Reader

Grade1: Transitional
Stage
Parentsor Guardians,
herearesomebeneficial
youcando at hometo helpyourchild
andfunactivities
in reading.Shortsessions
becomemoresuccessful
seemto workbest,andthesesimpleactivities
canbe
worthwhile
andenjoyable
forbothyourchildandyou.Beingsuccessful
in readingcanhelpyourchiHdo well
all throughthe schoolyears.
Aclivity

Skill Addressed

Playthe punctuationgame.Createthree signs,one

witha period,one witha questionmark,and the tinal
one with an exclamationpoint.To play the game,ask
the childto standa few leet awayfrom you. Hold up
one ot the threesigns.Whensheor he seesthe
period,the childshouldrun up to you and stop,to
signalthat a periodtells the readerto stop.lf you hold
up the questionmark,the childshouldrun up to you,
placinghis or her handson hipsand doinga headtilt
as if askinga question.Whenyou holdup the
point,the childshouldrun up to you and
exclamation
jump up and downto showexcitement.

ldentilysentenceleaiures.

Createa "SilentF'word bookusingstripsof paper.

Write a three-letterword (onethat startswith a
hasa vowelin the middle,andendswitha
consonant,
consonant-CVC) on each strip,leavingextraspace
at the end (thatis, at, cap,mad, can, Jan,pal, tap).
Layingthe stripson a table,fold the strip up toward
the word,barelytouchingthe edgeof the paperto the
finalconsonant.Writethe lettere on the flap.Staple
the stripstogetherto forma "SilentE' bookand take
turnsreadingeachwordin its CVC{ormandthen
foldingthe flap backto then readthe word with -e on
the end.Talkabouthowthe -e changesthe soundol
the vowelfroma $hortsoundto a longone (thatis, at
becomesate, cap becomescape, elc.).

ldentifyvowelsounds

Get a smalljar. Leavethe top open for adding

marbles.Thinkot a wordand saythe word1othe child
breakingthe word into its sounds{for example,you
saythe soundslcl /a/ ltl to the child.Ask the child how
manysoundshe or she hears(three),dropthat many
marblesintothe jar,and blendthe soundsto saythe
wholeword).Continueuntilthe childcan countthe
soundsand thensaythe wholeword.

Blendphonemesto producesingle-syllable
words.

Helpthe childrecognize
the firstsoundin a wordby
showingthe childa picture(forexample,a dog)lrom
a bookor magazineand askinghim or herlo identify
the correctwordout of threechoices:"ls this a /lff/-og,
a ldldldl-og,or a /sss/-og?"A varialionfor this activity
is to ask if a wordhasa particularsound:"ls therea
ldl in dog2"Youcan then try,"Whichsounddoes dog
startwith - ldl, lshl,or 1ll?"This encourages
the child
to practicehearingand sayinga word in partsseparatingthe first soundfromthe rest of the word.

ldentifyand pronouncethe initialconsonant

pnoneme.

Distinguish
longfromshorlvowelsounds

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One wayto demonstratethe middlevowelsoundto

the childis to drawa pictureof a train showingan
engine,a passengercar,and a caboose.Three
connectingboxescan be drawnundereaChpart of
the train:one undertheengine,one underthe
passngercar,and one underthecaboose.Explainto
the childthat wordshave beginning,middle,and
endingsoundsjust liketrainshavebeginning,middle,
and endingparts.Helpthe childundectandby slowly
pronouncinga word havinga c,onsonant-vowelconsonant(CVC),for example,lpl-frt-lgl,and pointing
to the bo)(conespondingto the positionof eactt
soundin the word. Repeatthe wordand ask the child
to identitywherehe or $he hearsthe difisrentsounG:
"Wher6do you hear the Al in pigft'$lowlysoundout
other CVCwordsfor him or hrto listento and have
him or her mark the box underthe trainthat indicates
the positionofthe soundyou say.

tdentifyand pronouncethe medialvowelphoneme.

One way to demonstratefinal consonantsound

positionsto the child is to drawa pictureof a train
shor,ving
an engin,a passngercar, and a @boose.
Three connectingboxescan be drawnundereach
partof the train:one underth6engine,one underthe
passengercar,and one underthscaboose.Explainto
the childthat wordshavebeginning,middle,and
endingsoundsjust liketrainshavebeginning,
middle,
and endingparts. Helpthe childunderstandby slowly
articulatinga CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant)
word (for example,lpl-lil-lgl)and pointingto th6 box
corrspondingto the positionof each soundin the
word. Rpeatthe wordand ask the childto identify
wherehe or she hearsthe differgntsounds:nVhera
do you hearthe /g/ in pig?"Slowlysoundout orher
CVC wordslor him or herto listento and havehim or
her markthe box underthe trainthat indicatesthe
positionof the soundyou state.

ldentifyand prcnouncethe linal consonantphoneme.

