If a kid enjoys reading, then I feel like they are pretty much guaranteed to get a better education than a child who attends school for 6 to 7 hours a day and does NOT enjoy reading. Kids forget 95% of the facts they learn anyway. (I just made that statistic up, but it feels right, doesn’t it?) But stories? Those last. Someone who reads confidently and comfortably can learn anything. As a bonus, reading about characters and storylines that authors have taken the time to carefully construct get lessons on life and character and morality. It is a rare day when I stop one of my children from reading a book for pleasure. Though, to be fair, this also true of when they are drawing, building, playing fantasy games, etc. Some parents never wake a sleeping baby. I never interrupt a happily playing child that is using their imagination.

Now, my first two children became readers fairly naturally. This may have a lot to do with the fact that I had a lot more time to practice with them when they were young. See this adorable reading log train I used with them. My third child was diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade. Getting him to be comfortable reading took a lot more work, but now he is going into 6th grade and reads ALL the time. He was literally bugging me just a few minutes about when the libray books I requested for him are coming in. (Answer, sometime between Tuesday and December. You never can tell.) My fourth child though…oh my poor fourth child. I went back to college to become a teacher when he was 6. I finished my degree, got my teachers license and am not working full time. The end result? He is going into fourth grade and was still reading at about a first grade level in January.

This needed to be fixed. In my opinion, the best way to teach a kid to read is to facilitate practice. I started by going back to basics. I learned from my dyslexic child the importance of decodable texts for building reading skills so I went back and redid my kindergarten and first grade suggestions on my Book Series for Kids page. Then I told him the plan. We were goign to make a reading chain, because who has time for a train in this busy world, and I was going to sit with him every day so we could read books (easy books) to add to his chain. His reward was that once he chain was as long as our hallway, he would get to pick a flavor of ice cream that we would have for dessert.

We used many of the books on the Kindergarten and First Grade series pages, though I’m realizing now that I forgot to add the ones in the picture above. Those are from Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds series (affiliate link) which is a bit expensive, but quite lovely. I will be saving them for any future potential grandkids.

What I was even more pleased by though was that when we finished our chain, my then third grade son did not want to stop. He kept going on his own. He made little rocketships and would add them as he read his easy readers by himself. At first, he was not adding the titles, but when I told him he should, he started doing it.

Even my 5th grade dyslexic child didn’t want to miss out on the action. He made his own reading chain too. At this point, he is obsessed with the Wings of Fire books and read one every 3 days or so, but for his reading challenge, he went back and read some books that were easy for him like Dragon Masters. It does not matter to me what they read, as long as they are reading.

Overall, I am very pleased with how this went. We are using different strategy over the summer, to ensure my youngest makes the most progress possible in this downtime. I’m hoping to share this with results at the end of summer. However, the reading chains were a very successful strategy during the busy school year time. It took some diligence when I was the one reading with him every day and helping him make his chain, but it was worth it. I did not even expect him to take over and keep doing it on his own. That was just a bonus. I would say he progressed about a full grade level during the 5 months of so that he was doing it, which still leaves him about a grade level behind his age and about a grade level from the really fun books.

All kids develop at their own pace, so I never want my kids to feel pressured. However, if we can use this summer to turn him into someone who really enjoys reading, I am all for it!

Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary
Time Required: ~10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Practically free

Materials:

• paper (preferably colored construction paper for visual appeal)
• scissors or paper cutter
• tape

Instructions:

1. Cut the paper into strips.
2. Acquire some easy books. Check your local library or my book series suggestions.
3. Everytime the child reads a book, either alone or with your help, write the title and add it to the chain!

That’s it! Happy reading!

Click here for more Starting to Read activities for kids.

Related Links

Best Books for Kids
Homemade Fun for Preschoolers
Learning Activities for Kids

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Really, this reading log is primarily for my 7 year old. He is already a decent reader, but at any given moment, he can think of 100 things he’d rather do than read. I don’t blame him. Life is fun, especially when you’re 7. However, he’s not going to get to the really amazing books of childhood until he’s reading the books at his level more fluidly. That’s going to take some practice.

This “reading log” is motivating, because each time he reads a book, his train gets longer. It’s only been a week, but so far, it seems to be working. It’s also great, because my 5 year old, who is just starting to sound out simple words, is motivated to keep up with her brother. Unfortunately, while there are lots of great books at the library for her big brother, there’s not much available that she can read in a short period of time.

