Activity:
Make a Reading Bookmark!
Now that second grade is here, you can expect your child to tackle sentences, and books, that are steadily more complex. This bookmark is a helpful tool to use during and after reading to remind your child of “good reader” strategies to use any time. Another advantage of this bookmark, aside from the fun of putting it together, is that it's always right where it should be—inside your child's book!
Click to find similar content by grade or subject.
What You Need:
- Any book your child is reading
- “Good Reader Strategies” sheet
- Heavy paper (cardstock)
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Hole punch
- 1/4" lightweight craft ribbon in three different colors.
What You Do:
- Explain to your child that everyone can become a better reader, even a parent, and that you have some fun, easy ways to help her become a better reader, too.
- Print out both sides of the reading bookmark (click here for printable version), cut it out, and glue it onto heavy paper that is trimmed to fit the bookmark. (One side of the bookmark will contain word recognition strategies; the other, comprehension strategies.) If you have access to a laminator, you may wish to laminate the bookmark.
- Use the hole punch to make a hole on the top left corner of your bookmark. Then cut a 20" length of ribbon in three different colors that your child likes. Hold the three strands together, fold them in half, and stick the fold through the hole you have made. You will see that you have made a "loop" of ribbon. Now stick the ribbon ends through that, and pull tight. You will have a bookmark with six colorful ribbons attached.
- Focusing on one set of strategies at a time (word recognition, for example), have your child read aloud from her newest book. When she comes to a word she doesn't know, help her use the bookmark strategies to figure it out.
- Continue this process for as long as needed until your child has a good grasp of the strategies.
- Have your child use the other set of strategies (comprehension, for example) before and after reading their book aloud. Guide her along as she uses the bookmark.
- When she's ready to stop reading for a while, she can use the bookmark to mark her page...but the ribbons also give her a new freedom with her "chapter" books. She can move one ribbon to the Table of Contents, for example, and another to the title page. Or, if she's reading a textbook (as many second graders will start to do this year), she can mark one section at a time, and not get lost!
Parents, do beware: strategies alone don't make a super reader. Reading is a lifelong skill that takes steady, solid practice. But with tools like this bookmark, along with a joyful, positive attitude about your child's evolving skills, you can be sure you're offering the best support and encouragement possible.
Guided Lessons are a sequence of interactive digital games, worksheets, and other activities
that guide learners through different concepts and skills.
They keep track of your progress and help you study smarter, step by step.
Guided Lessons are digital games and exercises that keep track of your progress and help you study smarter, step by step.
In this lesson, preschoolers focus on the alphabet by learning the letters L, R, and K. Kids are guided through the classic children's story of The Lion and the Rat, with an accompanying curriculum that targets each child's understanding of the unique sounds these letters make. Seeing the letters in a fun, engaging environment also reinforces the letter recognition skills crucial for early readers.
In this lesson, preschoolers focus on the alphabet by learning the letters L, R, and K.
This lesson includes printable activities:
Download All (5)
Song: Animals ABC Song
Story: The Lion and the Rat
Story: The Lion and the Rat Comprehension
Game: Penelope Drums
Game: Alphabet Hopper: L, M, N, R
Game: Lion and the Rat Puzzle
Game: Match the Opposites