Askthe childwhatsoundsh or she hearcin a word

and helpth childto isolateeachsound(tor example,
What soundsdo you hear in baf?hl lal tl.What
soundsdo you hear in cup?lcl lul lpll. Bemember,
wordsoften havefewersoundsthan they haveletters
(for example,treehas only thre sounds:rtlr/e/.

Segmentphonemesin words.

Playthis decodinggame:Writeseveralsimplewords
on cards (flcrexample,ma4 seat, ship, ban, etc.) and
placethe cardsupsidedown in a stack.Taketurns
choosinga card, blendingthe soundsto formthe
word seen on the card,and creatinga sentencewilh
the word.

Decodewords.

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Activiiy

SlrillAddressed

Playa digraphgamewiththe childusingplasticeggs.

On one half,write a digraph(two lettersthat make
only one sound,such as fh, ch, sh, and nzh).On the
other hall, writethe word beginningswi, ba, fif, four,
wor, ear, and pa to create the words urifh,bath, fifth,
fourth,worth,Earth,and pafh. Rotateone side of the
egg to readeach new wordas it is formed.(A marker
worksbestfor writingon the plasticeggs.)

Recognize
commonconsonantdigraphs.

Playa digraphgamewiththe childusingplasticeggs.

On one half,writea digraph(twolettersthat make
onlyone sound,suchas th, ch, sh, and wh).On the
other half,writethe word beginningswr,ba fif, four,
wor,ear,and pato createthe words ryifh,bath, fifth,
faurth,worth,Earth,and path. Rotateone side of the
egg to readeach new wordas it is formed.(A marker
worksbestfor writingon the plasticeggs.)

Knowspelling-sound
correspondences.

On a pieceot paper,write a short CVC (a wordthat

startswitha consonanl,hasa vowelin the middle,
and ends in a consonant)word such a, mat, hat, and
sat,Havethe childsoundout the word.Changeone
of the lettersat a time to makenew words({or
example,changernafto saf to sagto sap,and from
sapto srp),askingthe childto say eachnewword.

Decodeone-syllable
words.

Createa "SilentF wordbookusingstripsof paper.

Writea three-letter
CVCword(onethat startswitha
has
vowel
consonant, a
in the middle,andendswitha
consonant)on eachstrip,leavingextraspaceat the
end (thatis, at, cap,mad, can,Jan,pal, tap).Laying
the stripson a table,foldthe stripup towardthe word,
barelytouchingthe edgeof the paperto the final
consonanl.Writethe lettere on the flap.Staplethe
strips togetherto form a "SilentF'book and take
turnsreadingeachwordin its CVCformandthen
foldingthe flap backto then readthe wordwith -e on
the end.Talkabouthowthe -e changesthe soundof
the vowelfroma shortsoundto a longone.Thal is, af
becomesate, cap becomescape, etc.

Decodelongvowelsoundsin words.

Createa "SilentE'word bookusingstripsof paper.

Write a three-letterCVC word (onethat startswith a
hasa vowelin the middle,andendswitha
consonant,
consonant)on each strip,leavingextraspaceat the
end (thatis, at, cap,mad, can, Jan,pal, kp). Laying
the stripson a table,foldlhe stripup towardthe word,
barelytoucfiingthe edgeol the paperto the final
consonant.Writethe lettere on the flap. Staplethe
stripstogetherto forma "SilentF'book andtake
turns readingeach word in its CVCform and then
foldingthe flap backto then readthe word with -e on
the end.Talkabouthowthe -e changesthe soundof
the vowelfroma shortsoundto a longone.Thatis, at
becomesate, cap becomescape, etc.

Knowcommonvowelgraphemesthat representlong
vowelsounds.

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Sltfll Adrlrwd

Dividewordswith morelhan one syllableinto

syllables {lor example,tantasficbecomeslfarl lta#
/tic/; basket becomesrbas/ /keV).Write each syllable
on a note card.Displaythe syllablesthat makeup one
of the wordsin jumbledorder (for example,
tus-tun-tic).Ask the childto arange the syllablesto
formthe wordcorrectly.Pointout that each syllaUe
has a vowelor rowel sound(e.9.,/bV/cV/ 1cla0.

Knowthat everysyllablemusthavea vowelsound.

