Child

Ways to Help Your Child Succeed

Last Updated Aug 20, 2008 00:47 AM

in The English–Language Arts
A. If You Have a Child Under the Age of Five
Parents can help children under the age of five to gain oral language skills. The activities below not only are fun but also help develop skills that children need to become good listeners, speakers, readers, and writers.

For Your Baby and Toddler (Six Weeks to Three Years)
You are your child’s first teacher. You pave the way for your child’s success at every stage of development. Here are some simple things you can do to help in the development of language skills:

Talk to your child and encourage your child to talk.
Introduce your baby to cardboard or cloth books with big, simple pictures of everyday things.
Provide a comfortable place for story time. Read aloud to your child.
Read with expression, showing your baby the pictures in the book.
Pay attention to how your child responds and stop when he is tired.
Try to work up to 30 minutes each day reading to and with your child.
Talk with your child about what you are reading.
Help your child learn to enjoy sounds in spoken language by together singing songs and reading nursery rhymes aloud.
Ask a librarian to help you find wonderful and suitable books for your child.
Help your child choose books for you to read aloud when your child becomes a toddler.
Stop now and then and point to letters and words as you read them.
Point out letters on signs and labels, such as the first letter of your child’s name.
Show your child that you like to read.
Give your child crayons and paper to scribble on when she is about two years old.
Praise him as he talks, scribbles, draws, and looks at books.
Encourage your child to “pretend read,” joining in where she has memorized a word or phrase.
When you ask questions, give your child enough time to think and respond.
Encourage your child to ask questions.
Tie ideas in the book to things familiar to your child. Notice if your child does so independently.
Let your child know how much you like his ideas and encourage him to tell more.
For Your Preschooler (Three to Four Years)
As your child turns three and four, continue with the reading habits described above. You can also introduce a variety of more focused and enjoyable activities to reinforce your child's growing understanding of language, including the following:

Sing songs, read nursery rhymes, and tell stories with your child.
Share books with your child.
Point out environmental words to your child (for example, signs, labels, and posters)
Make a game of rhyming words and sounds. (For example, the parent says, "Let's go have some fun, out in the ____." The child says a rhyming word, such as sun, to end the sentence.)
Clap to the rhythm of songs and music.
Move to the beat of different nursery rhymes.
Play nonsense word games with your child (for example, le, li, la; be, bi, ba; se, si, sa).
Say a series of rhyming words that each start with a different letter (for example, cat, rat, bat, fat, sat; dig, big, jig, pig). Have your child repeat each word or think of additional words.
Talk with your child about special activities and children's TV programs.
Provide books and magazines at home.
Have a quiet reading time each night during which everyone reads or is read to.
Visit the library with your child to check out picture and easy reading books.
Point out to your child the title, author, cover, back, page numbers, and pictures in a book.
Have your child help turn the pages of a book while you are reading. Talk about reading the book from the front to the back cover.
Play a game, "How many claps (syllables) in the word apple?”
Read stories to your child that have repeated phrases and have your child help in repeating the phrases.
Provide a variety of writing tools to encourage spontaneous writing.
Make an imagination box that has items such as markers, paper, crayons, paper towel tubes, small boxes, and stickers.
Use appropriate language when talking with your child and avoid babytalk.
Encourage your child to use words instead of pointing.
Restate a word properly in a sentence when your child incorrectly pronounces a word so that he can hear the correct pronunciation.
Take your child to places like the zoo, a circus, a park, or a farm. Children will have a wider vocabulary and be able to understand stories better if they have personal and prior knowledge of these topics.
Stop occasionally when reading aloud before finishing a sentence and let your child predict what comes next.
You may wish to enroll your child in a preschool. Research suggests that children who attend preschool do better throughout their school careers. If your child attends a preschool or child care center, be involved by talking with the teacher about your child, talking to your child about his experiences daily, and participating in preschool activities if possible.

B. Reading in a Language Other Than English
There is much that you can do to help your child if his first language is not English. He is a step ahead if he is beginning to learn many words and is interested in learning to read in his first language. You can help by supporting him in his first language as he learns English. Talk with him, read with him, and encourage him to draw and write. In other words, do the same kinds of activities that appear throughout this chapter but do them in your child's first language.

When your child first enters school, you may want to talk with her teacher. Schools welcome such talks. Usually, you may ask for a meeting at any time. If it will help, ask a relative, neighbor, or someone else in your community to go with you. When you go, share with teachers your knowledge of your child's activities (reading, writing, talking, drawing) and interests and discuss how your child seems to learn best. Children who can switch back and forth between languages have accomplished something of great value that can become an important advantage to them. We should praise and support them as they work for this achievement.

If your child’s first language is not English, becoming an excellent reader and writer of English is likely to require more time and effort than for native English speakers. Encourage your child to complete her homework assignments on time and praise her for her accomplishments. In addition, consider the following recommendations to support your child’s success in language development:

Find out what services are available at your school for English learners, such as after-school programs, bilingual programs, cross-age tutoring programs, family literacy programs, provision of multicultural books and other library services, summer and intersession services, or tutoring.
Ask if there is an English Learner Advisory Committee at your school or district. Find out what assistance the committee provides.
Find out what services are available at your school (such as outreach workers, parent liaisons or translators) to assist the parents of English learners.
Become a partner with your child’s teachers by talking with them often, ensuring that your child attends school regularly, and making certain that your child completes homework on time.

See also Child 584 1 - 6