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Phonemic Awareness: Definition & Importance

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Phonemic Awareness: Definition & Importance

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Watch this video where I define phonemic awareness and explain why it is fundamental for early reading success in inclusive preschool classrooms. (Best, 2018)

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Classroom Activity 1: Sound Matching Game

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Classroom Activity 1: Sound Matching Game

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Children listen to words and identify which ones start with the same sound. To differentiate, provide picture prompts for visual learners and allow students to respond verbally, with pointing, or using assistive technology for communication. (Barrett & M.A., 2023)

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Students sit in a circle and take turns saying rhyming words. For students with language delays, use picture cards or allow responses by choosing between two presented words. Incorporate movement or music for additional engagement. (Barrett & M.A., 2023)

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Encourage children to find objects in the kitchen that start with the same sound (e.g., spoon, salt, soup). This interactive scavenger hunt builds sound awareness in a familiar environment and can be adapted by providing a list or pictures. It allows families to naturally embed phonemic awareness in daily routines. (Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener, n.d.)

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Family Website: Reading Rockets – Phonemic Awareness

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Family Website: Reading Rockets – Phonemic Awareness

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This website provides tips and activities for families to foster phonemic awareness at home. It includes easy-to-follow games and guidance for different developmental levels, ensuring every child gets the tailored support they need.

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That's a complicated sounding term, but it's meaning is simple: the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

Identify words that rhyme

Count the number of syllables in a name

Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound)

Segment (break) a sentence into words

Identify the syllables in a word

The most sophisticated phonological awareness skill (and the last to develop) is called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When playing with the sounds in word, children learn to:

Blend individual sounds to make a word

Stretch out a word into its individual sounds

Swap in a different sound to the beginning, middle, or end of a word to make a new word

Strong phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Children who struggle with reading, including kids with dyslexia, often have trouble with phonemic awareness, but with the right kind of instruction they can be successful. Learn some of the warning signs for dyslexia in this article, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood.

Parents can make a big difference in helping their children become readers by practicing these pre-reading oral skills at home. Try some of the simple rhyming and word sound games described here.

Try these speech sound activities at home

Rhyme time

"I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?" Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? ( dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes

While you're out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the "kids" in the cat family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

Silly tongue twisters

Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

Tongue ticklers

Alliteration or "tongue ticklers" - where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again - can be a fun way to provide practice with a speech sound. Try these:

For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

Syllable shopping

While at the grocery store, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables. Show your child the sign for each and ask her to say the word.

"I spy" first sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this simple "I spy" game at home, on a walk, or at the grocery store. Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds. For example, if you're in the bathroom you can say, "I spy something red that starts with the "s" ssss sound ( soap)."

Sound scavenger hunt

Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound. "Can you find something in our house that starts with the letter "p" pppppp sound? Picture, pencil, pear "

Which letter sounds do I teach first?

Reading expert Linda Farrell recommends that you begin with teaching the letter names, and then focus on the letter sounds that are closest to their letter names (such as /v/). And here's a great tip for teaching the trickier letter name-letter sound combinations - use arm motions. In this video, Linda demonstrates motions for /x/ and /y/. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

Sound games

Practice blending sounds into words. Ask "Can you guess what this word is? m - o - p." Hold each sound longer than normal.

First sounds

When you're reading together with your child, pick a word from the book and say it with emphasis on the first sound. Pick another word and compare them. "Zzz-zookeeper and rrr-rhinoceros. Can you hear what sound zzz-zookeeper starts with? Is it the same as rrr-rhinoceros?

Jump, skip, hop!

Create simple picture cards that you draw or cut out of magazines. Have your child, identify what's in the picture, and then break that word into its individual sounds. For example dog is d-o-g, three sounds (phonemes). Three sounds? You and your child do three jumping jacks, skips, or hops (followed by a high-five). You can also do this game outdoors without the cards, just call out simple words for your child.

