Reading is Fun

Make reading a part of every day

Share conversations with your child over meal times and other times you are together. Children learn words more easily when they hear them spoken often. Introduce new and interesting words at every opportunity.
Read together every day. Spend time talking about stories, pictures, and words.
Be your child's best advocate. Keep informed about your child's progress in reading and ask the teacher about ways you can help.
Be a reader and a writer. Children learn habits from the people around them.
Visit the library often. Story times, computers, homework help, and other exciting activities await the entire family.

Reading Activities

What's Your Story? - We'll tell you where this story begins, then you choose where it goes!

Start your adventure now!

Quizzes - Have a summer reading challenge!

Great Books to Grow On

Activities

Reading is fun for more than one! Try these activities and games with your family and friends.

Print Me - Make your mark and print some fun for the road.

Articles & Advice - Help your child develop reading skills.

Choose an Age! - Find books by age group.

Choose a Category - Books about everything from mystery to history!

Fun for Kids -Explore the world of words with your kids.

Tips for Parents - Help your child learn to read.

Find out what you need to know about reading

Discussions - Talk to other parents and share your ideas.

Family Word Play

Brought to you by Reading Is Fundamental?

Ages: Beginning readers, older readers
Materials: Paper and pencils

Ask Martha Gleason to name her favorite gourmet snack, and she might answer, "Marinated Gourds." What advice might her brother Nicky give a parrot? "Never gossip!" In this game, family players have to keep their verbal wits about them as they respond to questions using words beginning with their own initials.

For each round, a different family member thinks of a question to put to each other player in turn. The player who has been asked must respond speedily in two words that begin with his or her initials. The object is to come up with an imaginative or clever reply. Unconventional questions help.

This game helps children practice forming questions and phrasing answers and lets players show off the unusual words in their vocabulary. It also gives children confidence in their ability to think quickly and creatively.

Players may prefer to write out the questions and as many responses as they can generate in a given amount of time, say three minutes. Although pencil and paper will slow the pace of the game, it will give players with difficult initials more time to come up with good answers.

Here are a few more variations:

Monograms
To make the game more challenging for everybody, have players formulate three-word responses using their middle initials as well as the initials of their first and last names.

Anagram Sentences
Players use all the letters in one person's first name to generate words for a sentence. For Martha, they might come up with something like "Mother and Ruth took home artichokes" or "Mary abstained rather than hunt alligators." Everybody makes an anagram sentence for every player's name.

Attributes
Your children might like to create this kind of message as a gift for a family member or a valentine for a friend. First they write the person's name vertically on a sheet of paper and then they think of a word beginning with each letter in the person's name to describe that person. They write these words across, like this:

M merry
A adventurous
R rowdy
T trusting
H honest
A acrobatic

Parents and Children Reading Together

There is no better way to spend quality time with your child each day then for parents and children to read together. Here is an activity you might want to try with your children.

Ask the following questions to your child after reading a book:

How did the story make you feel?
Would you have wanted to be one of he characters and why?
Is there a lesson in the story?
If you could change the ending of the story, how would you do it?
Does this remind you of another story?
Compare this story to last night's story?
You could also have your child make predictions as you are reading - "What will happen next?

Fifteen-Minute Reading Activities

Brought to you by National PTA

Make 15 minutes go a long way. Try these quick reading activities with your younger kids.

License to read. On car trips, make it a game to point out and read license plates, billboards, and interesting road signs.
Better than TV. Swap evening TV for a good action story or tale of adventure.
Look and listen. Too tired to read aloud? Listen to a book on tape and turn the book's pages with your children. You'll still be reading with them!
Labels, labels, labels. Label things in your children's room as they learn to name them. Have fun while they learn that written words are connected to everyday things.
Pack a snack, pack a book. Going someplace where there might be a long wait? Bring along a snack and a bag of favorite books.
Recipe for reading. The next time you cook with your children, read the recipe with them. Step-by-step instructions, ingredients, and measurements are all part of words in print!
Shop and read. Notice and read signs and labels in the supermarket. Back home, putting away groceries is another great time for reading labels.
Your long-distance lap. Away on a business trip? Take a few books with you, call home, and have your child curl up by the phone for a good night story.
A reading pocket. Slip fun things to read into your pocket to bring home: a comic strip from the paper, a greeting card, or even a fortune cookie from lunch. Create a special, shared moment your child can look forward to every day.
A little longer? When your child asks to stay up a little longer, say yes and make it a 15-minute family reading opportunity.