I fully support immediate gratification when encouraging young readers. For someone who is just starting to sound out words, the Tug the Pup series is wonderful, because each book is so simple and short. Another good option is the series of free printable sight word and phonics books by The Measured Mom. (I’ve used hundreds of her resources with my preschool-aged kids.)

I wanted my toddler to feel included as well, so he has his own train too. Since he can’t read, I decided I’d put letters on his train as he mastered them. Unfortunately, he can’t keep up with the big kids. He’s got A and B down, but he still always says O for C. It’ll come. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to mind having a shorter train. I’ve been adding a letter or two to his train each day whether he’s reading them reliably or not. We spend a minute reviewing them whenever we add new letters.

Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary
Time Required: ~30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free printable

Materials:

• paper for printing Reading Log Train template
• construction paper
• small picture of child’s face (optional, to put in the train windows)

Supplies & Tools:

• glue
• markers
• scissors
• paper trimmer (optional, but convenient)
• pencil
• 1″ circle hole punch (optional, but SUPER convenient)

Instructions:

1. Print the Reading Log Train template.
2. Decide where you want to place your train and which direction it will go so you know which train to use. We decided to place our trains on the wall going uphill by our stairs.
3. Have your children color in the train facing the appropriate direction.
4. Cut out a picture of your child’s face that is 1″ square. You can cut out and trace the square on the template page to make it easier.



5. Glue the picture onto the window.



6. Cut out the train.



7. Next, cut out rectangles from the construction paper that are 2″ by 3″ (or whatever size you desire). If I only had one child, I might make different size train cars to show the complexity or level of difficulty of the book. Since I have 3 kids, I kept it simple by making them all the same size.



8. Cut out 1″ circles. Initially, I cut them out by hand using the circle on the template page. However, I ended up buying this hole punch to make my life easier.



9. Cut out little strips of paper to connect the trains. I used my paper trimmer to make a long, skinny 1/4″ strip. Then I cut 1″ long pieces using scissors.



10. Gather all your train car pieces.



11. Assemble your train cars! Initially, I let my kids glue on the wheels.



12. Eventually, I just made a bunch myself assembly-line style.



13. After your child reads a book, write it on a train car.



14. Watch the train grow!



HAPPY READING!

Click here for more Starting to Read activities for kids.



Related Links

Best Books for Kids
Homemade Fun for Preschoolers
Learning Activities for Kids

The post Reading Log Train appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

The research behind this method originates with a 1988 paper called “Accelerating Language Development Through Picture Book Reading” by Whitehurst, et. Al. In this study, 30 kids between the ages of 21 and 35 months were selected from middle class families in Long Island, New York. These kids were randomly divided into two groups. At the beginning of the study, each group had about equivalent language abilities. All the families that participated in the study were told to audio record their storytime sessions with their child 3 or 4 times in the week.

The control group was given no additional instructions. They continued to read to their kids the same way they always had. The experimental group was given two 30 minute lessons on how to read with their kids, one at the beginning of the month-long study and the other half way through. At the end of the 4 weeks, all the children were evaluated using common tests of verbal ability. On one test, the kids in the experimental group scored 8.5 months ahead of their control group counterparts. On another test, they were 6 months ahead. Although the differences decreased slightly over time and were less statistically significant due to kids dropping out of the study, the kids with parents who had been coached on how to read to their kids were still advanced 9 months later.

Crazy, right? So what is the magical formula for improving kids language skills through picture book reading? Basically dialogic reading boils down to having a dialogue with your child while reading. The more you can get your kid talking the better. I know many parents, including myself, are often eager to get through the bedtime routine, but there is a legitimate and really important reason why we should remember to slow down.

Here are some techniques the parents in the study were trained to use to get their kids talking:

• Instead of just reading the words on a page, ask your child questions. I’ve created a free, printable bookmark and poster as a “cheat sheet” to get you started.
• Make sure your questions progress along with your child’s advancements. On the free bookmarks, the easiest questions appropriate for the youngest kids (even those who may not be talking yet) are listed first. However, as your child masters labeling objects, make sure to move on to the more open-ended questions.
• Repeat and expand on what your child says. If a toddler correctly labels a dog in the picture, respond with something like, “You’re right. That is a big, brown dog. Isn’t he acting silly?”
• Give feedback. Make sure when your child gives you an answer, you praise or correct as appropriate. I thought it was interesting that according to the paper, praise went “down over time in the control group while going up in the experimental group.” I honestly don’t know why that would happen and the authors didn’t speculate, but engagement with your child is clearly an important component of this technique.