Snail talk

Tell your child you're going to communicate in "snail talk" and they need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

"I spy" blending

Here's an easy phoneme blending game you can play while talking a walk. For blending, you can say, "I see a sign that says s-t-o-p" Then your child has to blend the sounds to guess your word - stop. (Remember to say only the sounds in the word - not the letters.) Keep the words short, moving from two to three to four sounds depending on your child's skill level.

Sound counting

Using LEGO bricks, beads, or pennies, say a word and have your child show you how many sounds the word makes. For example, top = t-o-p = three sounds, so your child would place three objects in a row. Then have them tap each object as they say the sound. Remember, your child is just showing you the sounds they hear. So the word bike would be = b-i-k (silent e) = only three sounds.

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Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Phonological and phonemic awareness are important pre-reading skills, related to the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Children with strong phonological awareness skills are ready to become readers.

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Watch this video where I define phonics and explain its key role in teaching young children how letters make sounds, forming the basis of reading. (Best, 2018)

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Classroom Activity 1: Letter-Sound Hopscotch

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Classroom Activity 1: Letter-Sound Hopscotch

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Create a hopscotch board with letters instead of numbers. Children say the sound of each letter as they hop. For students with mobility challenges, use a tabletop version or let them indicate choices by pointing. (Marshall & M.A., 2025)

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Classroom Activity 2: Build-a-Word with Magnetic Letters

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Classroom Activity 2: Build-a-Word with Magnetic Letters

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Using magnetic letters, students form simple CVC words (e.g., cat, dog). Differentiate by offering fewer letters or picture prompts for students needing extra support, or challenging advanced students with word families. (Marshall & M.A., 2025)

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Ask children to find items around the house that match a specific letter sound. This activity helps children connect letter symbols to their sounds in a real-world context and can be adapted for various skill levels by focusing on beginning, middle, or ending sounds. (Phonics and Decoding: Activities for Your Kindergartener, n.d.)

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Family Website: Starfall – Learn to Read

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Family Website: Starfall – Learn to Read

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Starfall offers interactive phonics games ideal for family use. It provides engaging, multi-sensory activities tailored for different abilities, supporting children as they develop foundational reading skills.

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Please see Starfall's how-to-teach-reading page, Learn to Read with Phonics, Fluency, and Comprehension, and print the Free Phonics Printouts for children. Starfall™ books, games, movies, and songs follow a research-based method of systematic phonics starting with consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Emergent readers gain confidence as they progress to long vowels and other letter-sound relationships such as digraphs.

Brought to you by Zac the Rat™, Peg the Hen™, and Gus the Duck™.
Starfall™ Where Children Have Fun Learning to Read™

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Learn to Read with Phonics | Starfall Education

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Starfall's movies, games, and ebooks create an environment where children have fun as they learn to read. We use a proven sequential phonics method.

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Watch this video for an overview of vocabulary development and its importance for all areas of early literacy and comprehension. (Best, 2018)

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Classroom Activity 1: Storybook Word Hunt

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Classroom Activity 1: Storybook Word Hunt

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While reading a picture book, pause to highlight new words and discuss their meanings. For differentiation, supplement stories with visuals, real objects, or AAC devices, and encourage students to show or act out new words. (Staff, n.d.)

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Classroom Activity 2: Word Wall with Pictures

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Classroom Activity 2: Word Wall with Pictures

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Create an interactive word wall featuring new vocabulary paired with images and objects. Allow children to add words and use them in sentences, with support for speech/language or motor differences through technology or partner assistance. (Staff, n.d.)

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At-Home Activity: Set up a Word Wall at Home 

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At-Home Activity: Set up a Word Wall at Home 

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Choose a small area on a wall or fridge to create your child’s unique word wall. Each time your child discovers a new word, write it down and attach a picture next to it. Make sure to visit the wall frequently and engage in various games such as:

“Locate the word that begins with ‘B’”

“Point to something edible” (Vishwakarma, 2025)

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Family Website: Kiwico.com – Vocabulary Games

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Family Website: Kiwico.com – Vocabulary Games

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Kiwico.com provides vocabulary games that families can play together, reinforcing word learning through stories, songs, and interactive play to suit a range of learning styles and developmental stages.

