Tips for helping your daughter become a better reader and speller...

For those of us able to attend Dr. Rene Lee's parent talk last week (2/27/14) we walked away with some great information that we can use with our daughters' (or in my case, students!).   We have been lucky to have Dr. Lee as a resource this year at St. Mary's and I am going to share some of her "tips" from her presentation.  Please let me know if you have any questions and need any additional information about this or any other topic. 
Note: Don't forget to click on the "tabs" at the top of my blog homepage for links to reading and math practice websites:)

Reading Tips from Dr. Lee:

• Read together with your child modeling how you sound out words and pointing out patterns that occur across words.  Words can often be "chunked" into syllables or vowel letters. Don't always just automatically "tell" them the correct word.
• As you take turns reading out loud with your child, encourage your child to pretend they are reading to a younger sibling or friend.  This will help develop expression and fluency.  (I have written several posts about this idea (scroll back among "older posts"for more information)  and also have found that my students enjoy using "recording" apps to practice reading the same short passage several times and listening to it for specific concepts, like expression.  Two great apps are iTalk and One Minute Reader.)
• Encourage your child to read for accuracy, not speed.
• Help your child select books that match their reading ability.  (At SMS we use the AR reading range to help guide them in their book selection.  If you need help finding appropriate books please contact me or your child's homeroom teacher.)
• Help your child learn new words by discussing them and having them use them in sentences.  Exposing your child to "rich" language throughout the day and in different settings helps improve vocabulary, comprehension, and "knowledge of the world around her."

Spelling Tips from Dr. Lee:

• Point out words that are related by meaning often by using the same base or root word.  For example, "Magician and magic have similar meanings.  I see "magic" in "magician" even though I don't hear it in there."
• Help your child make connections between words by associating it with a words she already knows how to spell.  Ex. "broach" rhymes with "coach"...
• As your child writes a word, encourage them to say the individual sounds (not the letter names) as she writes the corresponding letter.  We say sounds and we write letters.
• Look over weekly spelling test lists for the sound pattern being taught.  Please don't hesitate to contact your daughter's teacher or myself for help.
• Spelling is important (even in a world of "spellcheck")!