Beginning to Read

WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK:

Another way to get interesting books that both you and your beginning reader will love to read is to make them yourselves.

1. Take a piece of computer paper.
2. Fold it in half and in half again.
3. Open it up and cut it across the short way.



4. Now take a piece of Card Stock and cut and do the same thing.
5. Put the computer paper into one of the pieces of card stock and staple it on the fold.
6. Putting tape over the staples can keep little fingers from getting hurt.
7. Now you have a four paged book.
8. Have your child draw a picture for each page and dictate a sentence for it.
9. You write the sentence sounding out each word for your child as you write it.
10. Give the book a title and write by ______. with your child's name as the author.
11. Don't forget to put the copyright date.

Keep these books on the bookshelf with your other books and reread them often.



READING IN THE BATHROOM:

Post quotes from books you are reading in the bathroom with the name of the Author. Ask your child for suggestions. The more they are involved the more likely they are to read and remember. Keep a basket of magazines in the bathroom.



CHARTS AND GRAPHS:

Make charts and graphs of the information you learn as you study. Post these around the room, or in a three ring binder. Add to and refer to them often.



WORD WALL:

Make sure that the wall is big enough to be able to read the words from where your child sits to write. Use this wall for Dolch Words and other words that the children have a hard time remembering how to spell.



PERSONAL OFFICE:

Help your child make a personal office with his/her own list of words that he/she is working on as well as a list of reminders such as remembering to capitalize, indent paragraphs, etc.



HANDWRITING and SPELLING PRACTICE:

Your child might like writing in the mud outside, on a cookie tray covered with mud or sand, or painting their words with water outside on the sidewalk. See It's Raining! It's Pouring". When picking spelling words have each child look in their journals for words that they are having difficulty remembering how to write. Your child might like to use goldfish crackers to form words and then gobble them up. It can be fun to write the words in glue on black card stock and sprinkle with gold glitter. Hang strings across the room and use clothespins to attach the words to the strings. See See Starry Starry Night".



READ ALOUD:

Even though the children are beginning to read themselves it is very important to continue to read to them. Read to the children at various times throughout the day. After reading City Mouse/Country Mouse you might try rewriting it as River Otter/Sea Otter. Try rewriting The Three Bears as The Three Alligators. After reading The Cat Sat on the Mat make up more pages for the story. Try turning your new stories into a play.



RESEARCH:

Read lots of non-fiction books about whatever you and your child are interested in. Make graphs and charts about what you learned. Write your own non-fiction and fiction beginning readers. Read several ABC books and then write a your own ABC book. Brainstorm together for ideas for each letter.

You can find lots more ideas, activities, and games for beginning readers. There are ideas for studying Adjectives and making Home Work fun.

Learn about Woodchucks, lemmings, or tigers. Learn all about oviparous or egg laying animals at Bluebirds, Purple Gallinules, Frogs, or Alligators.

Center Time is an extended period during the day when children engage in self-selected activities.

Children explore and experiment with materials, deepen their understanding of various concepts, and practice budding skills.

Below you will find Otter related activities that can be set up as centers throughout the classroom.

In some classrooms students participate in three rotations during a 60-90 minute period.

Using a timer can help you to stay on track.

It is important to let students know that they should be working the entire time. Set up your system so that it includes things that students "must do" and things that students "can do."

A student should always have an activity to be working on.

This will help eliminate "I'm finished! What do I do now?"

RHYMING AND CHORAL READING:

Copy poems and songs onto computer sized paper, slide them into clear plastic sheet savers and put them into a three ring binder.

Read and sing these daily and soon your child will be able to point to each word as you read it together.



Find a favorite pointer such as a fairy wand, a cat-o-nine tail, a pussy willow twig, or a finger to point to each word. Ask your child to find words that that begin with a certain letter or action words (verbs) or a word that rhymes with ___.

Laminating allows you to use dry erase markers on them so that you can:



-trace over words beginning with a certain letter
-find words with a short o as in otter
-underline the verbs
-circle the nouns

You can find some great singable songs for children by Pete Seeger.

If you ask the parents of your students to get the CD's of the songs you are learning in school, they can sing along to them in the car and the children will learn to read them even faster.

By making booklets of these songs the children can read along in the car with the songs as well.

