Magazines for Kids: Idea #361

I remember as a kid I loved getting kid magazines in the mail. It made me feel so grown-up! Magazines can be a great way to promote reading at home. Find something your student really likes (animals, sports, Disney princesses, etc.) and most likely you will be able to find a kid magazine that focuses on that. Maybe you have heard of some these kid magazines: Highlights, National Geographic Kids, American Girl, Time for Kids,  Discovery Girls, Kids Discover, and Yum Food & Fun for Kids. These magazines are geared towards a young audience and include topics that your student may find interesting. Check out a list of kid magazines here. I hope you find one that your student will enjoy!

My Word Family Book: Idea #285

Kids love making books. To get your student motivated to read word family words, try making a book. Just do the following:

1. Have your student choose a word family, for example -an. Then have your student make a list of all the words they can think of in that particular word family. For example: an, ban, can, Dan, fan, man, Nan, pan, ran, tan, van. 

2. Since the -an family has eleven words in it, give your student 12 pages (whatever size you would like). 

3. On the first page have your student write: 'The -an Family' or the word family that they chose.

4. Then on each page have your student write one word and draw a picture of it.

5. When your student has finished, staple the pages together and they can practice reading the book at home.

6. If your student doesn't like to draw, click here to find some printable word family books that your student can color.

Have fun!

Word Family Plays: Idea #282

To get your student mastering word families, try reading word family plays. Plays are fun for kids because they get to act, dress up, get attention from an audience, and of course practice reading. Take a look at this book called 25 Fun Word Family Plays by clicking here. The book contains 25 plays that focus on 25 different word families. Any part your student chooses in the play will give them plenty of practice with the word family. Your student will love the humorous stories and characters. They will want to practice reading them over and over again. Have fun putting on your Word Family Play!

'Words Their Way': Idea #281

Words Their Way is a wonderful text with research-based approaches to help your student learn how to read. There are tons of different editions and versions, depending on the type of reader that you have. A few include: emergent spellers, struggling readers, derivational relations spellers, word study in home school, secondary and middle school readers, and more! Many of the books have word sorts, lessons, a list of high frequency words, hands-on learning activities, suggested websites, etc. 

All you do is click here to see some of the Words Their Way books that are out there. Choose the one that best fits the needs of your student. Then check it out at your local library or buy it. Once you read it, you will discover a variety of ways to help your student succeed and become the confident reader they want to become!

Word Family Readers: Idea #276

Looking for some great books to reinforce the word families your student has learned? You should try using Lakeshore books. They are wonderful. They are durable, short, repetitious and perfect for emergent readers. Click on this to view their Word Family Readers. Each book contains 5-9 words from the same word family. Kids love the rhymes and beautiful pictures. The stories are entertaining too! It's a great way to make your reader a confident one.

When you look at the website, you will see that there are 20 books included in the word family readers. There is also an option to buy the Word Family Big Books. These books are essentially the same as the readers, just larger. Big books are a fun way for kids to read with you or with their class to find patterns or key words in the story. Have fun checking it out!

Bob Books: Idea #246

Are you looking for a good series for your beginning reader? You should try Bob Books. The books are designed to help kids "take their first steps into reading." The books begin very simple with My First Bob Books that help with pre-reading skills. The books get more difficult as your student goes up the levels in the book sets. Your student's confidence will grow as they read each book.

On the Bob Books website they provide a Bookfinder Quiz to help you figure out your student's reading level and which set of Bob Books you should start with. If you prefer not to use the Bookfinder Quiz, the Bob Book series focus on different literacy concepts you can choose from, such as the following: compound words, word families, long vowels, complex words, the alphabet, sight words, advanced beginner readers, and pre-reading skills. Find what is ideal for your student.

I like that Bob books are short and have fun illustrations. Kids love them. Sometimes the book sets come with activities and printables for your student. There are even Bob Apps now! Check out this website to see all that Bob Books have to offer. Looks like your student won't be bored this summer!

