K-2 Literacy Resources
If your child is having trouble with…
Letter Identification
Create letter bags where you find objects around your home that begin with a particular letter.
Write the letters your child is struggling with on a wall. Have your child toss a ball towards a letter and name it.
Play hopscotch and write letters in the boxes that your child identifies as you play.
Letter Formation Use sidewalk chalk, shaving cream, or sand to have your child practice forming letters.
Refer to the following website for guidelines on letter formations.
Letter-Sound Connections Work with your child to write the names of objects around your home. This helps to connect the letter with its sound. For example moon to “m”.
Play hopscotch and write letters in the boxes have your child say the letter sound as you play.
Write the letters your child is struggling with on a wall. Have your child toss a ball towards a letter and say its sound.
Fluency (Your child’s reading rate and expression)
Have your child occasionally read aloud parts of their book to you. Listen for the attention to punctuation and how the events in the story influence their expression. Model reading parts where your child did not attend to these elements.
Encourage your child to read often in a non-distracting environment.
Comprehension
It is very important to talk with your child about what he or she has read. Asking thought provoking questions can help with your child’s comprehension. We have included some examples of some questions you could ask.
These sample questions follow blooms taxonomy of learning that progresses from concrete to abstract levels of thinking.
Remembering:
•Have your child recall facts from the reading. (Ex: Who, what, where, when, how)
Understanding:
•Have your child retell the story in their own words or explain the main idea
Applying:
•How is this character related to…?
•Why was … significant to the story?
Analyzing:
•Create story map of the plot
•Have your child make connections to themselves or other texts.
•What is the author’s message/theme?
Evaluating:
•Develop opinions about the story’s outcome or a character’s actions
•How would you feel if…?
•What would happen if…?
•If you were the character, how would you…?
Creating:
•Make predictions and inferences while using evidence from the text.
•What do you wish the author did differently?
•Rewrite the ending.
Generating ideas for stories
Look at photographs with your child and work together to retell the events of that memory. By hearing you orally tell the story, it will prepare them for writing the story at home or in school.