These activities help to support students development through fun, interactive games. It is important to incorporate hands-on activities, especially with phonics because it allows for the content to be reinforced (Marshall, 2024). The more fun students have while learning, the more likely they are to remember the material.

Website for Families:

Starfall- ABCs and Learn to Read

https://www.starfall.com/h/ltr-classic/

Why it’s helpful: Engaging phonics-based games that guide kids through letter-sound relationships and word building. It’s easy to navigate, and many features are free.

Website for Families:

PBS Kids-Sound Games

https://pbskids.org/skillsville/games/sound-it-out

Why it's helpful: These interactive and no-prep games help children hear and play with sounds in a fun, low-pressure way. They are perfect for young learners and adaptable for those with speech or developmental differences.

Write new words on slips of paper and keep them in a jar. Each day, pick a word and use it in conversation, drawing, or storytelling. It is proven that students need to understand the context in which vocabulary should be used in order to truly understand what the word means. Using the words from a word jar in conversation teaches students that the words they are learning are important for everyday life (Diamond and Gutlohn, N.d.).

Why it helps: This makes vocabulary learning playful and consistent. Kids with communication challenges can draw the word or choose a symbol to represent it instead of saying it aloud.

Website for Families:

Colorín Colorado- Building Your Child's Vocabulary

https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/building-your-childs-vocabulary#:~:text=Choose%20which%20words%20to%20talk,books%20your%20child%20might%20read.

Why it’s helpful: This website offers simple, bilingual strategies for growing vocabulary through conversation, reading, and play. It is accessible and inclusive for diverse families.

Choose a well-loved book and take turns reading pages, or have your child read it repeatedly over several days to build speed and confidence.

Why it helps: Familiarity boosts confidence and fluency. This is why repeated reading is so important. It helps students to develop proper phrasing and expression, which both help build students' reading abilities (Shanahan, N.d.). Children with processing delays can use audiobooks or practice one page at a time.

Website for Families:

Storyline Online

https://storylineonline.net/

Why it’s helpful: This website offers high-quality, expressive read-alouds by actors. Children can hear fluent reading modeled with emotion and pace, which supports all learners including those with reading or language difficulties.

Before or after reading, look at the pictures and talk about what’s happening. After reading, ask your child to retell the story using the pictures.
Why it helps: Builds understanding, sequencing, and oral language skills. This activity is great for visual learners and kids with limited expressive language because they can point, draw, or use gestures to retell.

Website for families:

Reading Rockets- Target the Problem: Comprehension

https://www.readingrockets.org/helping-all-readers/why-some-kids-struggle/target-problem/comprehension

Why it’s helpful: This site offers clear, family-friendly guidance on building comprehension skills through conversations, questioning strategies, and shared reading. There are many articles on this website that is catered to helping students with reading comprehension. It includes practical tips, printable activities, and suggestions for children with reading challenges or exceptionalities. It's updated regularly and trusted by educators.