Dividawordswith morethan one syllableinto

syllables(for example,fanfastcbecomesrtan/ltad
hicl; baskettucomes/bas/AeV).Write each syllable
on a notecard.Displaythe syllablesthat makeup on
of the wordsin jurnbledorder (for example,
tas-F,n-ticl.Ask th childto arrangethe syllablesto
form the word correctly.Pointout that each syllable
has a vowelor vowelsound(e.9., lbY lcyl lclefl.

ldentitysyllablesin words.

PlaySeparated-Syllables
Read:Writewordsdown,
syllablebysyllable,
separating
thesyllables
and
leavingenoughspacebetv{een
thawordpartsforthe
(forexample,
childio sethesyllabledivisions
fa ble;
ab sent;pumpkin;basket).Askthochildto read
eachwordbyblending
thesyllables
together.

Decodetwo-syllablewods.

PlAySyllable
Scoop:Writedownvariouswordswith
Breakwordsintosyllabl$.
morethanonesyllable
fromoneof thchild'sfarorite
$tories{torexample,basket,grandmothe4
little,
riding).Workingwiththechild,drawan arcunder
Eqh$yllableasthechildreadseachwordaloud.(For
exarnpfe,
in the!4lordoaskefthechilddrawsan arc
underbas-andunder-kefin grandmoffierth
child
drawsan arcundergrand-,under-motll,andunder
-e4.
-s,
Ona pieceof paper,writeoutendings(sutfixes)
'es,-ed,4, -ing.Writeonebasewordat a time(br
play,miss,furn,
example,
clean,dre&9,
agrea,slout,
light,clea\, andaskthechildto namewordshe or
shecanbuildbyaddinga wordending.

Readwordswith inflectionalendings.

Use sandpaperto cratewordcardsfor common

irregularwords(forexample,was, said,or).Ask the
child to readthe wordswhiletracingorrerthe lettors
with a linger.Ask the childto write the worddown on
a pieceof paperand then to lmk for that word in
magazines,newspapers,or junk mail.Oncethe child
findsthe sameword,ask th6 childto cut out the word
ard glue it nexitto its match.

Readwordswith inegularspellings.

10

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Activity

Skill Addressed

Use sandpaperto createwordcardsfor common

irregularwordsfor example,was,said, ol). Ask the
childto readthe wordswhiletracingoverthe letters
witha finger.Askthe childto writethe worddownon
a pieceof paperand then to looklor that wordin
magazines,
newspapers,
or junk mail.Oncethe child
findsthe sameword,askthe childto cut out the word
and glue it nextto its match.

Recognize
wordswith irregularspellings.

Motivatethe childto read by sharingin activitiesthat

mayinoeasehis or her interest.Ask the childto talk
to you oncehe or she has finisheda story,tellingthe
besl part or favoritecharacter.Ask him or her to read
that part to you.

Readtextswith purposeand understanding.

Participate
in Reader'sTheaterwiththe child.There
Readon-levelle)d accuratelyand fluently.
are manyscriptsavailablefor freeon the Internet,or
you can createone from a tavorilestory.Providethe
scriptfor the childwith his or her characte/sDarts
highlighted
in a speci{iccolor.Taketurns reading
assignedpartsof the scriptwhileprovidingassistance
for the childwheieneeded.Practiceseveraltimes
untilyou andthe childcan readthe scriptlluentlywith
properexpression.
Changecharacters
and continue
until you both havereadall ol the material.
Lookat the illustrations
togtherbeforeyou reada
storywithyourchild.Listento the childreadthe story
aloud.Lookingback at the pictureis one way to
decidewhethera wordmakessenseor not. For
example,if the child reads"caf insteadof "cow"for
the word cow,ask the childto look at the pictureand
to thinkaboutwhatwordmakessense.

and understanding.
Conlirmwordrecognition

Listento the childreada storyaloud.Remindthe

childthat whilereading,he or she maysee an
unfamiliar
word.lf the childcomeslo an unknown
word,you can remindhim or herto rereadthe
sentence,asking,"Doesthe wordmakesensein the
sentence?"

wordrecognition
and understanding.
Sel{-correct

Playa game of substitutionof soundsin words.Say

somethinglikethis, 'Add /m/ to /aV. What word did
you make?"(mat)"Good,changethe /rnl to /s/. What
word did you make?"(sat)

Use onsetsand rimesto createnew words(ip to

makdip,lip,slip,ship).

