5 LITTLE WAYS READ-ALOUD TIME CAN IMPROVE SPELLING SKILLS
SURPRISINGLY, DOING THESE SIMPLE THINGS DURING
STORY TIME CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE (AGES 4-10).
by Jacob Biba
Retrieved from Scholastic.com. Dec 17, 2019
Your children probably have
a few books that they ask
you to read to them over and
over again. While re-reading
books provides opportunities to help your
young reader develop important reading
comprehension skills, it can also sneakily
improve your child’s spelling skills (but you
don’t have to tell them that!).
When reading aloud as a family, early childhood
educators stress that the first read
should always be for pleasure and about your
child engaging with visuals, hearing your tone
and expression, listening to how words sound
together, and making meaning of the story.
“I like to have my students focus on just
enjoying the first time the book is read aloud,”
says Lesley Burnap, a second-grade teacher
in Massachusetts, adding that she may
encourage her students to make predictions
about the plot, setting, and characters.
You can then use subsequent readings
to follow the five savvy tips below for spelling
success.
1. Embark on a Letter Search
To help children ages five to eight work on
spelling, encourage them to identify letters in
the book's title, or search for words that begin
with a specific letter on a page, says Burnap.
With younger children, point out words that
begin with the same letter as their name.
“Preschoolers love learning about their world
and their place in it,” says Burnap. “Looking
for the first letter of their name, or of someone
else’s name in their family, can be a game to
gain familiarity with letters in the text.”
Try this with: The Word Collector. The extraordinary
tale from Peter H. Reynolds is
perfect for a letter search because many words
throughout the book are emphasized by their
size or color, making it easy for kids to find
familiar letters. What's more, this perfectly
whimsical and inspiring story is about the
magic of the words all around us.
2. Show Your Child What a
Difference a Letter Can Make
You can also reinforce spelling in children ages
five to eight by incorporating rhyme play during
read-alouds. Show your child how changing
one letter—for instance, the first letter
of cat, bat, sat, and hat—has a huge effect on
sound and meaning.
This is effective because it engages your
child’s senses (both visual and auditory) and
shows them the role individual letters play in
the formation of words, providing a foundation
for strong spelling skills. You can add
a tactile element by encouraging your child
to trace letters with their finger or by using
wipe-clean books!
Try this with: How Do Dinosaurs Love Their
Dogs? This lovable rhyming book from the
How Do Dinosaurs...? series shows your
child how changing a letter can change
meaning! It is all about how dinosaurs
give their dogs a soft rub in the tub. It's
about how they throw their dogs a ball,
and reward them when they come to their
call. It's not only great for teaching spelling
skills, but also responsibility.
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