{"id":3753,"date":"2014-07-30T15:09:33","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T19:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.fm1.dev\/getting-ready-to-read\/"},"modified":"2014-07-30T15:09:33","modified_gmt":"2014-07-30T19:09:33","slug":"getting-ready-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/getting-ready-to-read\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Ready to Read"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that the size of a child\u2019s vocabulary in kindergarten predicts his or her ability to learn to read? The American Academy of Pediatrics says that more than 1 in 3 children start kindergarten without the skills they need to learn to read. <!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"ready-to-read\">\n<p>\u00a0<strong>By Lauren Lowry<br \/>\nHanen SLP and Clinical Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hanen.org\/SiteAssets\/Helpful-Info\/Articles\/chalkboard-mom-1.aspx?width=280&amp;height=185\" alt=\"Cover\" width=\"280\" height=\"185\" \/>The words \u201creading\u201d and \u201cwriting\u201d usually conjure up images of school-aged children sitting at desks practicing these skills under the teacher\u2019s guidance. So if you have a young child, you may think that you can leave these skills alone until your child starts school, and that your child\u2019s teacher will lead the way to literacy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But did you know that&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>there are many skills that children need to learn before they can learn to read and write. These are called\u00a0<strong>early literacy skills.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>many studies have shown that children who develop stronger early literacy skills are more likely to have better success at school.<\/li>\n<li>young children learn best about literacy by talking and interacting with their parents about literacy-related things that interest them in daily life. For example, young children learn about literacy when their parents point out printed words on the cereal box, explain the plot of a favourite storybook, play grocery store and write pretend shopping lists, or recite rhymes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"young-children\">Young children learn best about literacy by talking and interacting with their parents about literacy-related things that interest them in daily life.<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ready-to-read-h\">What Are\u00a0Early Literacy Skills?<\/h2>\n<p>The term \u201cearly literacy skills\u201d refers to the knowledge that provides the foundation for learning to read and write. There are five early literacy skills that children need to develop before they start school:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Conversation\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Your child\u2019s ability to speak and understand language will help him understand and think about what he reads later on.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vocabulary\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Studies have shown that the size of a child\u2019s vocabulary in kindergarten predicts his ability to learn to read [1]. This is because the more words a child knows, the easier it is for him to learn new ones, and to understand the sentences and stories he reads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Story comprehension<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Knowing the letter names and their sounds isn\u2019t very helpful if your child doesn\u2019t understand the meaning of a story. Providing your child with many opportunities to listen to and understand stories will eventually make it easier for him to read and write stories on his own.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Print knowledge\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Before a child can read and write on his own, he needs to be aware of how print works. For example, he needs to understand that print is made up of letters, that each letter has a name, that we read from left to right, and that print can be found in many places (including signs, books, magazines, package labels, on the iPad, etc).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sound awareness<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 This is the awareness that speech can be broken down into smaller units \u2013 i.e. speech can be broken down into words, which can be broken down further into syllables and individual sounds. Sound awareness includes letter-sound knowledge, which involves knowing that letters represent sounds. Children with strong sound awareness tend to become better readers and writers [2].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ready-to-read-h\">How to Build Your Child\u2019s Early Literacy Skills at Home<\/h2>\n<p>You don\u2019t need special materials or activities to build your child\u2019s early literacy skills. In fact, your child will learn best if you look at books that s\/he has chosen, and you have conversations during your everyday activities and routines.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some ideas for building your child\u2019s early literacy skills during everyday life:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Breakfast\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Point out the words (and explain what they mean, if necessary) and letters on the front of the cereal box, carton of milk, or apple juice bottle.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bath-time<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 On a shampoo or bubble bath bottle, find a word that begins with the same letter as your child\u2019s name. For example: \u201cThat word says \u2018bubble.\u2019 \u2018Bubble\u2019 begins with the letter B, just like your name, Brent.\u201d Some faucets have the \u201cH\u201d for hot and \u201cC\u201d for cold on them, which provides another opportunity for you to point out print in your child\u2019s environment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grocery shopping<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Make a shopping list together with your child, reading and pointing to the words after you write them. Take the list to the store. Look at the store flyer together when you arrive at the store and read from your list. You can also point out print on price tags, the aisle signage, and package labels as you shop. You can play a game involving sounds while you shop. For example, while you pass by the milk section, tell your child \u201cI\u2019m looking for something in this aisle that starts with the \u2018mmmm\u2019 sound. Can you help me find something that starts with \u2018mmm\u2019?