Help Your Child become a Reader & Writer

How can you help your child become a reader and writer?

- READ! Read often. Read aloud. Read silently. Read books. Read short stories. Read poems. Read cookbooks. Read letters. Read greeting cards. Get the idea? Read, read, read, and read some more!

- Provide Writing Materials! Provide plenty of writing materials paper of all kinds, colors, textures, and sizes, pens, pencils, felt tip pens, post-its. Whatever will invite your student writer to explore writing in original, colorful ways.

- Take Turns! Be the reader sometimes. Other times, let your child read aloud to you. Reading aloud builds comprehension skills, a sense of voice, and much more.

- Write Notes! A personal note – just a few words – tucked in a lunch box or left under a pillow can be a wonderful surprise. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a response. Writing doesn’t always have to be BIG.

- Reader's Theater! Read a play or any book that lends itself to two voices. Your young writer will soon have an “ear” for sentence fluency.

-Browse! Discover the fine art of browsing at the local bookstore or the library. Look at books, handle books, read pieces from books. What is it about this book that intrigues you? An opening sentence? The layout (organization)? The title?

- Be a Writer Yourself! You don’t have to be writing a novel to teach valuable writing strategies – a simple grocery list hold a dozen potential lessons on word choice, organization, and conventions.

- Reading Corner! Where you read can be almost as important as what you read. In school, children usually must read sitting straight up in hard unforgiving chairs. But most of us, given a choice, would prefer to curl up on the sofa or a favorite chair. A love of reading will lead to a love of writing!

- Share! Do you write as part of your job? Letters? Memos? Reports? Evaluations? Advertising or promotional materials? Directions? Almost everyone in every occupation writes something. Share some of your work related writing with your student writer.

Leveled Books - What Books Should you Read and Buy for your Child?

DRA Level 6-8:
• It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw • Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman • Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin • Go, Dog Go! by Phillip Eastman • The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

DRA Level 10
• Just Like Daddy by Frank Asch • In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming • Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins • Teeny, Tiny Woman by Jane O’Connor • Johnny Lion’s Rubber Boots by Edith Thacher Hurd

DRA Level 12
• If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You
Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff • Brand New Pencils, Brand New Books By Diane DeGroat • I’m a Caterpillar by Jean Marzollo • More Spaghetti, I Say! By Rita Gelman

DRA Level 14
• Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson • A Kiss For Little Bear By Else Holmelund Minarik • Curious George by Margaret Rey • Fat Cat Sat on the Mat by Nurit Karlin

DRA Level 16
• Small Pig by Arnold Lobel • Color of His Own by Leo Lionni • Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus • Little Cloud by Eric Carle • No Matter What by Debi Gliori • The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

DRA Level 18-20
• Swimmy by Leo Lionni • Uncle Elephant, Mouse Tales, Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel • Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant • Young Cam Jansen by David Adler • Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant • Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel • The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

DRA Level 24-28
Picture Books-
• Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor • Lyle the Crocodile, Lovable Lyle by Bernard Waber • How I Became a Pirate by David Shannon • Fish is Fish, An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni

DRA Level 24-28
Series Chapter Books:
• Nate the Great (24) • Frog and Toad (24) • Cam Jansen (28)
• Magic Tree House (28) • Amelia Bedelia (28) • Horrible Harry (28) • Rainbow Fairies (28) • Junie B. Jones (28+) • Ready Freddy (28+)

DRA 30-34:
• A to Z Mysteries • Flat Stanley (30+) • Jigsaw Jones

DRA 38:
• Geronimo Stilton • The Box Car Children