Summer Reading

Parent Resources 

Free Sites/Apps 

Subscription based Sites/Apps

• UFLI -Parent Resource Hub (activities) 
• Reading Rockets 
• Reading Simplified 
• National Center on Improving Literacy - Parents and Families

• Reading Buddies (Youtube show) 
• Spelling Shed
• ReadingBear.org 
• Pinkcatgames.com

• Teach Your Monster to Read
• Nessy (Reading and Spelling) 
• Lalilo 
• Sortegories 
• Lexia Core 5 (for home) 
• EBLI Island (sight words)- app 
• OgStar Reading - app 

Foundational Skills 

Activities 

Resources

Phonological Awareness 

We learn to read words by deeply understanding how each SOUND connects to specific SYMBOLS (i.e., "sh" or "k" or "ay"). Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear differences in the way words sound. Children with phonological awareness can do things like identify initial sounds in words, count syllables in words, and identify words that rhyme. There is no print involved in phonological awareness; it is all about hearing the sounds. NOTE: It is a good idea to take the time and listen to a recording of the sounds that letters make so that you are saying the sounds correctly without a schwa (UH) sound at the end. 

Phonemic Awareness - the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in words. Hint: * Think about the sound, not the spelling, as you work with your child. 

Read nursery rhymes or Dr. Seuss books. When you hear two words that rhyme, point them out, and ask what other words might rhyme. Ask, what rhymes with cat? Do cow and how rhyme? 

How many words can you find that rhyme with __________?  Remind your child that rhyming is similar word endings. 

Identify words with the same ending sound (Do fish and dish have the same ending sound? Do fish and cat?) Hat ends with the /t/ sound. Listen, haT.” 

“Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” game for segmenting (separating) words. Use a word with up to four phonemes (single sounds). The child stands and touches head, shoulder, knees, and toes, saying each sound in the word (Jump - /j/u/m/p/). 

 “Snail Talk” - Cut out pictures of objects your child will recognize. Tell your child you are going to talk like a snail (very slowly). He/she will look at the pictures and figure out which word you are saying. PPP LLLLAAANNN (plane- remember the “e” is silent). Your child repeats the word, stretched out, then says the word in a regular way. Eventually, remove the pictures.

Play games with your child where he/she can practice segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in words. 

Importance of Phonemic Awareness and Activity Ideas

A list of rhyming books you might check out in your library is found at this website. 

Phonemic Awareness App: What’s Changed?

Phonics 

Phonics is the ability to match a unit of sound (phoneme) to the letter or letters that make the sound (grapheme). 

Use a blending board (virtual or with phoneme grapheme cards) to practice manipulating and blending learned sounds together to make real or make-believe words. 

Decodable text is a type of text used in beginning reading instruction. Decodable texts are carefully sequenced to progressively incorporate words that are consistent with the letter–sound relationships that have been taught to the new reader. Research shows that decodability is a “critical characteristic of early reading text as it increases the likelihood that students will use a decoding strategy and results in immediate benefits, particularly in regard to accuracy.” Research also highlights the need for students to apply phonics skills in connected text and found that decodable text positively impacts early reading progress.

Here's the Ultimate Guide to Teaching Blending Sounds in Words!

Blending board practice options: 

UFLI Blending Board

Blending Board App

UFLI Home Support

Why practice with decodable texts? 

• Decodable word lists and phrases
• Decodable Passages
• Additional decodable text sources

Fluency 

Good readers read effortlessly and with expression. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend at the same time.

“Echo Read”- Read a sentence and have your child read the same sentence after you. This gives them practice hearing how a sentence should be read with the right emphasis on words, stopping at the right place, and using the right intonation (the way your voice rises and falls when you speak). 

“Repeated Readings” - Encourage your child to reread favorite books. Repeated reading improves children’s fluency and comprehension. Talk about the book and practice reading with expression. Give the wolf a scary growl or use a squeaky voice for a mouse. 

“Audio-Assisted Reading” - Have your child do the following: 

• Listen to the story while following along with a paper copy of it 
• Read out loud along with the audio recording 
• Read the passage without the recording 
• Read and reread until they are reading with expression and proper pauses.
•  You can tape your child’s favorite stories and have them listen to you reading. There are also websites that provide free audiobooks. 

Importance of Fluency

RazKids, Epic, and  Audible all contain audiobooks.  

Check your local library. They often have audiobooks that can be checked out. 

Sight Words 

Recognizing words by sight helps kids become faster, more fluent readers. 

Many parts of sight words are tricky to read and spell — some parts aren’t spelled the way they sound, and so we have to recognize and learn those parts by heart.

Students can practice learning their sight words through the bingo board multisensory activities! Students can secure the patterns by practicing the spelling of sight words using Fundations lined paper, play-dough, sand, or letter tiles. 

Bingo Board (one activity per day!)

Sight Word Pop Game

Sight Word Bingo

Comprehension/ vocabulary 

Strong reading achievement and reasoning skills are built upon a base of LOTS of knowledge of the world. Children can learn vast amounts of vocabulary words, concepts, and information via a read-aloud. 

There are many options for reading aloud: 

• Parent reads aloud to child
• Child reads aloud to parent with parent providing conversational support
• Child listens to audiobooks
• Child reads aloud to younger/older sibling 

Take a few nights a week to spend on rereading family favorites and/or discovering new read-alouds (Ms. Sarconi listed books of the week in every edition of “This Week in Lower School” throughout the year. 

Connected writing 

Writing allows students to organize their thoughts and provides a means by which students can form and extend their thinking, and in turn deepen their understanding. Writing can be a meaning-making process.

Students practice writing for a variety of purposes (free writing, narrative writing, response writing), and then re-read what they wrote in order to match the words written on the page to what he/she is reading out loud to an adult. 

Journaling can help students to write, color, breathe, visualize, and reflect on their own physical, mental, and emotional wellness.

Select the Reading Response prompt to complete after reading or listening to a story.  

Example of a mindfulness journal