On a pieceol paper,writeout endings(suffixes)-s,

-es,-ed, -d, -ing.Writeone baseword at a time (for
example,clean, dress, agree, slow,play, miss, turn,
light,clear)and ask the childto namewordshe or she
can buildby addinga wordending.

Createnew wordsby combiningbase wordswith

affixesto connectknownwordsto new words.

t1

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Actll'|ty

.',:,:1,+

PlayCompoundWord tvtemory.Makea set of cards

ldentifuand understrand
conpouM words
with 6ightto twlvedividedcompoundwordssuch as
goldfish(onecard with the wordgoil+ one card with
the word tislt), birdhouse(bird+ house),and sun$rine
(sun+ shine).Placethe cardshcedown on a table or
otherflat surface.Taketurns with the childtuming
overtwo cards at a time. tf the two cardsform a
compoundword,the playerkeepsthe cardsand tiakes
anotherturn. lf the two wordsdo not lorm a
compoundword, plae them backhcedown, and the
turn passesto the otherplayer.Playcontinuesuntilall
the compoundwordshavebeenformed,and the
winneris the one with the most pairs.Bereadthe
compoundword pairsfor extra practice.
Playa game involvingthe substitutionof final sounds
in words.Say somethinglike,"Thisis the word r?af.
Changelhe lll lo lnl. What worddid you make?'
(man)"Good,changethe/dlto/p/. What worddid you
make?" (map)

finalconsonant
Substitute
sound{namedwords),

Playthe classicgame Hangmanwifr the child,using

variouswordswith blends(trro-lettereombinations,
euch as bl, br, el, cr, dr, fl, fr, gt, gt gl, Fr, 4u, se s& s/,
sm, Sa sp, sf, gr,v,tti sp, st' as the targi words. For
example,drawingdashesfrcreach lettsr- - a6kthe childto guessthe word (bhnket} As the child
guasssslettersin th wordfdraw one part ol a stick
figurefor each in@nectguess,and fill in the raord
withthe correctletterfor eachcorrectguess.Play
c,ontinues
untilthe word is guessedor a complete
stic* {igureis drawn.

Distinguish
consonant
bleruls(words).

Sharea bookwith ropatedrhymingphrases{lor

example, Brown Bean Brown Bear, What Do You
See?or a Dr. Seussstory)with the child. Leaveoff
the final rhymingwordwithina phraseand helpthe
childfill in the missingfiyming word(forexample,
"Brownbear,brownbear whatdo you see? | see a
greenfrog lookingat _i').

words(unnamed
ldentilyrhyming
answers).

Rs671
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LateEmergent
Kindergarten:
Reader
Stage
youcando at hometo helpyourchild
Parentsor Guardians,
herearesomebeneficial
andfunactivities
in reading.Shortsessions
canbe
becomemoresuccessful
seemto workbest,andthesesimpleactivities
worthwhile
forbothyourchildandyou.Beingsuccessful
in readingcanhelpyourchilddo well
andenjoyable
all throughthe schoolyears.
Activity
Modelreadingby pointingwithyourfinger.Followthe
wordswith yourlinger from left to rightas you read
them.Mentionwhatyou are doingas you moveyour
fingeralong.

Skill Addressed
Pagesare readfrom leftto rightand top to bottom.

printedwordscarrymeaning.
Makea cardgameusingpicturesof thingsthat are
Understand
importantto the child.Usingpicturesfrommagazines,
catalogs,etc., createa set ol cardswith pictures(for
example,picturesof a cat,a dog,and a pig).Make
anotherset of cardswith a labelof each ol the
pictures(for examplethe wordscat, dog,and prg).
Makea game ol matchingthe labelsto the pictures.
Makea frameout ol a pieceof cardboardor a 3 x 5
card. Cut the ceirterout of the card so that whenthe
card is placedoverone ol the wordsin a sentence,
onlyone wordshowsthrough.Havethe childmove
the frameovereachof lhe wordsto showiustone at a
time.

Understandwods are sepaated by spaces.

Write a letteron an indexcard or pieceof paper(for

example,writethe letterAy').
Next,say,"l'mthinkingol
this letterand it makesthe sound/mmmmmm/.What
letteris it?"

Recognize
and nameall upper-and lowercaseletters
ol the alphabet.

Sharea bookwith repeatedrhymingphrases(for

example,Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You
$ee? or any Dr. Seuss-typestory) aloudwith the
child.Stressthe rhymingwordsand encouragethe
childto tind additionalwordsthat rhyme.(For
example,"Brownbear,brownbearwhal do you see? |
see a greenfrog lookingat me. Whichword rhymes
with see?").