Reading Tips for Kids

Go somewhere new.
The place where you read a book can make the story even more meaningful. Take books about animals along on camping trips or sit under a tree while reading an adventure tale.

Read "around the house."
See how much reading material can be found around the house without opening a book. Read newspapers, magazines, Web sites, cereal boxes, toothpaste labels, or mail that comes to your house. Words to read are everywhere?you just have to look!

Take a trip through a book.
Read about the places you are planning to go this summer, before you get there. You'll know more about what you're going to see before the rest of the family even packs their bags.

Read books from A-Z.
Don't know where to start for summer reading? Let the alphabet help you. Start with an author whose last name begins with A and see how close to Z you can get by the end of the summer.

Keep a reading journal.
Write about the books that you read in a summer reading journal. At the end of the season you can see how much and what you've read. Best of all, you'll never forget what the best part about a book was. You can even use your reading journal to make book recommendations to your friends.

Read aloud with adults.
Adults need to read just as much as kids do. Reading aloud before bedtime or after a meal is a fun way to spend some time with your parents. Whether you're the reader or they are, don't forget to improvise different voices or wear a silly hat to make the story more fun!

Start a book club.
Neighborhood kids love to do things in groups during the summer. Why not start a book club with your friends? Just agree to read the same book, then set some time to talk about the book either after you finish a few chapters or at the end.

Find a fun series.
Find a series of books by an author who you enjoy. By the end of the summer you'll find you know the characters almost as well as you know your friends from school.

Family Reading Activities

READ to your children during breakfast. Read the back of cereal boxes together or read the comics together over breakfast.
READ the morning paper together. Most papers have a children's section with read-aloud activities. Many children are introduced to the newspaper through the sports section. Have children locate specific sections in the newspaper.
READ current events. Get your children in the habit of reading the newspaper by talking with them about current events. Establish a discussion with your child based on contents of a daily or weekly publication.
READ to your children during dinner. Typically parents eat faster than young children so after you finish, read to them while they slowly finish their dinners. It keeps you from going for additional helpings and keeps them from feeling rushed.
READ to your children while they are in the bathtub. Purchase water resistant books and make bath time a fun reading adventure.
READ while you're cooking. Read directions on the back of cans and packages as your child helps you prepare meals. Reading recipes and cooking helps children understand sequential order, and also uses their math skills in measuring ingredients.
READ at bedtime. This is a calm and soothing way to end the day and get children ready for bed. Establish a regular time and location in your home before bedtime where you can read a book to your child or your child can read to you.
Allow your children to stay up 1/2 hour after assigned bed time as a special time for them to devote to reading.
READ during a work out session. Have your children read a book, magazine or newspaper article to you while you use the Stairmaster or treadmill.
Write a Family Book. Each chapter could be a favorite family memory from your child's life. The stories can be assembled into a book and given to relatives during the holidays. The kids could read the stories to family during dinners and family gatherings.
Assemble things together. Have your children assist in assembling any household items you have purchased. For example, have your children read the directions on how to assemble a new piece of furniture or exercise equipment.
Create your own storybook with your child. Start a story with your child and have your child read what you wrote and continue the story from there. Continue developing the story with your child daily until your storybook is complete. This way, your child is not only reading, but writing as well AND in the end, you have created a wonderful storybook that can be shared time and time again.
READ while you watch television. Put the television on mute and turn on the "caption" function and have your children read what is on TV.
Use school reading as an opportunity to share reading. Have your child read you any handouts or notes the teacher sends home. Make sure you know what books your child is expected to read for school.
Whole family responsibility for reading. Have an older child be responsible for reading to younger siblings. This responsibility will allow your child to practice reading while spending quality time with siblings. Allow your children to see you reading.

