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Read out loud to your child.
- Children learn a lot from listening to an adult model good reading skills. Choose materials (books, magazines, brochures, comic books) based on topics your child finds interesting. Ask your child questions about what you just read. For example: who, what, where, when and why.
Surround your children with reading materials.
- Children with a large supply of reading materials in their homes are known to score higher on standardized tests.
Create an alphabet of pictures.
- Choose a sound and ask your child to cut out pictures of things that begin with that sound. Have your child glue their picture onto an index card and write the letter that makes that sound. Use these cards to review sounds.
Encourage a wide variety of reading activities.
- Make reading an important part of your child's life. Have them read menus, grocery lists, roads signs, game directions, or movie time listings.
Get help promptly for reading problems
- Reading problems do not magically disappear with time. The earlier children receive help, the more likely they will become good readers.
Let your child gradually share some of the reading aloud.
- You read a little bit and then it's your child's turn. Take over if your child seems tired or discouraged. Keep reading a fun thing, not just hard work.
Leave notes in a lunch bag or on the refrigerator for your child to discover and read.
- Make it simple, using words your child knows or you think they can sound out.
Take your new reader to the library.
- Pick up a library card and make a big deal about it. Let your child know how important and special books can be.
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