Comic Books: Idea #208

What kind of books does your student like to read? When I was a kid I loved to read comic books during silent reading time. I preferred the Barbie comic books, but at school the only comic books that my 1st grade teacher had were Archie comics. Those comics books helped motivate me to want to read. Does your student also like comic books? If so, read on...

I did a little research I found this great company that makes beginning reader comic books. The company is called TOON into Reading. The books are simple, starting with level 1 and go up to level 3. You can either buy the books or read some of them online. The website includes cartoon makers, coloring pages, and popsicle puppets to make learning even more fun! 

If your kid is really excited about comics, you should tell them about Free Comic Book Day coming up on May 4, 2013. What a great way to motivate your student to want to read. I know that's what got me excited to read when I was young!

Big Books: Idea #207

Kids love big books. By big books I mean those books you can find at the library that are as large as your student! Kids love reading the big words and looking at the large pictures. Big books are great when students are looking for patterns or sight words. They are especially good for captivating your student's attention while reading a story. 

You can buy big books online at Lakeshore. If you buy the book you can circle sight words or highlight patterns you see in the book. Get your student involved so that they feel ownership and get excited to read the story.

You can also check big books out from your local library. Obviously you can't write or highlight in these books, but you can use highlighter tape or something similar that is not permanent. Kids love putting the highlighter tape on the pages and seeing the different colors. Let your student be apart of it!

As a teacher I loved reading big books to my students. They were always so engaged and excited while I read out of a big book. If your student does not seem excited to read to you, try checking out a big book, on your student's level, from your local library. Your student will love it!

Lakeshore Sight Word Readers: Idea #200

Are you looking for more books that are on your student's reading level? When I taught Pre-K we used some awesome sight word books from Lakeshore. Here are ten facts about these great books: 

     1. The books are short and simple.
     2. The books are sturdy.
     3. The books are beautifully illustrated. 
     4. You can buy the level 1 book collection or level 2 if your student is advanced.
     5. You can buy fiction or non-fiction books.
     6. The books contain 32 of the most common sight words.
     7. Each book focuses on 5 to 7 sight words. 
     8. In the front of each book you will find a list of the sight words contained in the story to better know if it is appropriate for your student.
     9. The non-fiction books focus on things from the five senses to plants (with photos).
     10. These books are an excellent way to boost your student's reading confidence.

I highly recommend these books. Your student will love reading them to you. Check them out here. Have fun reading!

'Dick and Jane' books: Idea #148

I hope you haven't forgotten about the classic Dick and Jane books. The illustrations are fun. The stories are simple, but kids love them. Although the books are repetitious, Dick and Jane books are an excellent way to help your student gain confidence in their reading. Check some out at your local library today. I highly recommend it!

Sight Word Readers: Idea #97

When I taught 1st grade I loved to use Sight Word Readers to practice sight words. 

FOR THE STUDENT: The Sight Word Reader set contains 25 different books that introduce 50 different sight words. There are five copies of each book, so you can read them together in a small group. Each book introduces two sight words. These sight words can be found on almost every page of the book. The books are simple reads and a great way to help your student gain some reading confidence. 

FOR THE TEACHER: There is also a special teaching guide where you can print off each book so your student can take them home and practice. My students loved taking the readers home. You can also find sight word worksheets and assessment forms.

ACTIVITY: Before we would read the story together, I would have my student find the two sight words in the book. For example, if the two sight words were: to and the, I would say, "Every time you see the word to in the book, highlight it green." Once they completed the task, I would say, "Every time you see the word the in the book, circle it blue." 

You could also try having your students do some type of action every time they read the word. For example, "Every time you read the word to, clap your hands" or "Every time you read the word the, stomp your feet." Kids love it. 

Check out these books at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sight-word-readers-box-set-scholastic/1102594563?cm_mmc=googlepla-_-book-_-q000000633-_-9780545067669&cm_mmca2=pla&ean=9780545067669&isbn=9780545067669&r=1

I hope you find them as useful as I did!