Recognizerhymingwords.

Sharea bookwilh repeatedrhymingphrases(for

example,BrownBear,BrownBear, WhatDa You
story)withthe child.
See?or any Dr.Seuss-type
Leaveoff the finalrhymingwordwithina phraseand
helpthe childfill in the missingrhymingword(for
example,"Brownbear,brownbearwhatdo you$eg? |
see a greenfrog lookingat _l').

Producerhymingwords.

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'

al

Saythe child'sname syllaHeby syllablewhile

clappingit out (for example,"Ni-co"[clap,clap]).Ask
the childto say and clap his or her namealongwith
you. After his or her narnehas been dapped, ask,
"Howmanyclaps (syllables)did you hear?'Add the
last nameand clap both namesout. Do this with other
namesol varyinglengthsthe child knows.

Countsyllabtes-

Ask the childto listencarefullyas you pronounceand

pauseslightlybetweenthe $yllablesin words.Have
the child repeatthe word withoutthe pause(for
6xample,you $ay'hap/py,"and the child responds
with lt4ppy).Do this for otherwordexamples,such as
eile/phant-e lephantot kithenl-kitten Taketurns
sayingotherwordsin syllablesor as a wholeword.

Pronounce
syllables.

Preparecardswithpicturs
of commonwordshaving Blendsyllables.
mor6thanonesyllablesucfias liofi tigenmonkey,
umbrella.Taketurnspickinga cardandsayingthe
lilon;tilger;mon/key;
wordin syllables:
umlbrel/{a.
Theotherplayerthensaysthewordwithoutpausing
betweensyllah,le's.
Drawa hop$cotchboardwith sidewalkchalk.Take
turns csmingup with wordsand ask the childto figure
out how manysyllablesare in lhe word. Forexample,
in hamburgerthamllburllgerl-lhere are three.The
childlhen jumpsthat many spaceson the hopscotch
board.

syllables.
Segment

$harelhereb aWod<etinMy tucket($euss,1974) Blendonsetoandrimes.

withthechild.In ltrestorybeginning
soundsot
terydryobjsc{saresubstituted
as a childtalksabout
made-up
obictsaroundthehouse,suchasthe
"zampin thehmp.'Thschildcanmakeup hisor her
ownobjectssuchastheozookin mybooKora 'floom
in my room."
Share There'sa Wocketin My Pocket(%uss, 1974)
with the child. In the story,beginningsoundsof
everydayobjectsare $ubstiluteda6 a childtalksabout
made-upobjeclsaroundthe house,such as the
"zampin the lamp."The childcan makeup his or her
own objectssuchas the'2ook in my booK'or a 'lloom
in my room."Nxt,saythe newword by separatingthe
first soundfromthe rst ol the word:There'sa lzlamp
in thelvamp and so on with the rest ot the words
you'vemade up.

14

Segmentonsetsand rimes.

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Activitlr

Skill Addressed

Playa storygamewith the child.Tellthis storyabouta lsolateand pronounce

the initialsounds(phonemes)
trollwho likesto speakin sounds:Onceupona time, in three-phoneme
words.
therewas a wonderfullittletrollwho lovedto give
childrenpresents.However,the troll alwayswanted
childrento guesswhatthe presentwas beforehe
gaveit to them. He spokein his own specialway.
When he sharedwhatthe gift was, he wouldsay the
sounds"lbl-lil-lV insteadof "bike."Oncethe child
guessedthe troll'sgift,the trollwouldbe veryexcited.
I willpretendto be the trolland I will namea surprise
lor you.Whenyou tigureout whatit is, it willbe your
turnto thinkol a surnriselor me.
Playa storygame.Tellthis storyabouta trollwho
likesto speakin sounds:Onceupona time,therewas
a wonderful,littletrollwho lovedto givechildren
presents.However,the troll alwayswantedchildrenlo
guesswhatthe presentwas beforehe gaveit to them.
He spokein his own specialway.Whenhe shared
what a gift was, he would say"lbl-ll-lk| insteadof
"bikei'Oncethe childguessedthe troll'sgift,the troll
wouldbe veryexcited.lwill pretendto be the trolland
I willnamea surprisefor you.Whenyoufigureout
whatit is, it will be yourturn to thinkof a surpriselor
me.

lsolateand pronouncethe medialvowelsoundsin

three-phoneme
words.

