Tuscarora Elementary School

6321 Lambert Drive / Frederick, Maryland 21703 
Phone: 240-566-0000
Fax: 240-566-0001
Reading Advice for Parents




       

 

   

As a parent you most likely want the absolute best for your child. The best eduation, best experiences, and the best chance at being a successful person. To give your child a headstart on the path to success, give them a headstart with learning to read. Make reading fun at your house, make it something your child will want to do every day. Below are several simple steps you can take at home to Put Reading First!

Parents as Allies in Children’s Education
by Karen J. McGaha (Reading Specialist - Tuscarora Elementary School)

1. Be a role model for reading.
o Let your children see you reading different materials for different reasons and encourage them to do the same.
o Join a book club.
o Give your children books or magazine subscriptions as gifts.
o Visit the library on a regular basis.

2. Read to your children every day.
o Find a quiet spot.
o Choose interesting material.
o Encourage your children to read to you , to each other and to other members of the family.

3. Provide opportunities for listening to audio tapes and for watching selected TV programs.
o Encourage your children to listen to recordings by authors or storytellers.
o Make your own recordings of your children’s favorite selections.
o Allow your children to select from the program guide appropriate TV programs for viewing. Their viewing time may constitute one full evening a week, or one or two programs each night. Ask for a written schedule showing times, channels and selected programs. Make it a rule that they have to vary the times/channels.

4. Provide opportunities for reading.
o Collect simple recipes and allow your children time to do some cooking.
o Always leave lots of notes for your children. Place them on the refrigerator door or in their lunch boxes. Sometimes it’s fun to leave notes about tasks and include promised rewards for the tasks that are completed. An example might be: “Please clean your rooms when you get home from school. When you’re finished we’ll all go out to eat this evening.”
o Play board games that encourage reading or word play.

5. Be a role model for writing.
o Allow your children to see you writing every day for different reasons, business and pleasure.
o Be positive. Don’t overemphasize errors in your children’s grammar, punctuation and spelling.

6. Provide opportunities for writing.
o Set up a writing corner. Have a good selection of materials available. Vary the paper (lined and unlined) by size, color, texture and shape.
o Purchase blank books or make your own by sewing pages together. Wallpaper scraps make good covers.
o Encourage your children to share what they’ve written.
o Encourage your children to proofread what they’ve written.
o Provide an incentive for your children to write by typing out some of their writings. If possible, allow them to use the computer.
o Encourage your children to keep a special diary for private writing where they can freely express feelings and opinions. Promise them you will respect their privacy.
o Keep a communal journal when traveling as a family so all the members can write about what they see and discover.
o Have your children assist you in writing out grocery lists. If your children come with you when you go shopping, have them check off items as you pick them out.

7. Encourage the writing of letters.
o Encourage your children to write than you notes for presents received.
o Encourage your children to write to grandparents and other relatives and friends.

8. Encourage creativity.
o Encourage your children to rewrite TV commercials – or make up new ones.
o Encourage your children to perform commercials or plays they’ve written.
o Encourage your children to illustrate their writing – start a file of pictures, photos, illustrations and cartoons for your children to use in illustrating their writing.


Above all, let your children know that reading and writing are meaningful activities. It’s true that we learn to read and write for practical reasons, but it’s also true that reading and writing are tremendous sources of enjoyment.

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Last Updated: November 2005