Wondering what you should do to keep your child’s skills sharp or to better prepare him or her for school next fall? There are 6 key areas you should think about.
Each will take only minutes a day. Why not set aside some time each day this summer to keep your child’s academic momentum going?
SUGGESTIONS FOR READING AND WRITING PRACTICE
1) Read! 20 to 30 minutes daily. Sometimes challenging material (to further their decoding skills), and sometimes easier material (to work on fluency).
2) Sound out words! When you come to words you don’t know be sure to sound them out.
Start with the first letter and match the letters to their sounds. Pay special attention to the vowel sound. Blend the sounds together and say the word.
3) Build a sight word base for reading! Use a word list from school or another list with common words. Print words on 3 by 5 index cards and review daily. As words are mastered, review less often and add new words to cards for daily practice.
4) Build a sight word base for spelling! Use the same word lists as for the reading sight word base. Practice spelling the words daily. When a word is correctly spelled for a week, replace with a new word. Work on about 10 words a day.
5) Vocabulary! Learn the meanings of words discovered in reading or spelling tasks. Improving vocabulary skills can lead to improved comprehension! Put new words on 3 by 5 index cards with short definitions on the back to practice. Use the words in sentences or use as part of the daily writing activity.
6) Write! Write 2-3 sentences or a short paragraph describing what was just read, or anything of interest! Be sure to proof for spelling and punctuation.
Now go out and have some summer fun!