Strengthen your child's reading skills by turning ordinary events into adventures.

Reading "Just Right Books"

A book that is "just right" is one that your child can read independently. It is not too hard and it is not too easy. It's a good fit - it's "just right".

Here is one way to help your child choose such a book. Teachers call it the FIVE FINGER RULE. While reading the first page of a book, count the unknown words (using fingers to keep track is fine). If there are five or more, the book is too hard for now. Read that book together!

Another important consideration - some children have learned to read many words. They even may be reading "chapter books". However they might not be understanding what's been read.

Ask your child lots of questions about the story in general and about specific pages to see if he really understands what was read. It also is important to monitor your child's choices for appropriate content.

Reading Practice

As with any new skill, the more you practice the better you become. You can help!

Read to and with your child every day.
Ask questions about what is being read to make sure your child understands
Rereading stories and books is fine.
Take your child to the library and stay awhile to read together (then borrow more books to take home).
Make reading a priority in your home.
Remember, you are your child's most important teacher. Children learn to do what you do!

When Your Child Comes To An Unknown Word

Often adults tell a child to "sound out" an unknown word. Frequently that prompt is successful and the word is decoded. When sounding it out doesn't work, adults usually tell the word and reading continues.

However, our goal is to help children become independent readers. Here are some alternative suggestions for parents or "homework helpers" to use when your child confronts an unknown word:

Wait 5-10 seconds to see what attempts are made
Ask: "What would make sense there?"
Use the picture to help figure out the word
Skip the word and continue reading to end of line or sentence.
Go back and read sentence again.
If the word was on a previous page, go back and try to find it.
Look for a smaller word in a big one.
Cover the ending (-ed, -ing) with your finger and try word.
Look how the word begins. Let the sound "pop" right out.
Help with blending (sounding it out).
Tell the word and keep on reading.

It is important that children learn to use these strategies independently. When your child "figures out" a word, you might ask how he/she did it. Telling about their reading helps to reinforce learning.

The "ABC's" of reading to and with your child

Ask questions while reading together. "What do you think will happen next?"
Buy books as gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or other holidays.
Chat about what is happening in the book and how it relates to everyday life.
Drop everything and read. Set aside 20 minutes a day during which the whole family reads.
Examine book illustrations in detail. Select books that have large, bright pictures.
Find books that interest your child. Make suggestions, but don't turn reading into work.
Have fun. Smile and enjoy the story. Read with a slow, relaxed voice and be expressive.
Invite your child to the bookstore. Take time to lounge in the chairs and browse the books.
Join in your child's reading successes. Celebrate every small step with sincere praise.
Kids love to receive mail. Send your child a magazine subscription in an area that interests him or her.
Learn to read with, and not just to, your child daily. Read aloud, share ideas, and answer questions.
Model reading. Share with your child, whether you're reading for information or for entertainment.
Never force your child to read. If you're both too tired or discouraged to read, take a break.
Offer your child a variety of reading materials, such as books, magazines cereal boxes, and comics.
Predict story elements, draw conclusions, and retell the story with your child.
Quiz your child at the end of a story. Informally, of course!
Reread books to familiarize your child with words and to build self-confidence.
Sing songs, recite poetry, and do finger plays to help develop language and listening skills.
Try to help your child understand that it's okay to make mistakes.
Understand that reading is developmental and that it takes time and practice to become fluent.
Visit your local library on a regular basis. Sign your child up for his or her own library card.
Welcome wordless picture books into your collections. They generate conversation and allow the nonreader to create his or her own stories.
"Xhibit" patience when your child is selecting books. Your support is empowering.
You are the most important person in helping your child develop a lifelong love of reading.
Zealous readers are the result of supportive and nurturing role models.

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Last modified: August 2007