Margaret Hillert Books: Idea #62

Once your student is sounding out short two and three letter words and knows a few sight words, you may want to get them started on some easy reader books. One of my favorite authors is Margaret Hillert. Her books are repetitive and simple. Students are able to gain confidence from reading them. She writes books about things from the holidays to  fairy tales. Check out this website to find a list of her books: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bookwizard/books-by/margaret-hillert.

TIP: Before your child tries to read one of her books to you, look through it and see if there are any words that may be difficult for your student. Make a list of the hard words and practice them with your student before your student begins to read. This will help your student get more excited about reading and feel successful. 

ALSO, all of her books are Accelerated Reader books.

Letter Books: Idea #48

Alphabet books are a great way to help kids remember letter sounds. Each letter of the alphabet has their own book full of pages with pictures of things that begin with that sound. For example, in the b book you may find pictures of a ball, a bear, a boy, etc. Kids love the colorful pictures. As a teacher I would always introduce a letter sound using an alphabet book. It gave my students a quick overview of the sound we were going to be working on. Plus, did I mention that they loved the beautiful pictures?

Check out Lakeshore's alphabet books as an example. You don't have to get this brand, this just gives you an idea of what these alphabet books look like.

Dr. Seuss: Idea #43

Do you remember learning in school that an alliteration was a sentence that had words that all began with the same letter? Wasn't it fun discovering that and finding sentences that had alliterations? When I think of alliterations I automatically think of Dr. Seuss. He is the king of alliterations, especially in his Dr. Seuss’s ABC book.

Reading books with alliterations is a great way to help your child learn their sounds. As you read this Dr. Seuss book with your student, you may stop after each page and ask "What letter sound did you hear at the beginning of each word on this page?" 

While reading each page, try to make it really obvious to your student what the sound was, so that they don't get frustrated. For example, one of the pages in the book says, "Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee." Read it to your student like this: "Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee." The only sound that should be loud is the one you're trying to have your student guess. Then ask your student, "What letter sound did you hear on this page?" Your student would then confidently reply, "B!"

Kids love reading books with an adult and they especially enjoy Dr.Seuss books. Have a great time listening to all of his fun alliterations...don't forget to help your student learn their letter sounds along the way!

Alphabet Book: Idea #38

Making an alphabet book is a great way to motivate your student to learn letter sounds. They will love the opportunity to be creative in drawing pictures and remembering the sounds they have learned. Here is what you do:

1. All you need is: a pencil, crayons, 26 pieces of paper, and 1 extra page for the book cover that says My ABC Letter Sound Book.

2. After your student has mastered a particular letter sound, give them a piece of paper to add to their ABC Letter Sound Book. For example, if they have mastered the letter sound A, give them a paper that says: 'A is for _______.' 

3. Your student can tell you what they would like to write in the blank and you can help them write it.

4. After they have written the word in the blank, let them draw a picture to go with it.

5. It is okay if they do the letters out of order, as long as the pages are put in the correct order at the end.

6. Once your student has mastered all 26 letters and has drawn a picture for each one, put the pages in the correct abc order and staple the book together. Kids love making books and will enjoy showing their book to their family and friends. The book can become a great reference and constant reminder to your student.

Hidden Pictures: Idea #25

Does your student enjoy finding Where's Waldo? If your student does, they may also enjoy hidden pictures. Finding hidden pictures can be a great way to practice letter sounds. 
  
I found a book full of hidden pictures in The Everything Kids' Hidden Pictures Book. You can check out some of these hidden pictures at: http://www.netplaces.com/kids-hidden-pictures/perfect-pets/heidis-hamster.htm. 

FYI: Not all of the hidden pictures in the book have you looking for things that begin with the same letter sound. In this case, you may ask your student, "Look at the hidden picture. Can you find anything that starts with p? Can you find anything that starts with h? Can you find anything that starts with r?" etc.

Have fun looking at these crazy hidden pictures!