Playa storygamewiththe child.Tellthisstoryabouta

trollwho likesto speakin sounds:Onceupona time,
therewas a wonderful,littletrollwho lovedto give
childrenpresents.However,the troll alwayswanted
childrento guesswhatthe presentwas beforehe
gaveit to them. He spokein his own specialway.
When he sharedwhat a gift was, he wouldsay
"lbl-ltl-/W'insteadof "bike."Oncethe childguessed
th troll'sgift,the trollwouldbe veryexcited.I will
pretendto be the trolland I will namea surpriselor
you.Whenyoufigureout whatit is, it willbe yourturn
to thinkof a surprisefor me.

lsolateand pronouncethe finalsoundsin

three-phonemewords.

theadditionof soundsin words.

Playa gameinvolving
likethis,"Addln/ lo /al/.Wharword
Saysornething
did you make?"(mat)"Good,add/chl to the end of
the word mat What worddid you make?"(match)

in simple,one
Add individualsounds(phonemes)
syllablewordsto makenew words.

Createwordfamilieswiththe child.Use refrigerator

magnetsor lettercards (writethe alphabeton paper
and cut each letterout to makea card)to spella word
ending(-at).Havethe child put otherlettersin front ol
the word endingto createrhymingwords(paf, caf,
rna[ and saf).

in simple,
Subslituteindividualsounds(phonemes)
one syllablewordsto makenew words.

As you shopfor groceries,ask yourchildto tell you

whatsoundeachfruitor vegetablebeginswith.

Produceprimaryconsonantsounds

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Activity

Skill Addressed

Cut out knownwordsfrom cerealboxes,can labels

and yogurtcontainers.
Usetheseindividualwordsto
talk about capitaland lowereaseletters.Talkabout
the soundsol letters{'The letterB says/b/'). Helpthe
child readthe wordsyou'vecut out.

Knowone-to-oneletter-soundcorrespondences.

Createa wordbookusingstripsof paper.Writethese

short words,one lo a strip, leavingextraspaceat the
end: af, cap, mad, Sam,can, Jan,pal, fap"Laythe
stripson a table,and fold each strip backtowardthe
word,barelytouchingthe edgeof the paperto the
final consonant.Writethe lettere on the flap. Staple
the stripstogetherto lorm a Silente bookand take
turnsreadingeachwordin its firstformandthen
loldingthe flap backto then readthe wordwith -e on
the end.Talkabouthowthe -e changesthe soundof
the vowelfroma shortsoundto a longone (for
example,af becomesate, cap becomescape,etc.).

Associatelongvowelsoundswithcommonspellings.

Createa wordbookusingstripsot paper.Writethese

short words,one to a strip,leavingextraspaceat the
end: af, cap, mad, $am, can,Jan, pat, fap. Laythe
stripson a table,and trld each strip backtowardthe
word,barelytouchingthe edgeol the paperto the
final consonant.Writethe lettere on the llap. Staple
the stripstogetherto {orma Silente bookand take
turnsreadingeachwordin its firstformandthen
loldingthe flap backto then readthe wordwith -e on
the end.Talkabouthowthe -e changesthe soundol
the vowelfroma shortsoundlo a longone (for
example,af becomesate, cap becomescape,etc.).

Associateshortvowelsoundswithcommonspellings.

Cut out knownwordsfromcerealboxes,can labels

and yagurtcontainers.Use these individualwordsto
talk aboutcapitaland lowercaseletters.Talkabout
the soundsof letters('"TheletterB says/b/'). Helpthe
childreadthe wordsyou'vecul out.

sightwords.
Readhigh-frequency

PlayAlphabetCharades:Choosea letterand act out

ldentifythe soundsof leters.
wordswhichbeginwiththatlettersound(forexample,
choosethe letterB and act out wordslike bee,baby,
the childto namethe beginning
and bug).Encourage
soundafterhe or she hasguesseda fewwords.
On a pieceof paper,writesets of three words.Twoof
themshouldbe the same.Oneof themwillbe the
sameexceptfor one letter({orexample,hill,will,hill;
bed,bed,bud;big,big,bit and so on. Ask the child
whichword is different.

betweensimilarlyspelledwords.
Distinguish

Choosea bookthat yourchildwant$to read.Ask why

he or she chosethat book.Was it for fun? Was it to
learnaboutsomething?
Afterthebookhasbeenread,
ask a questionaboutwhat he or she enjoyedin the
storyor whatwas learned.

Readtextswith purposeand understanding.

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..i

ActMty
Read bookswith simplespellingpattems,suct as
The Cat inthe Hafl. Startby readingthe first sentence
of the book aloud.The childshouldreadalong
silently.At the end of the sentence,give the childthe
chanceto readthe samesentencealoudwhile you
followalongsilently.Continueto readtogether,taking
turns readingaloud.Providehelp whereneededand
praisethe child for his or her efforts.When it's time,
your child will be able to readsome sentencesfirst.