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10 Vocabulary Activities Perfect for Preschool | KiwiCo

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In this video, I describe reading fluency—how it involves accuracy, speed, and expression—and why it matters for understanding text. (Best, 2018)

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The teacher reads a line from a familiar book, and students repeat it, focusing on pacing and expression. Support students with speech/language needs by modeling, using visuals, or providing sentence strips. (Cleaver, 2024)

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Classroom Activity 2: Choral Reading with Songs

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Classroom Activity 2: Choral Reading with Songs

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Sing or chant familiar nursery rhymes together. Accommodate diverse needs with visuals, actions, or assistive devices, allowing every child to participate at their comfort level. (Cleaver, 2024)

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Families are encouraged to read favorite stories aloud together, taking turns. This naturally models fluent reading and can be adjusted for different abilities through repeated readings or using audio books as supports. (Fluency: Activities for Your Kindergartener, n.d.)

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Family Website: Reading Rockets – Fluency Activities

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Family Website: Reading Rockets – Fluency Activities

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Reading Rockets offers practical fluency-building activities that families can do at home, including read-alouds and rhythmic reading, with suggestions for adapting to individual learning needs.

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Your kindergartener is at the beginning stages of reading, and is working hard to master letter sounds, decode simple words, and recognize common sight words. You want to support these new reading skills without putting too much pressure on your child to read more quickly and with more expression. That kind of natural-sounding fluency comes with lots and lots of practice.

You can start gently to build your child's fluency with the activities provided here. Remember that every child develops at a different pace, and your child may not be ready for some of these activities until first grade.

Try these fluency activities at home

Choose the right books

Help your child choose books that he can comfortably read. The "five-finger test" is a useful guideline for beginning readers. As your child reads, count the number of words he cannot read per page. In general, there should be five words or fewer that give him trouble on each page. If a book contains several pages on which you count more than five words that he can't read, consider reading that book to your child until he develops more reading skill.

Listen every day

Once you've found a collection of books that your child can read, listen to your child read every day. Be patient - new readers often read slowly! Offer help when your child gets stuck, and always give lots of praise and encouragement.

Reread favorite books

Building fluency takes a lot of practice! Keep a collection of books that your child can read quickly and easily. Encourage your child to reread favorite books over and over again. With each reading, you may notice your child reading a bit easier, a bit faster, and with a bit more confidence and expression.

Read to your child every day

Model your own fluent reading as you read and reread books with your child. Even though your child may be able to read on her own, continue to find time each day to read books to her that are just beyond her reading level. She will enjoy listening to more advanced stories, and she will hear a great example of fluent reading - how you change your expression throughout a story and read with ease. Your child will hear how you raise your voice at the end of question sentence or how you change your voice for different characters.

Paired or "buddy" reading

Take turns reading aloud. You go first, as your reading provides a model of what good fluent reading sounds like. Then, ask your child to re-read the same page you just read. You'll notice that your child's reading will start to sound more and more like yours. Do this for several pages. Once your child is comfortable enough, and familiar enough with the book, take turns reading page for page.

Echo game

Choose a book at your child's reading level and read a sentence aloud using appropriate expression and pauses. Then, have your child mimic you, reading the same sentence and using the same expression and pauses. Repeat the game every few paragraphs as you read through the book.

Choral reading

Choose a book at your child's reading level and read a page or passage together in unison. You may have to slow your reading down a little to keep pace, but don't slow down too much. Encourage your child to copy your pace and expression

Practice fluency 3 ways: echo reading, partner reading, and repeated reading

This video is from Home Reading Helper, a resource for parents to elevate children's reading at home provided by Read Charlotte . Find more video, parent activities, printables, and other resources at Home Reading Helper .

