Reading Homework Tips for Parents

How can you help your first grader with his reading homework? Here are some tips for parents on what to do to help your child develop good habits and get the most out of his homework assignments.

• Have your child read aloud to you every night.

• Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do his nightly reading assignments.

• As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, pat, hat.

• When your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point out the words she has missed and help her to read the word correctly.

• After your child has stopped to correct a word he has read, have him go back and reread the entire sentence from the beginning to make sure he understands what the sentence is saying.

• Ask your child to tell you in her own words what happened in a story.

• To check your child's understanding of what he is reading, occasionally pause and ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story.

• Ask your child why she thinks a character acted in a certain way and ask your child to support her answer with information from the story.

• Before getting to the end of a story, ask your child what he thinks will happen next and why