Here is another great Learning Center Idea:



Once the children know a poem, song or chant by heart it is time to start rebuilding sentences. I make another copy of the chart but this time cut apart each of the sentences and then the words. I find that the first couple of times it is important to do this in front of the class so that they realize where the words come from. Later on cutting the sentences and words can also become a center activity.

1. Put the sentence strips back in order and read them with your partener.

2. Put the words back in order and read them with your partner.

3. Try to make new sentences and read them with your partner.

4. Write your new sentences and add them to a class book.

READ THE ROOM:

Use index cards to label the room.

Ask your children to come up with one or two new words each day and attach them to everything in the room.

Later on you can use a pointer to "Read the Room" or "Write the Room" writing down a list of words that begin with a certain letter, things made of wood, things to put on a shelf etc.

You can find lots more "Read the Room" activities on my River Otter Lens.

POINTERS:

Many types of pointers can be used to read print in

the room. The students can go around the room reading words they know.

Funny glasses, theme related masks, magnifying glasses, toilet paper binoculars, and paper towel telescopes can be used while reading the room.

Pointers can also be made with dowel sticks and craft foam cut outs.

Cut a hole out of a fly swatter big enough to see individual words. (See photo)

Beginning readers need to focus on words and pointers help them to do just that.

HIGHLIGHTING TAPE:

Highlighter tape can help beginning readers focus on or draw attention to certain words.

How about having kids put green tape on nouns, purple tape on adjectives, etc.

Highlighter Tape Centers

Highlighter tape sticks right onto sentence strips, word cards, even classroom books. It easily peels off to use again!



Perfect for drawing extra attention to important words, syllables and phonics sounds.

It comes in 2 convenient sizes each in a wooden dispenser.

Mr. Munchy Mouth:

Mr. Munchy Mouth is a spin-off of the Sound Muncher craze.

I wanted him to be able to "eat" whatever skill we were working on, not just sounds, so Mr. Munchy Mouth was born. (The name may have been borrowed from Letter People)

Mr. Munchy Mouth is a mini tabletop trash can decorated to give it some personality.

Adding a felt bow tie and a Velcro circle to the front on his tummy would make it possible to attach a card for the skill you are working on.

If we're working on the /b/ sound, then he only to eats the pictures of things that begin with a "b." Adapted from The Virtual Vine.



Munch Center:

Give the children pictures of objects that start with /m/ and ones that starts with /t/.

Tell them the muncher wants them to pick the ones that starts with /t/.

They feed the Muncher the ones that start with /t/ and leave the rest in the box.

Here are some suggestions for games and activities to help beginning readers learn ending sounds.

1. Pick two CVC words where only the last letter changes such as (mud and mutt), (sat and Sam), or (bag and bam). Have the children write each of the letters that you are working on in large letters in chalk. (d,T)

2. Chant the words one at a time emphasizing the last sound with an explosion of air.

mud, mud
mud, mud, mud

mutt, mutt,
mutt, mutt, mutt.

3. The first time you chant each word use your finger to point to the ending letter.
The second time trace the letter with chalk.
The third time jump on the letter.

Transition Ending Sounds:

1. I call out if your name ends with the /d/ sound you can line up.

2. If the color of your shirt ends in a /d/ sound you may line up. etc.

3. If the child can say a word that ends with the /d/ sound he/she can line up.

Put away the animals:

I have a large collection of stuffed animals. I put letters on 2 or more boxes and ask the children to put each one away according to the final sound.

dog = /g/
pig = /g/
bat = /t/
elephant = /t/

Photo Album Puzzles:

I have clear plastic photo album pages.
I use index cards to glue pictures on one side and write the letters to CVC words on the other side. I then cut the cards into three equal pieces between the letters, mix them up and slip them into the album between the plastic sheets.

I have attached a picture of an animal, for example: dog on the page. The child pulls out the pieces with the letters facing up. He/she then says the word and puts the letters in order in between the plastic sheets. He/she then turns the page. If he/she has spelled the word correctly the picture will show a dog.

As the children progress or in First Grade I let them put these puzzles together on a Plexiglas table. They may have as many as 10 words all mixed up at once to put together. When they believe that they have them all correct they crawl under the table to check the pictures. I used to make this table out of 4 milk cartons and a sheet of Plexiglas.

CVC Bracelets: Make Index Cards with the CVC word on one side and a picture on the other. The children use Letter Beads and pipe cleaners to make bracelets with CVC words on them. When they believe that they have spelled the word correctly they turn the card over an match the letters to the beads.