Read emergent-leveltads.

Whitein th car or on the bus,playa gameof thinking

of MM words-rArordsthat have rnorethan one
meaning:for example,bat, bowl, can, foot, hand,
park, and orange.Say the rrcrd and give one
meaning.Ask your childto fiink of anothermeaning
lor it Ask yourchildto come up with otherexamples.

of unknown
Determine
or darifythemeaning
and
multiple-meaning
wordsandphrasesbasedon
kindergarten
reading
andcontent.

Whilegroceryshopping,ask the childto find things

which start with the same lettersoundas his or her
name (icr example,'Tommy,I see tomatoes,turkey,
and tape. Gan you find somethingelse which begins
with the sound1t??").

Recognize,idenlity,and producealliterativeword$.

1?

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Reader
$tage
Literacy
Readiness:
EarlyEmergent
Kindergarten
youcando at hometo helpyourchild
Parentsor Guardians,
herearesomebeneficial
andfunactivities
canbe
becomemoresuccessful
in reading.Shortsessions6eemto workbest,andthesesimpleactivities
in readingcanhelpyourchilddo well
worthwhile
andenjoyable
forbothyourchildandyou.Beingsuccessful
all throughthe schoolyears.
Activity

SkillAddressed

Fleadaloudto your child.As you are reading,model

readingby pointingwithyourfinger.Followthe words
withyourlingerfromleftto rightas you readthem.
Talkaboutwhatyou are doingas you moveyour
lingeralong.Afterreading,talkaboutthe story:"What
did you like aboutthe story?Who werethe
characters?"

Holda bookuprightand knowthatprintedtextis read

fromleftto right.

you call
Playpeppymusicand modelthe movements
out,suchas: "MoveyourhandsUp,jumpto the right,
squatdownj'etc.Learningabouttheseconceptsby
movinghelpsyourchildunderslandwordsthat
indicatedirection.

Trackprintedwordsfrom leftto rightand top to bottom

on a page.

Set up a pretendgrocerystore.Helpyourchildmake
labelstor things(forexample, apple,milk,jam). Count
out the letterswithyourchildand helphimor hertell
whichword is the shortestand which is the longost?

Comparethe lengthsof differentwordsbasedon how

manyletterstheycontain.

lettersfromwords.
Helpyourchildcreatea signwith his or her nameon
Distinguish
it. Decoratethe letterswith itemssuchas beads,
glitter,buttons,etc.Go overhis or her name,pointing
outthe lettersand wholeword(torexample,'Your
name is Salllt Hereis the word Sa//y See? lt begins
with a capitalletter S. I can see the lettera too. Can
you lind the letter/? Howmany/b do you see?").
Singsongslike"TheAlphabetSong"to helpyour
childlearnthe alphabet,and songslike"One,Two,
BuckleMy Shoe"to helpyourchildlearnnumbers.
$ay a letteror numberand ask yourchildto tell you
whichone it is (forexample,"ls A a letteror a
number?Howabout3?").

lettersJromnumbers.
Distinguish

Sit withyourchildand saysimpletwo-or three-word

sentences(forexample,"l sat.We hadfunl')As you
say a sentence,clap your handseachtime you say a
word.Askyourchildto clapwithyou.

Clapthe numberof wordsin a givensentence.

Playan alphabetmatchinggame.Createalphabet
cards with an uppercase(capital)letteron one card
and its matchinglowercaseletteron anothercard.
Start out withjust a few matches.Placethe cards
facedownand take turns turningovertwo cardswith
your child. lf the two lettersare a match,lor example,
A anda,the playerkeepsthe matchand hasanother
turn. ll the lettersdo not match,placethe cards back
downand the other playerhas a turn.

Distinguish
betweenthe shapesof upper-and
lowercaseletters.

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Activity

Skill Addressed

Enjoyan alphabetbookwith yourchild (the local

libraryprobablyhas a good selectionof alphabet
books).As you readthroughthe book,encourage
yourchildto pointout the variousletters.

ldentifythe lettersof the alphabet.

Giveyourchildsomeplaydough.Sit wilh himor her

and writeout one of the lettersol the alphabet.Show
yourchildhowto rolloutthe playdoughto formthe
letter.Say the letternameas you helpyour childlorm
the letter.

Namemost lettersof the alDhabet.

