Parental Involvement in Reading Activities at Home for Kindergarten

Read Aloud

• Reading aloud to children is the most important activity for future reading success, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association. Children who learn to enjoy books are more likely to read on their own, they suggest. Other benefits of reading aloud to children in kindergarten include increased vocabulary, increased comprehension skills and increased imagination. When reading to kindergarteners, parents should make sure to encourage kids to make predictions before reading and to discuss the book while reading, according to the Eureka School District. They also suggest having kids retell the story, illustrate their favorite part or make up a new ending when the story is over.

Phonemic Awareness

• Kids need to hear and manipulate the individual sounds in words, to have phonemic awareness and become successful readers. At the kindergarten level, this means sharing silly tongue twisters and books that play with language, such as those by Dr. Seuss, to increase letter sound awareness. As kids begin developing a sense of the sounds in words, parents can play a version of I Spy, where parents say, "I spy something that rhymes with 'cable,'" and kids say, "Table!" Parents can also use this format for beginning sounds, by saying, "I spy something that starts with /b/" and kids call out suggestions like bat or basket.

Vocabulary

• A strong vocabulary helps children comprehend language, whether they are being read to or reading independently. Parents can help improve kids' vocabulary by introducing them to new words regularly, according to PBS Parents. Parents should do this during conversations and by reading aloud different kinds of books. Children should ask what new words mean and to try saying them in a sentence. Families can even create a family dictionary, where newly introduced vocabulary words can be written down, and reviewed regularly.

Phonics

• Phonics is the association between written letters and oral sounds; it is what people use to "sound out" or decode, new words. One easy way to help with phonics at home is to make some simple letter cards using index cards, writing one letter on each card. Then families can use the cards to make simple words like "cat" and rearrange those same letters to say "act." Parents can remove the "c" in "cat," and replace it with a "b," and see if kindergarten kids can figure out the new word. Another option is to play "I Spy" with written text. Parents can say, "I spy a letter that says /m/" and then ask children to point to an "m" on the page.