\u201d You may have to add a clue such as, \u201cIt\u2019s something we drink that is white.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>In the car\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Develop your child\u2019s sound awareness by playing a guessing game. Take turns thinking of words that rhyme or start with the same sound. For example, \u201cI\u2019m thinking of an animal that starts with the \u201ctuh\u201d sound\u201d. Again, you may have to add clues if your child is unable to answer, such as, \u201cIt\u2019s a big cat with stripes.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>On a walk<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Stimulate your child\u2019s sound awareness by finding things that start with the same sound (\u201cI spy something that starts with the sound \u2018ssss\u2019\u201d or \u201cCan you find something else that starts with the \u2018ssss\u2019 sound?\u201d), or things that rhyme (\u201cI see something that rhymes with \u2018far\u2019\u201d). Going for a walk is also a great time for conversation and for highlighting new words, like \u201cbungalow\u201d, \u201chumid\u201d, \u201cpavement\u201d, \u201cbrisk\u201d, \u201cdew\u201d, or \u201cpedestrian.\u201d Ideas about helping your child learn new words can be found in our article\u00a0<a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hanen.org\/Helpful-Info\/Articles\/Build-your-childs-vocabulary.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cBuild Your Child\u2019s Vocabulary.\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Using the iPad or computer<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 You can emphasize letters and sounds on the keyboard and help your child type some letters. When you join your child for a computer game, you can point out instructions that explain how the game is played. When looking up something on the Internet together, track the print with your finger as you read some of the information to your child. Have a conversation about what you have looked up together, asking questions to ensure your child understands what you read.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bedtime\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 It\u2019s great to share a book before bed with your child. The trick is to read with your child, not just to your child. To do this, you need to follow your child\u2019s lead, allowing him to pick an interesting story, and then observe his interests during the book. You can turn book reading into a conversation by making comments related to whatever sparks your child\u2019s interest during the book. You can ask preschool-aged children some open-ended questions, aimed at helping them understand and think about the story (such as \u201cWhat would you do if you were in that situation?\u201d, or \u201cWhy do you think he got off the bus?\u201d) [3]. To ensure you are having a back-and-forth conversation about the book, pause and wait for your child to participate, and avoid bombarding your child with questions or asking questions that \u201ctest\u201d your child [2].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s never too early to start building your child\u2019s early literacy skills. Most of the early literacy skills mentioned above develop in children between the ages of three to five, but there are some skills you can start to nurture even earlier. For example, the ideas above about sharing books are appropriate for two year olds, and three year olds can benefit from conversations that highlight new vocabulary, sounds, and print in their environment (e.g. \u201clook at that red sign, it says S T O P\u201d). By incorporating some of these ideas into everyday routines with your child, you will encourage an awareness of print and sounds as well as a love of books.<\/p>\n<div class=\"young-children-book\">\n<div class=\"col-1-3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hanen.org\/SiteAssets\/Helpful-Info\/Articles\/Cover-02.aspx?width=175&amp;height=224\" alt=\"Cover\" width=\"175\" height=\"224\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-2-3\">\n<p>The ideas above come from a new Hanen resource for parents,\u00a0<em>I\u2019m Ready! How to Prepare Your Child for Reading Success<\/em>\u00a0[2], aimed at helping parents promote their child\u2019s early literacy skills at home. Based on the most current research about early literacy development, this beautifully illustrated book makes it easy to turn everyday activities into opportunities for literacy learning.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hanen.org\/Guidebooks---DVDs\/Parents\/Im-Ready!.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#0000ff;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ready-to-read-h\">References<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Rowe, M. (2012). A Longitudinal Investigation of the Role of Quantity and Quality of Child-Directed Speech in Vocabulary Development. Child Development: 83(5), 1762-1774.<\/li>\n<li>Greenberg, J. &amp; Weitzman, E. (in press).\u00a0<em>I&#8217;m Ready! How to Prepare Your Child for Reading Success<\/em>. Toronto: Hanen Early Language Program.<\/li>\n<li>Pepper, J. &amp; Weitzman, E. (2004).\u00a0<em>It Takes Two to Talk: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Language Delays<\/em>. Toronto: Hanen Early Language Program.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nOriginally published on The Hanen Centre: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hanen.org\/Helpful-Info\/Articles\/Getting-Ready-to-Read.aspx\" target_blank style=\"color:#0000ff; text-decoration:underline;\" rel=\"nofollow\">Hanen.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that the size of a child\u2019s vocabulary in kindergarten predicts his or her ability to learn to read? The American Academy of Pediatrics says that more than 1 in 3 children start kindergarten without the skills they need to learn to read.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechandhearingassoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}