Sight words

Sight words are common words kids have to recognize instantly without sounding them out. Many sight words are tricky to read - they aren't spelled the way they sound. The activity and videos below discuss how sight word recognition supports fluency, and offer easy ways to help your child learn them. Here's a list of common sight words for kindergarten .

Sight word spy

Tell your child that sight words are "hiding in plain sight" everywhere around us. Your child's "mission" is to spot the sight words out in the world (in the grocery store, on a sign, cereal box, or movie poster) and announce "aha, I found you! This silly game can get your child excited about recognizing words - as well as a boost of confidence from knowing how to read them.

Getting stuck on sight words

Many striving readers struggle with sight words. Reading expert Linda Farrell suggests this teaching sequence: first, be sure your child knows all the letter names, then all the letter sounds - and then you can introduce a few short high-frequency words such as was. Choose words that don't have regular phonetic spelling. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

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Fluency: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Reading fluency is a child's ability to read a book or other text accurately, with reasonable speed, and with appropriate expression. A fluent reader doesn't have to stop and "decode" each word and can focus attention on what the story or text means. Fluency is the bridge between decoding words and understanding what has been read!

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Watch this video to learn how comprehension reinforces all reading and what strategies foster understanding in young children. (Best, 2018)

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Classroom Activity 1: Story Retelling with Puppets

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Classroom Activity 1: Story Retelling with Puppets

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After reading a story, students retell it using puppets or toys. This builds comprehension and sequencing, and can be differentiated with visual story maps or teacher prompts for students needing more support. (Chantachak, 2024)

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Classroom Activity 2: Picture Walk Predictions

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Classroom Activity 2: Picture Walk Predictions

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Before reading a book, look at pictures and discuss what might happen. Children can point, gesture, or use AAC devices to share ideas, ensuring participation regardless of language ability. (Chantachak, 2024)

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At-Home Activity: Book Conversation Starters

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At-Home Activity: Book Conversation Starters

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Provide families with simple questions to ask during and after reading (e.g., 'What do you think will happen next?'). These prompts develop inference skills and understanding, and can be adjusted for depth and language level. (Comprehension: Activities for Your Kindergartener, n.d.)

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Family Website: Reading Rockets – Comprehension

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Family Website: Reading Rockets – Comprehension

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This resource offers strategies and conversation starters to help families engage children in meaningful book discussions, supporting comprehension across all developmental stages.

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Just 15 minutes each day makes a big difference! Reading aloud is a great way to help your kindergartener absorb new words and see how stories are structured. It's also one of the best ways to help children learn about the world and make connections between their own lives and what's in the book - that helps children see the world with empathy. And last but not least, it's a wonderful time to snuggle up with your child and share the experience of reading and discovery together.

Remember that reading together should spark curiosity, joy, and a desire to explore and learn. Conversations about books should be enjoyable, and not a set of quizzes and questions. As you try some of the activities listed below, remember to keep it light and lively for your child.

There are so many great nonfiction and informational books for very young kids (such as the popular DK Eyewitness series and National Geographic series). Try to include some of these during your next trip to the public library. Children love learning about the real world and are proud to share what they know!

Even a walk around the neighborhood or a trip to the grocery store can be a rich learning experience for young children. A child may see an urban bunny for the first time on a walk, and then be able to connect it to stories about rabbits. These personal connections help children connect what they read with what they know - a powerful way to build comprehension skills!

Try these comprehension activities at home

"I predict ..."

When you sit down for a read aloud, look at the book's cover together. Ask, "What do you think this book might be about? Why? Can you make some predictions?" Guide your child through the pages, discuss the pictures, and brainstorm what might happen in the story. Talk about any personal experiences your child may have that relate to the story.

Five-finger retell

After reading a story together, have your child tell you five things about the story, using her fingers to talk about each one:

1. Characters: who was in the story?

2. Setting: where did the story take place?

3. Events: what happened in the story?

4. End: how did the story end?

5. Favorite character or part of the story

Active reading

Model active reading when you read with your child. Talk about what's happening as you're reading. Stop and discuss any interesting or tricky vocabulary words. Help your child make pictures of the story in his mind. Ask your child, "What just happened here? How do you think that character feels? Have you ever felt like that? What do you think will happen next?" Not only will this develop your child's comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.

