The following are some ways you can help your child with his or her reading skills including spelling and comprehension.  You will find ideas divided into two catagories: Kindergarten through second grade and third grade through fifth.  

Read a story to your child or have your child read a story to you daily. After reading the story, have the child tell the story to you in his/her own words.  Have your child read a story to you or reread a story that has been read before. If he/she has difficulty with a word, wait a few seconds to give your child a chance to figure out the word. If a child still needs help, then suggest one of the following ways to help him/her with the word:

• What do you think the word might be?
• What word would make sense in this sentence.
• Look at the first letter in the word.
• Get your mouth ready to say the word.
• Look at the picture to help you or think about what’s happening in the story.
• Think about a word that you know that has the same sound or word chunk in it (e.g. ring, thing)
• Does the word you said sound right, look right and make sense?

If your child is not successful with one of the above, say the word for your child. Spending too much time on a word may cause your child to forget what the story is about.  If your child is reading a book and misses more than 5 out of 50 words, the book is probably too difficult. This is a book that you should read to your child.

 Questions to Ask your Child After Reading

• Who are the main characters?
• When and where did the story take place? (setting)
• What is the story mostly about?
• What are the major events in the story?
• Retell the story.
• What is the problem in this story?
• Does the story remind you of anything?
• What do you predict will happen next?
• How is the problem solved in this story?
• How did ________(a character) change/grow during the story?
• What if you were _________(a character), what would you do?
• My favorite part of the story was ________because ___________.
• I like this story because _______________.

Take turns reading a book with your child. If your child has read more than one book by the same author, ask how the books are similar or different. Provide your child with a reliable home dictionary and encyclopedia. Encourage children to look up subjects that puzzle or interest them. If your child is not enthusiastic about reading, choose books on subjects sure to interest her or him. Be sure they are not too difficult for your child to read. Talk about the meaning of new words and ideas introduced in books. Help your child think of examples of new concepts. Talk with your child about reading preferences that are beginning to develop. Ask whether he/she likes adventure stories, mysteries, science fiction, animal stories or stories about other children. Encourage him/her to explain the reasons for preferences.  Give extra opportunities to read. Let them read the directions for that new game for putting model airplanes together. Ask them to “help you” by reading the cookies recipe or traffic signs.  Set a good example as a reader—read every day at home even if it is a magazine or newspaper.
Make reading fun—a time that you both look forward to spending together.

 Questions to Ask your Child After Reading

• Who are the main characters?
• When and where did the story take place? (setting)
• What is the story mostly about?
• What are the major events in the story?
• Retell the story.
• Describe the setting. Describe the main character.
• Give examples of when ____________(a character) felt ______________.
• What is the problem in this story?
• How is the problem solved in this story?
• Can you think of other possible solutions?
• Does the story remind you of anything?
• What do you predict will happen next?
• How did ________(a character) change/grow during the story?
• What if you were _________(a character), what would you do?
• How could you change the story to make it more _______?
• Suppose ____, then what would have happened?
• My favorite part of the story was ________because ___________.
• I like this story because _______________.
• I do not like this story because _____________.

Write spelling words in pudding, sand, or shaving cream.

Write words in the air using large arm movements.

Use magnetic letters or letter tile to build spelling words. Give the child the letters that they would need to spell a word and let the child put the word together. As they practice the words, see how fast they can do it.

Using “Wikki Stix”, have your child form each letter out of Wikki Stix to spell the word. (Hint: Use a cookie sheet or wax paper for this activity)

Using a paintbrush and water, write spelling words on a fence or wall. Have your child use large arm movements to make the letters really big.

Write each letter of alphabet on a 8 ½ x 11” piece of paper. Scatter the letters on the floor, but not too far apart. When spelling a word, have your child jump from the 1st letter to the 2nd letter and so on until the word is spelled. As your child jumps on each letter, make sure he/she says the letter out loud.

Clap out the letters as you spell the word out loud. If also might be helpful to come up with a little rhythm for the word
(ex: “W - pause O – pause RD” “WORD”

Write spelling words on index cards and sort by spelling pattern.

Play “Wheel of Fortune” with spelling words.

Look for visual cues in words to help differentiate words that sound the same. For example, “seen” is different from “scene” because “seen” can be visualized with 2 eyes in the middle.