See It's Raining It's Pouring for an example of these bracelets used in math games.

Explode the Code: I have found that Explode the Code is the best workbook for reinforcing phonics, spelling, handwriting, reading with the skills being taught and understanding the words in context. Besides this, the children love these books. The children who like to color are content and the ones that like to joke laugh at the funny sentences that can be made with the new words they are learning.

If you'd like to encourage your kids to read more (and watch less) this summer, here you will find half a hundred easy ideas. Reading isn't the most important thing, it's the ONLY thing!

1. Go to the library every single week and give the kids an hour to find a book they want to take home. Don't make them commit to reading it, just taking it home. Afterward, go get an ice cream cone. Chances are they'll read while they eat. Problem licked.
2. Go to a bookstore once a month and let each child buy one book. As their personal library grows, so will their love of books and owning them. When you own something, it takes root in your daily life.
3. Turn off the TV for at least two hours a day. Or limit the watching to two hours a day. The typical kid watches 20-30 hours of TV a week! It won't kill them (or you) to turn the thing off.
4. Read out loud to your kids, no matter how old they are, unless they have moved out of the house and taken their furniture with them.
5. Read aloud at every meal
6. Keep a book in the car. Read out loud when you are waiting at soccer games, sitting in the drive-through, or just stuck in the car.



7. Keep a list on the refrigerator of books the kids have read this year. If they want to add a comment, so much the better.
8. Don't censor what kids read (within reason). If they're on a Harry Potter jag, sooner or later they'll run out of books and move on to something else.
9. Build kids listening stamina by reading in short bursts (three minutes) and building up gradually until you get to at least thirty minutes.
10. Don't test kids on what they read (like Accelerated reader). Share it, yes, but don't give them the third degree or they'll quit reading altogether.
11. Don't have a fit if they abandon a book in the middle. They may go back to it, or it may not be the right size, or it may be emotionally more than they can handle right now.
12. Ask the kids to read aloud to you while you drive, especially on long road trips.
13. Keep a reading journal that helps kids remember books. Don't ask them to do this on their own, do it for them.
14. Listen to tapes of favorite books or books they'd never be able to read on their own. Highly recommended are the tapes from Listening Library, with hundreds of titles to choose from.
15. Help start a reading club for three other kids (plus yours) who are reading similar books. Treat them to pizza while they talk about the books. Take them on trips to the bookstore. Help them write to the author.
16. Encourage kids to write to their favorite authors and learn letter writing skills as well as acquaintance with real live authors. Most can be found on the internet, or ask your library to look them up in Something About the Author series.
17. Set a good example and read every day yourself.
18. Read picture books to your big kids, not just the little ones. Try Love You Forever by Robert Munsch or The Day My Dogs Became Guys by Merrill Markoe.
19. Encourage kids to try their hand at illustration using examples like Jan Brett and Tomie de Paola.
20. Make reading fashionable every chance you get.
21. Make sure Dad reads to kids too. Real men may not ask for directions, but they do read aloud.
22. Strategically place dictionaries, word books, joke books and other "light reading" in the bathroom.
23. Casually pile a large stack of books in front of the TV every day.
24. Rotate different titles to the top of the microwave so kids will read while they wait for the popcorn.
25. Read nonfiction aloud to your kids when they are interested in a topic like bears or earthquakes or bombs. Some kids hate fiction and think of it as lies but may love nonfiction.
26. Take your kids to meet real live authors and illustrators at bookstores, libraries.
27. Read the book and THEN rent the video. Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, Wilson Rawls' Where the Red Fern Grows, Louis Sachar's Holes, Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting are just a few examples.
28. Don't make kids look up hard words in the dictionary; tell them a synonym and keep going.
29. Reward reading with reading. When kids have read ten books, go for a field trip to the bookstore, not pizza.
30. Read them junk, too. Joke books, riddles, cartoons all count.
31. Read them short little stories like One Minute Mysteries, Encyclopedia Brown stories or short-stories.
32. Read funny stuff that they might have missed because it didn't get published when they were reading in that stage. Junie B. Jones series is too good for anybody to miss, and just because a kid is ten doesn't mean they won't love it!
33. Talk about books over dinner, the way grownups do. You may find out that your kid is in love with Marguerite Henry books or biographies, and you might never have known it because they were busy doing the required reading for school.
34. Don't get sucked into page-count wars with teachers. Just because a book doesn't have a certain minimum number of pages doesn't have anything to do with its literary merit.
35. Read Sue Denim's The Dumb Bunnies series before you go on trips and then write (and illustrate) your own Dumb Bunnies books.
36. Before you go on a long road trip, read Marissa Moss' Amelia books and then buy your kids composition books, colored pencils, Scotch tape, and write every day while you rest up from the day's travels.
37. Keep a book in your backpack or purse of word puzzles, jokes, little stories, riddles. You never know when you'll need it.
38. Take books along when you go camping. Nothing better than reading while the rain pours down on the tent.
39. Provide comfy places for kids to read.
40. Cook with kids using books as the basis (see Recipes for Reading for ideas of snacks that come from picture books like Rotten Ralph's Kitty Litter Cake)
41. Let kids draw while you read to them
42. Read outdoors when the opportunity arises
43. Share books while kids sip lemonade on a hot summer day.
44. Don't read too fast; give the listeners places to enter into the material through pauses and spaces.
45. Help kids compare and connect books and movies. How is Harry Potter like Luke Skywalker? Is there any similarity between Heidi and Misty of Chincoteague?
46. On a big wall map of the United States, help them add a push-pin to show where each book takes place. You're teaching geography and literature together!
47. Invite other kids to join you on your jaunts to the library and bookstore.
48. Start a mother-daughter reading club or a mother-son reading adventure society to bring the world of books alive in a group of people.
49. Do art projects based on books. For inspiration, start with The Rainbow Goblins by Ul de Rico, and learn how to create similar color tableaux. Explore different media.
50. Go to library storytimes. If your kids are "too old" to sit and listen, have them volunteer to help work with younger children.

