Here are some tools that you can use with your child to support his/her reading.

Finding Books: Scholastic Book Wizard is a great tool for finding just right books for your child.

Decoding Strategies: These strategies help readers figure out unknown words.

Use these nifty decoding strategies when you are stuck on a word!

Eagle Eye: Before reading the page, always look at the picture for clues to help you figure out the words.

 

Lips the Fish: Get your lips ready and say the first few sounds of the word out loud. Read to the end of the sentence and say the sounds again.

 

Chunky Monkey: Look in the word for a chunk that you know (ch, sh, th, wh, -ing, -ed, -at, be-, -old).

 

Stretchy the Snake: S-t-r-e-t-ch the sounds out to figure out the word. Don’t forget to use the chunks, too!

 

Skippy the Frog: Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence. Then use Tryin’ Lion.

 

Tryin’ Lion: Reread and try the line again, using a word that makes sense.

 

Flippy the Dolphin: Flip the vowel and try the other sound (long vowel to short vowel or short vowel to long vowel). Look for clues like a “Bossy e” or a vowel team.

 

Wise Old Owl: Think about a word that would look right, sound right, and make sense.

Helpful Kangaroo: After you have tried all of the other strategies, ask for help.

 

Comprehension Strategies: These strategies help readers deepen understanding.

Understanding is an important part of reading. Have your child use these comprehension strategies to engage his/her brain while reading.

Visualize: Make a mental image of the story. Visualize the characters as they talk, move, and interact with each other.

Make Connections: Ask your child, “Does this story remind you of a similar experience?”(text-self) or “Does this story remind you of another book you have read (text-text) or of a world event (text-world)?”

Ask Questions: As your child is reading, ask questions about the story. Search the story to prove the answers.

Infer: Use clues from the story or pictures to discover hidden ideas about the characters or events.

Determining Importance: This strategy is especially important when reading nonfiction. Use text features (bold face, photographs, headings, italics, diagrams, captions, labels, table of contents, indexes, and cutaways) to find important information. When reading fiction, have your child think about the most important details which are vital to the story.

Synthesizing: Have your child consider how his/her thinking changed based on new information and through discussions with other readers.