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Reading and Writing Tips

Reading

Encourage your children to read a wide variety of genres. Ask them to read signs while in the car, labels at the supermarket, maps while traveling, magazines, newspapers, comic books, poetry, cookbooks, nonfiction books, chapter books, etc.
Seek out books that cater to your child's interests.
Ask your child questions about what they read (who, what, where, when, why, etc.).
Have your child make predictions about what they think will happen next.
Encourage your children to read to others...siblings, neighbors, family, and friends.
Let your children see you reading.
Set aside a quiet reading time each day. Make it part of their routine.
Order a subscription to a magazine that would interest your child.
Take your child to the library at least twice a month.
Talk to your students about new words they see while reading.
Expose your child to many different activities outside of school in order to give them background knowledge. If a student can relate to a story or text, they will understand it better. Take them to the zoo, to the beach, on picnics, to the pumpkin patch, shopping, on the train, encourage them to watch the news, etc.
Buy blank books and help your child create their own book. Have them read it to anyone who will listen.
Play games that include language, such as Scrabble, Leap Pad, Monopoly, Clue, Life, Risk, etc.

Writing

Buy your child a variety of writing supplies: pens, pencils, gel pens, markers, colored paper, stationary, blank note cards and journals.
Write your child notes and ask them to reply.
Have your child write thank you notes when they receive gifts.
Encourage your child to write letters to family that live out of town.
Write a story together.
Often, students don't write because they don't know what to write about. Give them prompts to lead them into writing such as "My favorite vacation ever was...", "My earliest memory was...", or "If I could plan the next road trip...".
Let children create the grocery list.
Buy your child a dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary to use with their writing. Encourage them to come up with unique words, use synonyms and antonyms, and literary devices, such as alliteration, personification, and metaphors in their writing.
Use graphic organizers to help arrange thoughts before writing. Click here to find some great ones.