Literacy

At Home

(Oral Language)
Speaking & Listening Activities

Reading Activities

Writing Activities

Take advantage of the natural opportunities at home to develop your children's ability to express their ideas, opinions and feelings.

Research shows that the amount of one-to-one conversation young children have with adults is important not only in building their vocabulary, language and thinking skills, but also has a strong effect on their success in reading.

Try to include reading in many of your daily activities. Children who read return to school with increased skills. Those who take a "vacation from reading" often return to school needing to catch up again.

Making reading an enjoyable, regular part of home routines and family time keeps children moving along the literacy road. Help your children see reading activity as fun, not a chore.

Although reading and writing go hand in hand, and support each other in the development of children's literacy, we tend to pay more attention in the home to reading than to writing.

That's natural, of course, as we read to our children from the time they are infants, and it seems easier to come up with reading activities we can do with them. Writing activities are important, too, however, and well worth the attention.

Select one of the areas below and explore some easy, fun ways you can help promote the ongoing development of your child's skills.

Fun Speaking Activities

		Go for a walk and explore the environment. Talk with your children about things they see, and ask them questions that require some thinking and more than a "yes" or "no" answer (e.g., "What else grows on these trees besides leaves?", "Why do you think that house is being painted this summer?", "Would this be a good street to open a McDonald's on?). "What if" questions are always good (e.g. "What would happen if it didn't rain all summer?"), as are comparison questions (e.g., "How are the flowers in that garden different from each other and how are they the same?").
		New and varied experiences will provide your child with many opportunities for comments, questions and answers. Any excursions that take children to new environments are great opportunities for this sort of activity. Going to an out-of-town relative’s house, an amusement park, the public library, a day camp, etc. all provide opportunities for talk before, during and after the event.
		Tell children stories about memories from when you were their age, or ask them to describe what they remember about family experiences from earlier years. Urge them along by listening enthusiastically and asking questions so they will build on what they’re saying.
		Talk with them about their activities, such as skating, soccer games, hockey, etc. Make mealtimes talking (and listening!) times for everyone in the family.
		Ask children to talk about their favourite and least favourite things in various categories (e.g., dinners, school subjects, movies), and what they do or don’t like about them.
		Even television can lead to good talk: plan your viewing together, and discuss what you’ve watched after the viewing.
		Play games like "20 Questions" to pass the time on long car rides. Making up silly sentences based on licence plate letters is fun, and also slips in a little phonics practice (e.g., CRS = Chickens Run Slowly, SKG = Soap Kills Germs).
		Start a "word-of-the-day club." Pick a word and see who can find ways to use it that day.

Fun Reading Activities

		Holidays and weekends can disrupt the normal family routines, including reading at bedtime, but try to ensure that this very important activity does not get lost too often.
		When reading to or with your children, remember to take some time to talk about the book. Before reading, this can include looking at the title to predict what a new book might be about, recalling other books by the same author or illustrator, or other books about similar topics. During reading, you can pause where appropriate (i.e., when it doesn’t disrupt the enjoyment of the story) to discuss what might happen next, to notice a detail in an illustration, or to point out an unusual word. After reading, good ideas include asking "why" questions (e.g., "Why do you think Goldilocks ate the bears’ porridge?") or comparing a character or event in the story with someone or something in the children’s own life and experience. You could also point out for beginning readers words that begin or end with a certain sound (e.g., "Look, there’s a word that starts with the same letter as your name.") Of course, you won’t do all of those things all the time, and if the child isn’t really interested that day, you may not do any of them.
		For children who are just approaching reading, books with repeating patterns and lots of rhyme are a great choice. When the book is familiar, they will love joining in, and eventually may even "read" the whole book. This "pretend reading" is a good step forward in the process of becoming a reader. Books with lots of word play and rhyme are not only fun, they help children begin to notice that spoken words are made up of individual sounds. That awareness will later evolve into the understanding that letters represent sounds.
		Young children may ask for the same book day after day; it may be boring to you after the fifteenth reading, but there’s something valuable there that your child is still "working on" and responding to, so grin and bear it!
		For children who are beginning to read on their own, it is important both to continue reading to them, and to give them chances to read to you. Sometimes sharing the reading of a book is a good idea. If your new reader is focusing on how to read, your reading keeps the story flowing. That way the reading stays fun and frustration is avoided.
		When children get stuck on a word, you can remind them of what they know about using letters and sounds, tell them to read the rest of the sentence and decide what word would make sense, or just supply the word to keep the story moving and enjoyable.
		Establish a fifteen minute or so quiet time for family reading, when everyone reads on his/her own. It may be the only chance you get to read that day’s newspaper!
		Don’t worry if your older children sometimes choose materials that seem "too easy." Practice with easy books and comics will improve their reading fluency and keep reading a fun activity.
		Anytime is a great time for visiting the nearest public library to borrow books. Some libraries may also offer special programs for kids, involving storytellers, crafts, etc.
		Remember to have your children include some of their favourite books when packing for an overnight trip .
		Encourage older children to read to younger sisters and brothers.

Fun Writing Activities

		From an early age, try to maintain a spot where children can play with a variety of pencils, markers, crayons, paper, etc.
		For many young children, their own name is a powerful tool to interest them in writing. Write it for them while saying each letter ("M-A-R-I-A-...That spells your name."). Add their name to their drawings, or make a sign with them for the door of their room.
		Fill your home with words: alphabet posters on children’s walls, labels on toy storage boxes, labels and signs in play areas.
		Make lists with your beginning writers (e.g., for grocery shopping) to let them see how print is useful to us. Help them with spelling and printing as necessary. Writing menus for meals they can help you prepare is another possible activity.
		Make scrapbooks with pictures of objects or people and label them.
		Older children can keep a journal on a family trip, with highlights of each day. Later this could become part of a scrapbook with photographs of the trip, etc. They could also keep a reflective journal and scrapbooks on their favourite sport teams.
		Letters are a good motivator to write, because they have a real purpose and a real audience. Encourage children to write letters to out-of-town relatives or friends who have moved away. Thank you notes, home-made birthday cards and invitations are all good reasons for writing.
		Use a family message board to leave each other notes and messages on a regular basis. Have fun with secret messages and riddles as well. You can also leave notes around the house for each other to discover.
		When children choose to write stories or poems, respond enthusiastically to the content. Don’t worry too much for now about errors, but if they decide to send it to grandparents, etc., you can gently encourage them to edit it. This will help them understand the writing process, and that editing matters when the writing is "for public viewing."
		Have children make word images, writing words in ways that reflect their meaning (e.g., ).
		Playing games like "I Spy" helps children identify the sound at the beginning of words, a simple element of phonics that is useful in both spelling and reading.
		*Games like Scrabble, or Boggle, crossword puzzles and word searches are good rainy day activities that provide spelling practice.*