Welcome to Mrs. Knighton's
Kindergarten Class
How can I help my child
How Can I Help My Child With Reading?
pillow.
· Read familiar books and encourage your child to join in.
How Can I Help My Child With Writing?
How Can I Help My Child With Speaking and Listening?
Adapted from Parents as Partners (1995), Alison Dewsbury. Education Department of Western Australia. Irwin Publishing, Inc. Toronto, Ontario.
- Talk about things that YOU read—newspapers, magazines, books, etc.
- Emphasize with your child the importance of making sense of their reading.
- When reading to your child, stop and ask questions to check their comprehension and heighten their engagement. Ask “What do you think will happen next?” Accept the child’s answer, even if it isn’t right and share your own prediction as a model.
- Create a home environment that sparks motivation and promotes literacy.
- Borrow books from the library that appeal to your child’s interests.
pillow.
· Read familiar books and encourage your child to join in.
How Can I Help My Child With Writing?
- Consistently praise your child’s writing efforts and respond to the message rather than the grammar or spelling.
- Provide a special place for your child to write, equipped with scrap paper, used greeting cards, pencils and envelopes.
- Create real opportunities for your child to write, such as helping with the shopping list, creating thank you notes or making birthday cards.
- Encourage your child to read their writing back to you and make positive comments. For example: “ I really like the way you described this.”
- Have your child label things around the house.
How Can I Help My Child With Speaking and Listening?
- Involve your children in plans. e.g., preparing for a shopping trip or holiday.
- Continue to read ‘favourite books’. Repeated readings help children make sense of print.
- Set aside time to discuss what has happened during the day.
- Make sure that mealtimes are talking times. Encourage all family members to participate.
- Using character voices when reading stories aloud.
- Singing songs together will help your child develop a greater sense of rhythm, rhyme, words and sounds.
Adapted from Parents as Partners (1995), Alison Dewsbury. Education Department of Western Australia. Irwin Publishing, Inc. Toronto, Ontario.