Parent Resources
1) Finding Just Right Books
Kids need to read books that they can both decode (read the words) and comprehend (understand the meaning). Teachers call this a “just right” book, or a book that is at the child’s instructional level.
2) Reading with Your Child
Playing with sounds helps young children learn to read and write. These simple activities at home will help your preschooler, kindergartener, or first grader develop important phonemic awareness skills that build the base for reading.
Reading aloud to children has a huge impact on their developing literacy skills. Here are a few small actions you can take when reading aloud to a young child that will have a big impact on what the child takes away from the book and your time together.
Just like any skill, it takes practice to become a great reader. Having a daily routine for reading at home can help provide this important practice! Here are a few specific ways that you can support and compliment your child when they read aloud to you, helping to keep reading a positive experience.
Whether your child is reading aloud to you or reading on their own, here are some questions you can ask that create opportunities to talk about books.
3) Working with Words
Up to 75% of the words that students experience when reading are high-frequency words or sight words. Learning to recognize these words automatically (by sight) can help students read more confidently and quickly. A great way to help your reader at home is to practice sight words at home. Here are some fun strategies for incorporating sight words into your day.
Below is a link to lists of the sight words that West Salem Elementary students are expected to know, broken down by grade level. You can keep a list on your fridge or somewhere your child frequently spends time to help them learn these words quickly.
4) Apps and Websites to Support Literacy
See the list below for fun websites and apps that our teachers recommend for supporting literacy skills for your child.