Early Reading Intervention
presents
Learning about Literacy
For
Beginning Readers
Family Literacy
Even before your young child started school, reading began in your home. As a parent, you are your
child’s first teacher and continue to play a crucial role in helping your child learn to read. Check this column
periodically for ways you can encourage, nurture, and support your beginning reader.
 Continue to provide experiences for your child.
 Encourage your child to think and talk about experiences.
Literacy researchers state that children must develop strong oral language skills to be able to read and write
effectively. Asking your child to tell you about events will encourage him to reflect upon the experience and helps
him to learn descriptive words and tell complete stories.
“Talk is cheap” but so very valuable to your child because, as a reader, your child will use what he knows about
language to understand the print and the meaning of a book. Talking with your child about his experiences will
help him learn new words. This may be as simple as discussing different types of fruits and vegetables while in
the grocery store or tools you use in the garden or for repairs around the house. Helping your child to build
vocabulary will be very beneficial to him in reading and writing.
As we enter the upcoming holiday season, it is a perfect time to share oral stories or memories of holidays you
had as a child, or even to share discussions about certain family traditions. The sights, smells, and sounds of the
holidays may be used to begin conversations with your child. Discuss objects with as much detail as possible.
Use your child’s statements to expand upon them and give your child an exposure to greater vocabulary. (e.g., If
your child says “This cookie is good,” then you may respond “I agree, this cookie is delicious and I especially
enjoy the crispness.”)
Some suggestions for promoting rich oral language include:
 Read stories and books. Ask questions about the story, talk about the illustrations, and discuss what
your child liked most or least about the story.
 Take walks in the neighborhood (perhaps through the crunchy autumn leaves or even on a crisp
snowy evening). Talk about what you see, hear, smell and feel. Point out things that your child might
miss. Give labels to things and explain them in words appropriate for your child’s level of maturity.
 Talk to your child. Encourage him to talk about friends, interests, and special events at school.
 Play card and/or board games that provide opportunities for conversations about the game and other
topics.
 Ask your child questions that require more than a “yes or no” answer. Help your child to expand his
statements.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is a component of the early reading intervention program. Phonemic awareness is the
understanding that speech is made of individual sounds. The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading
Achievement states that “children who have phonemic awareness skills are likely to have an easier time learning
to read and spell than children who have few or none of these skills”.
This month in reading intervention the focus will be on phoneme blending. The students will listen to a
sequence of separately spoken phonemes, and then combine the phonemes to pronounce a word. Afterwards,
they will write and read the word. For example, the children may be asked, “What word am I saying? /b/ /a/
/g/” The students will respond bag. Then the children write and read the word. The short vowel sounds are
practiced during these lessons.
Becoming a Strategic Reader
Our reading strategy instruction begins has focused on the following I Can statements that will help your child
become a strategic reader:
 I can look at the pictures.
Books that are written for young readers use words that match a picture. Looking at the picture gives
your child some idea of what the “hard” word could be. Looking at the picture is even more effective
when it is combined with the following strategy.
 I can get my mouth ready to say the first part of a word.
Encourage your child to point under the first letter of each word to help her focus upon the first
sound. Not only should your child think about the sound, but also produce the sound. Very early
readers will use just the initial consonant. As your child is now more confident using the sounds of
one consonant, consonant digraphs have been introduced. Consonant digraphs are two consonants
that make one “special sound” like ch, sh, and th. It takes some training for your child to begin to
notice that a word may begin with one of these special combinations. The focus this month will be
on consonant blends, two consonants that frequently appear together (i.e., cl, fl, br, gr, and st).
 I can go back and start again if I get “stuck”.
We celebrate this strategy when a child begins to recognize that something is wrong. Sometimes a
very early reader will look at a picture and may read duck. But when the child looks at the beginning
of the word and it starts with g, she may correct the word and say goose. Self-corrections are
definitely reasons to celebrate, as it means that your child is becoming more aware of print.
A helpful hint: When your child is reading to you and she makes a mistake, allow her to continue
reading to the end of the sentence and see if she can detect the error on her own. If you notice that
your child is not going to go back and self-correct, prompt her to do so by saying “Try that again. I
think something tricked you.”
21th Annual Connecticut Book Fair
Students and parents are invited to join the University of Connecticut for the 21th Annual Connecticut Book Fair. It will be
held from 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday, November 10 and 11, in the Rome Commons Ballroom at the South
Campus Complex at UConn in Storrs. This book fair promises to be a wonderful opportunity for children and parents to
meet up to 23 authors and illustrators of the books they love to read. Additionally, children can meet some of their favorite
characters like Lady Bug Girl, Hedgie, Bad Kitty and help celebrate Clifford’s 50th birthday.
If you are interested in attending the book fair and would like more information about the program, visit the following
website http://bookfair.uconn.edu and click on the tab for Book Fair 2012 for a schedule of presentations and autograph
sessions with the authors and illustrators. Directions are also available at the website.