Below are ideas for activities that you and your child can do together. The activities target many different reading and writing skills, and vary by difficulty level.

Activities

Beginning   Intermediate   Advanced

The Five W's Through focusing on “the facts,” you and your child can work on reading comprehension. Make sure that your child understands the key details of his reading. This activity builds skills in Learning to Read Independently and Reading Critically in all Content Areas.   Seek Out Sequence Words This activity helps your child understand sequence by focusing on important sequence words. It will help your child in Learning to Read Independently and Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.   Find the Facts This activity helps your child develop a sense of the difference between facts and opinions as it builds skills in Learning to Read Independently and Reading Critically in all Content Areas.   Authors' Stories This activity encourages your child to learn about his favorite authors and what’s involved in writing a book. While pursuing this activity, your child will build skills in Learning to Read Independently and Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.   Behind the Back This activity, emphasizing character, is a game that hides the identity of a character from one player; she must ask questions of the other players in order to determine who the character is. This activity builds skills in Learning to Read Independently and Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.   A Jar of Words This activity invites everyone in your family to learn new words by keeping a word jar. While learning new works, your child will build skills in Reading Critically in all Content Areas.   Newsmakers Through reading and discussing newspaper and magazine articles, your child will explore how events influence and shape characters. This activity builds skills in Learning to Read Independently, Reading Critically in all Content Areas, and Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.   Pictures Worth a Thousand Words This activity helps your child build good observation skills through looking at and discussing photo albums and art books. While becoming more observant and enjoying photos and art work, your child will build skills in Reading Critically in all Content Areas.   Types of Writing Highlight the different features of many types of writing and help your child to rewrite well-known stories in new forms. This activity builds skills in Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.   Alibi The game of Alibi challenges players to distinguish between fact and opinion. This activity builds skills in Reading Critically in all Content Areas.