Reading and writing can pose serious challenges for children. Some students have difficulty with blending words, while other kids have issues with comprehension and fluency. Students who have a hard time writing may not know how to string together sentences, organize a paper or put conversational ideas in writing. Parents can do many activities with their children to make these tasks easier.
Read for Many Reasons
Children who don't read well have trouble learning, according to the U.S. Department of Education report "Reading Tips for Parents." A child who struggles in reading and writing may see these skills as tasks reserved for school and thus unimportant in real life. Show her otherwise by reading to find new information, following recipes and writing grocery lists, penning notes to friends and family, and writing activities on a family calendar. The more authentic her experiences are, the more she will see reading and writing as a part of life and not just an annoyance.
Model Reading and Writing
Reserve an hour each day for family reading time. Keep a stack of newspapers, magazines and books in the family room and encourage each person to read something of interest to discuss at dinner time. Read or write stories at bedtime, but don't limit yourself. Read or create jokes, riddles and cartoons as well. Model writing by creating a letter or email to a relative and invite your child to share in its content. Play detective and ask your child to find grammatical errors in the letter. She will enjoy pointing out adult mistakes.
Use Art as a Writing Tool
Many children have a hard time translating ideas to the page. Encourage your child to draw her thoughts in a colorful picture. Often, once a child sees her ideas in an illustration, she finds it much easier to put them into words. She can use the drawing as an outline and prewriting activity. Encourage her to publish her work at the National Gallery of Writing, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, suggests Patti Ghezzi at SchoolFamily.com.
Build Confidence and Make it Fun
Read your child's favorite stories as many times as he wants to hear them. Pause every so often at the end of a sentence to give your child the opportunity to fill in the missing word. Play rhyming games, ask him to read street signs and leave him fun notes. Model correct grammar and punctuation in these notes, but don't constantly correct your child. Just encourage him to write his own notes. Praise him for a job well done, especially if he initiates reading or writing.
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