A book created with information from my Raising a Reader family event.

Raising a Reader

Tip for home: If you have a dress-up or pretend area, add writing materials to it.

Bring a book along to read while you wait for your next doctor's visit. This extra time spent in books will make a difference.

Writing represents our language with symbols we call letters. Reading is translating these symbols/letters into language.

Some students struggle with early literacy.

Babies are wired for sound and learn to talk by listening to the language around them.

This child attempts to represent speech with letter-like forms, but seems to be still learning how to form letters and connect them with the sounds in the words.

Children begin learning as soon as they are born. Most brain growth happens BEFORE children begin school. This means that the literacy environment you create at home makes a difference.

But most important of all it creates enjoyment and motivation for reading.

How do families support reading and writing?

If students continue to struggle we often see a downward spiral, often called the Matthew Effect. Academic difficulties can lead to school dropout.

Singing with your children is another strategy for early literacy. Nursery rhymes and tongue twisters teach rhyme and alliteration (words that begin with the same sound). Teaching your child the ABC song teaches letter names and ABC order. *Be careful to pause between the letters L-M-N-O. Many children think this is one letter!

How do children learn to read and write? What skills do they need?

Reading with your child promotes many skills needed to become a reader.

Why are we focusing on early literacy? Many people think that learning to read happens at school, but it begins much earlier. Children come to school with different literacy abilities based on their learning opportunities at home.

Families can support reading and writing by Reading, Talking, Singing, Playing, and Writing with their child.

This child's writing looks like scribbles. They appear to lack fine motor skills, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness.

Raising a reader does not have to be difficult. It can happen during small moments. It can happen as you drive or ride the bus. Talk, sing, and play around with sound.

You can talk and sing to them as you change diapers.

These children show us the next developments in pencil grip and writing. There are still no letters in their writing yet. As they learn letters and sounds, encourage them to try and add some to their writing.

Magnetic letters and other letter resources are great tools for letter learning at home.

But talking isn't the same as reading and writing. Children also need to learn about PRINT...letters and words. Print knowledge doesn't develop naturally.

To help children with writing, surround them with paper and other writing supplies.

Once your child knows some letters and sounds, they can help you create lists or write notes.

Make sure to give children access to books in your home. Resources for finding free books are found on our Raising Readers webpage.

Around the age of one, most children say their first words. After this, they start stringing words together into sentences. Check out the Raising Readers resources for other language milestones (<a href="http://rusd.org/raisingreaders">rusd.org/raisingreaders</a>).

Resources for supporting young readers at home can be found on the RUSD webpage. Click on "Families" from the homepage, then click on "Raising Readers." Or simply visit <a href="http://rusd.org/raisingreaders">rusd.org/raisingreaders</a>. Resources, including videos, will be shared each month.

Hopefully you see that raising a reader isn't too difficult. It's all these small moments together that build a reader and a writer.

Letter-like forms eventually appear as children notice print more and more.

This child is beginning to attempt to use letters to spell the sounds in words. They write LIK for the word 'like.'

Learn how to expand your child's sentences with our video about the PEER strategy found on our Raising Readers website.

To support our youngest writers, allow them to tell you about their "writing" (scribbles) and give them lots of opportunity to practice their pencil grip. You will notice that the youngest writers will hold their pencil like this at first.

Talking with your child will expand their vocabularies and sentence length. It will also help with background knowledge and comprehension.

Read to your children whenever and whatever you can. Anyone can read to your child--a caretaker, an older sibling, etc. If you do not have books at home, please visit our Raising Readers webpage for resources to help.

This child has letters in their writing, but there is no connection to the sounds in the words from their story. 

The foundation of reading and writing is language.

If your child is already reading on their own, it is important to set aside time for them to read (with you and without you). The more children read, the more automatic they become in their word recognition. This will help them build fluency. Also, the more they read the stronger their vocabularies grow. If children don't like to read, focus on finding books that they love to read instead of punishing them. And that might mean letting them read books that adults don't like to read--books like Captain Underpants!

Now we see a child who can identify some of the sounds inside a word and represent these sounds with letters. This child is well on their way to becoming a reader and writer.

Reading aloud with our youngest readers models those book handling skills and builds their language skills. It also builds their love of reading. Reading to young children also gets YOU into the reading habit. You will remember to set aside time to read if you start while your child is young.

Try and get in the habit and set time aside for reading and writing daily.

With preschool readers, you are reading books with more plot, so you can discuss books with them. This builds their comprehension. Books add to their background knowledge and vocabulary as well. You can also point out letters and words and which direction the print goes.

Reading and writing with young children at home can create an upward spiral and prevent reading difficulties.

You can make books with your child. We will post a video on Raising Readers webpage about making books with children in the next few months.

Don't forget to check for resources on our Raising Readers webpage. Materials are created and posted monthly.

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