Mind movies

When you come to a descriptive passage in a book, have your child close her eyes and create a mental movie of the scene. Encourage her to use all five senses. Read the passage over together, looking for details that bring the scene to life. Ask questions like, "How do you know it was a hot day? Which words help you understand that the child was lonely?"

Tell me about it

After a read aloud, one of the best and easiest ways to check for understanding is to ask your child to summarize what the book was about in their own words. You can ask a question or two to help your child clarify her thinking or to add more detail.

Think alouds

Connect the book to your child's own life experience. For example, A River Dream: "This book reminds me of the time my father took me fishing. Do you remember the time we went fishing?"

Connect the book to other books they have read. For example, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: "This story reminds me of Cinderella. Both stories are about sisters. Do you know any other stories about nice and mean sisters? Let's keep reading to find out other ways the stories are similar."

Connect the book to big ideas/lessons. For example, Stellaluna: "This story helps me understand that we are all the same in many ways, but it's our differences that make us special."

Wordless

Wordless picture books provide your child with practice using clues to create meaning. There are no wrong stories with wordless picture books, only variations based on what the "reader" sees and puts together. Rosie's Walk, Good Dog, Carl, and Beaver Is Lost are all interesting and fun wordless picture books to explore. Find more wordless books on BookFinder.

Family stories

This is a wonderful activity for a family picnic or for a rainy day when you're snuggled together on the couch. Share a favorite story about your childhood or a family story that's been passed down from generation to generation. Use vivid language and details about people, places, and things. Funny or scary will really get your child's attention! Your child will probably have lots of questions, which keeps the storytelling alive. You could also ask your child if she has a favorite family story of her own.

Map this book!

Draw a map of the book's setting, and be sure to include the places where the main action happens!

Beginning-middle-end

This is a great way to see if your child understands the main parts of a story. After reading a book together, give your child three sheets of paper, with "beginning" on one sheet, "middle" on the second sheet, and "end" on the third sheet. Ask your child to think about the three parts of the story, and then draw what happened on each on the sheets. Arrange the sheets in order, left to right. What happens if you re-arrange the sheets? Does the story still make sense?

Words, words, words

Be sure to include books with rich vocabulary in your read alouds and call attention to interesting words and phrases from the story. This may include repeated phrases or idioms (such as "get cold feet" or "I'm all ears"). Offer a kid-friendly definition and connect the new word or phrase to something your child already knows.Talk about how the author used language or words to make the text interesting, informative, funny, or sad.

Picture walk

Talk about the book before you read it. Show the cover illustration and ask your child to predict what the book is about. Flip through the book, look closely at the pictures together, and talk about what's on the jacket flaps.

Remember when ...?

Connect what your child reads with what happens in life. If reading a book about birds, relate it to birds you've seen on walks in your neighborhood.

Story detectives

As you read with your child, stop and ask questions such as: What's happening in the picture? Why do you think the puppy is sad? Have you felt that way yourself? Why do you think the spider wanted to help the pig? What do you think is going to happen next? How do you think the story will end? Take turns and let your child to "be the detective" and ask you questions about the book. Not only will this develop your child's comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.

Picture the character (Part 1)

Try this activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). The FCRR "At Home" series was developed especially for families! Watch the video and then download the activity: Picture the Character . See all FCRR comprehension activities here .

Picture the character (Part 2)

Try this activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). The FCRR "At Home" series was developed especially for families! Watch the video and then download the activity: Picture the Character . See all FCRR comprehension activities here .

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Kindergartners are just beginning their journey as readers, yet they are actively absorbing language and experiences to make sense of the world around them. Encourage your child to think and talk about shared oral stories and books that are read aloud.