Holiday READing

As an elementary school principal, I am not sure I can think of a better gift we can give our students than the gift of teaching them how to read. Helping all students become fluent readers by the end of third grade is an issue that is so vital to our students, and I am incredibly passionate about it. According to The Literacy Project, one in six children who are not reading proficiently in the third grade does not graduate from high school on time. Statistics like this make it obvious why early literacy is the primary focus at my own school and has been the focus of my platform as the 2023 Louisiana Elementary School State Principal of the Year. I have spoken passionately about ensuring all children learn to read and have communicated this urgent need to my amazing teachers. I am incredibly blessed that the teachers I have the privilege to lead agree that we must take all steps possible to ensure that our students have a bright future. This bright future hinges heavily on reading. Not only does that mean incorporating activities based on the Science of Reading into our classrooms, but it also means including families in their child’s reading progress.

As the holiday breaks draw near, families will have more time at home with their children. This time together will provide many opportunities to read together. Therefore, I would like to offer reading ideas and activities to participate in together by using the word “READ.” This would allow families to incorporate some fun and easy suggestions that adults can do with children at home, in the car, at the store, or just about anywhere to help them develop the skills necessary to become fluent and successful readers. 

Based on our steady increase in early literacy scores, these activities are things that I have seen working first-hand in the classrooms of my school. Since these strategies work in my school, I know they can help your child too!

R- Rhyming:

The first step in learning to read is being able to hear sounds! Did you know that even when you are riding in your car, you can do things to help your child develop as a reader? You can do things, such as playing rhyming games. Start by asking your child, “What rhymes with (insert word)?.” Then, see how many rhyming words you can come up with; the sillier, the better! You can also practice changing the sounds of words. For example, sound out a word, like h-a-t, and then ask your child to change the /h/ sound to an /s/ sound. These simple games, like making silly rhymes and playing with sounds, can be played anywhere and are such an easy way to begin developing your child’s early literacy skills. 

E- Environmental Print:

Letters and Words are all around us! Road signs, food labels, names of places, and holiday recipes all display letters and words you can use to help your child notice and read. While shopping for or preparing the ingredients of your delicious holiday meals, point out different labels on food items. Ask your child questions like: What sound does this start with? What letters do you see? What other words do you know that start with that letter or that sound? You can play a sort-of BINGO game where you try to find products that start with all 26 letters. Your child can take a little notebook to the store and mark off each letter of the alphabet as they find words that begin with that letter; what a fun way to spend time in a store shopping and to enhance their reading skills at the same time.

A- Adults Reading With Children:

The most important thing you can do with your child at home to help them grow as a reader is to read with them! Visit your local library, check out books on your child’s reading level, and spend at least 15 minutes a day reading. To develop a love for reading, you can also check out some books that match your child’s interests and read those with your child. As you read with your child, ask them questions about what you are reading. Ask them about the characters, the setting, and what they like or dislike about the book. Reading for just 15 minutes a day gives your child an academic advantage! They will be exposed to more words and be more likely to score higher on standardized testing.

D- Decoding:

Decoding is one of the most important things your child will learn to do during their journey to becoming a fluent reader. Decoding means that your child can use what they know about letters and sounds to make words. Some fun activities to do to practice decoding are sounding out and writing words in shaving cream or sand, air-writing (students “write” the letters in the air with their fingers), or sliding pennies for each sound in a word and then pushing the pennies together quickly as they say the whole word. Once a child can decode, having them consistently read books or stories on their level becomes even more important in helping them become independent and fluent readers!

If you are reading this as a parent, I hope you will use the time spent with family during the upcoming holiday breaks to practice some of these easy suggestions that can significantly benefit your child as a reader and help you have fun learning together! If you would like more resources or activities, I encourage you to check out the Louisiana Department of Education’s Louisiana Family Literacy Library.

If you are reading this as an educator, please share these, or similar strategies, with your students’ families. Family engagement can impact a student’s success as a reader, and it is our job as leaders in education to ensure that families are equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to support reading at home.  

“The more that you read, the more things that you will know. The more things that you learn, the more places you will go!” -Dr. Seuss

-Mrs. Heather Brooks
2023 Louisiana Elementary School State Principal of the Year
Haynesville Elementary School, Principal/Claiborne Parish
Facebook: Haynesville Elementary School

Twitter: @heatherbbrooks3