Recommended Age Range: Baby/Toddler, Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary
Time Required: ~15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free printable, less than $1 in used supplies



Materials:

• paper for printing Dialogic Reading cheat sheets in bookmark and/or poster form
• 1 or 2 laminating sheets (the bookmarks kind of need to be laminated in my opinion. the poster is optional.)

Supplies & Tools:

• laminator (affiliate link)
• scissors

Instructions:

1. Print out the bookmark and/or poster Dialogic Reading Cheat Sheets.
2. Laminate the bookmarks (and the poster if you want).
3. Cut out the bookmarks.
4. Keep the bookmark or poster handy when you are reading aloud to your child to remind yourself to engage your child in conversation during story time. The questions on these cheat sheets can give you a starting point to begin your conversation, but feel free, of course, to come up with your own questions. The most important aspect of this technique is to have a dialogue with your child and keep him or her talking as long as possible.



HAPPY READING!

Click here for more Language Arts activities for kids!



Related Links

Best Books for Babies and Toddlers
Best Books for Preschool
Pre-K Learning Activities

The post Dialogic Reading Cheat Sheet appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Basically, the way these work is that each of the four wheels features four easy, rhyming words, so that kids who are learning how to read can get confidence sounding out words in a fun way. By making the answer be covered by flaps, it turns into a guessing game. The child can try to sound out the word, then lift the flaps to see if they were right. By spinning the wheel 90 degrees a new word and picture appear. (Even my 5 year old thought it was magic when he opened up the flap and saw a different picture.)

I made these rhyming wheels with my kindergartner in mind, since this is about the level of words he is capable of figuring out on his own. They definitely were as big of a hit as I thought they would be, since he loved being able to predict what was going to be under the flaps. However, what surprised me more than how much my 5 and a half year old liked them was how much my 3 and a half year old liked them. She knows about half of her letters and is able to guess the more obvious letter sounds, but she is nowhere close to reading.

However, after watching intently as her brother solved each wheel, she wanted to try for herself. I would show her each word holding the flaps closed and my husband and I were astonished that she was able to get more than half the words right. Really, all she needed to do was remember the pictures and then make an educated guess based on the first letter, but she was able to do that surprisingly often. For example on the “-an” wheel, she may not be able to blend the letters p-a-n, but knowing the pictures are of a can, van, fan, and pan and that p says “puh”, she’s able to correctly (and proudly) “read” the word.

I thought these were going to be for my kindergartner who is starting to read, but it turns out they’re really for my pre-reading preschooler. I’ve seen her playing with these wheels independently multiple times over the past few days. She loves spinning the wheel and opening the flaps. I don’t know if she’s making any connections to the letters when she plays independently, but she definitely seems to be focusing pretty intently. I intended these rhyming wheels to be great for reinforcing reading concepts that a child already knew, but it turns out they are also a great introduction to sounding out words for kids who are not yet reading at all.

Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten
Time Required: ~30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Less than $2 in used supplies

Materials:

• paper (for printing free Rhyming Wheels printable)
• 4 laminating pouches
• 4 paper fasteners (aka brads)

Supplies & Tools:

• laminator
• scissors
• x-acto knife
• self healing mat (or other surface for using x-acto knife

Instructions:

1. Print out the free Rhyming Wheels document. (Note that you only need to print the first 8 pages. The last 2 pages contain legal information regarding sharing and image sources.)
2. Laminate the pages.
3. Cut out each of the 8 circles.



4. Use an x-acto knife to cut out the opening for the first part of the word and to cut along the lines to make the flaps.



5. Use a paper fastener, also called a brad, to stick the front and back of each of the 4 wheels together. To do this I lined the fronts and backs of the wheels up, then used the x-acto knife to make a small slit for the brad to go through.

The first time you present this to the child, I recommend holding the wheel and then showing them the word. Once they sound out the word (possibly with help), have them open the flap and “magically” see the appropriate picture underneath. Once they’ve gone through each wheel once, they can do them completely independently.

Related Links

Reading and Writing Activities
All Learning Activities
Best Books for Preschool
Best Books for Kindergarten

The post Rhyming Wheels appeared first on ResearchParent.com.