something that rhymes with [choose a word].
• Guess my mystery word: Try stretching or taking apart the sounds in a word.  Have your child try to guess your word by blending the sounds together.  You can take turns ‘chopping up words’ and blending them back together.

Phonics is the teaching of how sounds are represented by letters or groups of letters.  This knowledge is important when we read and write.

  Some things you can do at home:

• Playing with letters: using magnetic letters, letter tiles or letter cards, have your child spell words (“Can you spell the word ‘cat’?” “Can you spell the word ‘jet’?”)
• When you’re reading with your child, look for specific letters and/or sounds on a page.
• Point out letters and sounds you see on signs while driving, walking or shopping.
• Show your child a letter and have them tell you the sound.  Say the sound of a letter or letter pattern and have your child find or write that sound.
  

Helpful Websites:

• Reading eggs: fun and quick activities to create and do with your child
• Florida Center for Reading Research: Phonics activities

Vocabulary is all about words.  It’s the words we know and understand, when we hear or read them, and when we talk or write.

Some things you can do at home:

• Try describing things to your child (the food on the table – how it looks, smells, tastes, things you see from the car window, etc.).  Use as many different words as you can.
  
• Talk about new words and what they mean when they come up (when reading, when watching a show/movie).

Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, at a good pace and with proper expression.  Fluency indicates and supports comprehension of what is being read.  When students improve their fluency, they can be more motivated to read.

Some things you can do at home:

Read to your child: This is a great way for your child to hear what fluent reading sounds like.

Choral Reading: When you’re reading a story that your child already knows, read the story or parts of it at the same time.  Encourage your child to match your fluency and expression and to point to the words as you read. 

Echo Reading: Read a sentence and then have your child be your echo, reading the sentence after you, following along with the words.

Comprehension is thinking about and understanding what you read.  This is the goal of reading!

Some things you can do at home:

Learn together: Encourage your child to ask questions and look for books or online information to answer these questions. 

Ask questions: Ask your child questions about the books they read and listen to.  Below are some questions you can ask before, during and after reading:

• What do you think this book will be about?
• What do you want to learn from this book?
• What do you think will happen next?
• What do you notice in the picture?
• How does the character feel?  Why?
• Did the character’s feelings change during the story?
• What would you do if you were the main character?
• Did the story remind you of anything?
• Did you learn any new words from the story?  Were there any words you didn’t understand?
• What is something you learned?
• What did you find most interesting during the story?

Written expression is the ability to express thoughts and ideas in writing.  This is an important skill in school and in life.

Some things you can do at home:

Write words: Help your child sound out and write simple words.  Say the word together, count the sounds (you can have the write a line for each sound), and write the letter(s) for each sound. 

Write lists: Have your child write shopping lists, packing lists, to-do lists, lists of names, lists of things to find on a scavenger hunt. 

Journal Writing: Have your child keep a journal.  They can use it to write about special days and activities or the special things that happen everyday. 

Write Stories: Encourage your child to write little stories.  Remind them to include a beginning, middle and end.  They can add their own illustrations and enjoy reading their stories to others.

Write letters: Have your child write letters, cards, and emails to friends and family.