My older son, who just turned five, has recently made the profound connection between letters and words. He has been able to identify the sounds each letter makes for quite awhile, but he is just beginning to really sound out words that he sees. His confidence is growing as he is able to read some very easy beginning readers. These books have a lot of repetition, but there occasionally are words that are difficult to sound out. In these cases, I have been teaching him to use the simple pictures in these books as clues to reading.
Many infant, toddler and preschool books have pictures that are designed to make the connection between words and reading easier. For example, there may be a picture of a brightly colored ball on the page with nothing else but a white background. Under the picture is the word “ball”. Reading these very simple books to youngsters while pointing to the words as you read them can help children understand that pictures can be used to help with reading and that words and pictures are connected. This realization is helpful when children do make the leap into reading as they are able to use the pictures as c when clues they encounter difficult words.
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Written by Laura on August 2, 2010
Students often feel as though they should understand everything they read. Think back to your own school days. As the material became more intense, did you always understand everything you read? This overwhelming feeling of complete success can be intimidating to many children, and it often begins as very young children are learning to read.
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 30, 2010
One question I have noticed myself and other parents, grandparents, friends, and family asking young children is, “What was your favorite part?” My family recently took a trip to Florida and those not on our journey seem to ask my children the same thing. Everyone wants to know what their favorite part was. (I have to say, I was a bit disappointed when my four-year-old repeatedly re
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Written by Laura on March 31, 2010
Making the transition from books that simply label objects on a page to books that tell a story can sometimes be a difficult transition for both the child and the parent. Young children tend to have very short attention spans and interest is often lost quickly. Making connections to real-world experiences can help, however, to keep your child’s attention because he will be thoroughly engag
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Written by BRWI Staff on February 24, 2010
As children listen to stories, they tend to remember only the really significant characters and events. This is a great starting point, but we must help them learn how to identify other parts of a story as well. In the beginning of the story, for example, the author usually introduces us to most of the characters along with the setting. The middle of the story generally contains the problem or c
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Written by BRWI Staff on November 23, 2009
Whenever I go to the library for storytime, I try to go on the puppet show days. The children always love to listen to the stories, but there is something magical and wonderous that takes place for them as they enter the world of make-believe without having to turn on the television.
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Written by Laura on October 9, 2009
I love to hear my husband read stories to my two little boys. He is so animated and full of life that this excitement is immediately passed on to our children who are listening attentively to his every word. He is able to grab their attention right from the beginning by taking a story that they want to hear for the millionth time and changing the facts in obvious ways. For example, if he were r
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Written by Laura on September 14, 2009
If you think back to your middle school and high school days, you may remember having a set of vocabulary words that had to be learned for each chapter or unit in a text book. You may recall a commonly used activity where you write the word, look up the definition, and use the word in a sentence. Although not the best way to learn vocabulary, it probably helped you learn the new words at least f
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Written by BRWI Staff on August 31, 2009
More than likely, a three- or four-year-old is not going to pick up a book and begin to read it aloud to you. However, they are capable of looking at pictures to find clues as to what is taking place in the story. This process is actually a strategy which can be used by readers who encounter a word for which they do not know the meaning. As a parent, you can help your preschooler develop this s
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 20, 2009
As parents, we would love to be able to predict how our children will do when they enter kindergarten, high school, college, or even the career world. However, since most of us do not have a crystal ball lying around, we rely on the fact that we do the best we can to prepare our children for what lies ahead. When our children are three- or four-years-old, our focus tends to be on getting them re
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 8, 2009
Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence to teach your preschooler the joy of reading and writing.
Sponsored by Bridges Reading & Writing Institute -- teaching the JOY of reading and writing to students in preschool through 12th grade.
