Building a Super Reader

Talk often to your child to build listening and speaking skills, and to develop vocabulary:

1. Talk with your child as you go about daily activities. Ask her about school and friends. Encourage her to talk.
2. Have him make up and tell stories. Ask questions to help him expand his stories.
3. Tell stories about your childhood.
4. Listen to her questions patiently and answer them just as patiently!
5. Talk about books that you’ve read together.
6. Talk about new words your child has read or heard.

  Play alphabet and word games:

1. Help your child identify and name the letters of the alphabet.
2. For a young child, sing songs and say nursery rhymes. Play rhyming games and games that focus on the sounds of words.
3. For a young child, point out labels, boxes, magazines, and signs that display words with letter-sound relationships that she is learning in school.
4. Make alphabet books with your child.
5. For a beginning reader, ask your child to point out the letter-sound relationships he is learning in the things you read together.
6. For an older child, play board games that encourage word building such as Boggle® and Scrabble® Junior.

Read to your child often and talk to him about words and ideas in books:

1. Before reading, help your child understand the background of a story by discussing the pictures and any new words and ideas.
2. For a young child, as you read, point out (or have him point out) the book’s features, such as the front and back of the book, the title, the author’s name, the illustrator’s name, where to begin reading, and details in the pictures.
3. As you read, stop occasionally and talk about the meaning of the book.
4. Encourage him to ask questions.
5. Before you come to the end of a book, ask him to predict what might happen.
6. Talk about new words and ideas.

Listen to your child read Superkids books from school:

1. Be patient and let him know you are proud!
2. If she doesn’t know a word, help her sound it out or simply tell her the word so you don’t slow down the reading process.
3. Encourage rereading to develop fluency.
4. Talk about the meaning of what your child is reading. 
5. Talk about new words and ideas.
6. A reminder: When helping your child sound out words in his Superkids books, remember not to add “uh” to the end of a sound. The sound of c is not kuh but the ending sound of pick. The sound of p is not puh but the last sound in top.

Encourage your child to write:

1. For a young child, encourage him to write his name, to write labels, and to use whatever letters, symbols, and pictures he wants to tell a story.
2. Help your child practice the letter formation she is learning in school. Guide your child to use a proper pencil grip.
3. For an older child, encourage him to write notes, letters, simple stories, grocery lists, and other meaningful writing.

Help your child study spelling words:
Remind your child that she has two types of spelling words. Pattern Words can be sounded out (cat, sat) because they follow regular rules. The spelling of Memory Words must be memorized because they’re tricky to spell (have, some).

Here is how to help your child study spelling words:

1. Say the word so she can hear the word.
2. Help your child see the word. Tell her to look at the word, then close her eyes and imagine it.
3.  Tell your child to say the word.
4. Tell her to say the letters in the word aloud.
5. Tell her to say the letters as she writes the word.

Another tip: Write a word on paper and cut the letters apart (or use plastic or foam letters). Mix the letters and have your child spell the word by putting the letters in order.