If you have an idea that ought to be added to this list, you can send it and get a free bumper sticker: What Did You Read To Your Kid Today?

Gwynne Spencer is author of What's Cooking in Children's Literature and Have Talent Will Travel: Authors, Illustrators and Storytellers Directories. Contact her at P O Box 121, Mancos, CO 81328 or pengwynnes@aol.com

http://www.mothering.com/community_tools/family_fun/fifty-ways.html

Bang!: A Sight Word Game
Suggested Grades 1-3

Objective: Beginning Readers will learn to recognize and read sight words.

Materials:
coffee cans wrapped in paper (to make them look pretty)
sight words written out on cards for each coffee can
3 cards per can with the word Bang! written on them

Method:
In pairs students take turns drawing out the sight word cards from the can and try to read them.
If they can read the word they get to keep the card. If they can't the partner tries reading it, and if he reads it correctly he gets to keep the card.
If neither student can read the word, it goes in a "don't know it yet" pile on the floor.
When a Bang! card is pulled out of the can the student who drew it has to return all their cards into the can. The Bang! card is placed in a seperate pile on the floor.
The game is played until all the cards are drawn, and the student with the most cards, wins.

Variations:
1.Play with the whole class and have them yell or whisper "bang" when the bang card is drawn.
2.Include jump cards instead of bang. Student jumps when the "Jump" card is drawn.
3.Change the word to Squeak, chatter, wiggle, etc. depending on the theme you are studying.

These ideas come from CanTeach and Mrs. Levin's Pre-K Pages

Bracelet Words



This box contains alphabet letter beads. The kids string words on pipe cleaners and then record them on a report form.

Afterwards, students pick a couple words to use in sentences. I used to try and keep them in two containers, one for vowels and one for consonants, but the kids always mix them up!

You might try buying some colored letter beads and using only the vowels from the colored bead set.

The activity sheet was created by Cindy Gibson, a wonderful first grade teacher and is not available online.

The center idea comes from Mrs. McDowell's class.

Whisper Phones



This box contains two Whisper Phones.

These are elbow shaped plastic plumbing pipes.

The students use them to hear themselves read!

Beginning readers need to hear the words out loud while Whisper Phones help to keep the noise level down.

These phones are sometimes called Phonics Phones. The center idea comes from Mrs. McDowell's class.

I review many of the books mentioned on this lens at GoodReads where people exchange suggestions for great books for beginning readers and beyond.

Beginning to Read is now featured at the new Review My Site website. Isle Of Squid is a directory of the best lenses on Squidoo.com.

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