Shareseveralnurseryfiymes or rhymingstorieswith
yourchild(forexample,"HumptyDumpty,"
"Jackand
Jill,"or Dr.Seussbooks).As you sharethe books,talk
aboutwhichwordssoundthe same(forexample,wal/
and fal/both havethe sound-al/,' Humptyand
Dumptybolh havethe sound-umply). Ask your child
to find wordswhichrhymeandto comeup withother
rhymes.Forexample,"l hearthe samesoundin J//
and hill.Can you thinkof anolherwordwith the sound

Recognize
and producerhymingsoundsin words.

-in"

Beginthe lettersthat havethe most highly

Saythe correctsoundlor the lirst letterof familiar
recognizable
sounds(forexample,soundswhichyour words.
mouthcan'feel,"suchas lml,ls/,ltl, Nl. After
choosinga targetlettor,chooseone itemfromyour
homewhichbeginswiththat sound(forexample,a
mittenfor /m/) and place it in a shoe box. Helpyour
child$earchthroughthe houseJorotheritemswhich
beginwiththatsamesound,forexample,a magazine,
a monkey,etc).Talkaboutthe beginningsoundas the
itemis placedintothe shoebox.Continuewithother
lettersounds.
printed
Cut out picturesol commonobjectsfroma magazine Linkan initialsoundto the corresponding
(forexample,apple,book,cup,dog,etc.).Usingnote letter.
cards,write downthe alphabet,one letterto a note
card. Placethe note cardson a flat surfaceand
childto put the pictureof the item
encourage.your
underils correctbeginningsound:lor example,the
appleunder4, bookunderB, cup underC,dog under
D. etc.
Sayfamiliarnurseryrhymeswithyourchild({or
example,"HumptyDumpty"or'tack and Jill").Tell
yourchildthal you are goingto say the nurseryrhyme
"Jackand Jill"with a "SillySameStartingSound."Say,
"BackbandBillbentbup ba bill,bo betchba bailbof
bater.Backbell bown band brokebis brownband Bill
bame bumblingbafterJ'Say it againwith a different
beginningsound.Ask yourchildto join in andthen
see if he or she can say the rhymewith a different
sound.
beginning

Producegroupsof wordsthat beginwith the same

initialsound(alliteration).

H56711.130620

Activ{ty
Use a lamiliarpicturebook.Find a pictureof
somethingthat has morethan one syllable,such as
monkey.$aythe word. Repeattheword,this time "
clappingfor each syllable:mon-keyAsk your childto
clap the word out too. Then ask your childto pickout
anotherpicture,say its name,and clap out it$
syllables.Variationscan includehoppingortapping
insteadof clapping.

With modelingand support,identify,blend,and

segmentsyllablesin spokenwords.

Helpyour childcreatehis or her own namecard,

usingmaterialsfrom aroundthe house(beads,
feathers,buttons,etc.).Writeyourcfrild'snameon his
or her artwork.Makenamecardsftcrthingsyourchild
findsimportant,suchas the doorto his or her room,
his or her own books,or his or her chair at the labl.
Askyourchildto go on a namehunt,tryingto find
whereyou haveplacedthesename cards.

Rcognizeown name in print.

Usingplaydoughor anothertype of modelingclay,

help yourchild createthe lettersin his or her name.
Encouragehim or her to irace overthe letters,Lightly
write your childt name in pencilon an indexcard.
Usingwhiteglue,trace overthe leters and let the
glue dry compltoly.Givethe cardto your child and
allowtime ficrhim or her to trace overthe bumpy
letlersto gel a teel for how the letteris icrmd.

Writeone'sownname.

Whilerunningerrand$withyourcfiild,poinloul
Radand t6llth maningof familiar$ignsand
rrarious
wordson signs,forexample,
ongasstations, symbol$in orfrom the environment.
on Stopsigns,on chainstores).Onanothertrip,play
ol$py;"andsncoururg
yourchildto findthesigns(lor
'l spya big,purpleletterG.Canyoufind
example,
it?')
Usingindexcards,drawa simplepictureand its name
(for example,drawan applwith the word appre
benath;drawa tree with the word treebeneath).
Carefullycut the cards apart,separatingthe word
from the picture.Layall of the cards on a flat surface,
face up, and encourageyour childto matcheach
picturewith its word.

Associatewordswith pictorialrepresentations.

Findvariousobjecb in your homewhichcan be

sortedinto categories,for example,variouscoins.
Use an emptyegg cartonto help your childplacethe
samekindsof objectstogetherin a section.Haveyour
childsort otheritemsby size or coloror shape.

Determinecategoricalrelationships.

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