Reading With Charlie

While we were visiting family out of state, I was able to tutor my sweet nephew Charlie for a few weeks. I wish we lived closer because it was so much fun working with him. 

Here are some of the activities we did together to help with reading:

*Whiteboard practice: We did EVERYTHING on the whiteboard. We practiced vowel sounds by writing a word and then I'd ask him to change the "a" sound in cat to the "u" sound and hold up his whiteboard nice and high to show me what word he made. We did this with much more complicated words such as stack to stuck.

*Ending practice: We practice endings such as "ed" "ing" and "ies" in words like played, hopping and puppies. Since we were slightly limited on resources, we practiced these types of words with magnets, letter cards, magic "finger" writing in the air, on the whiteboard, and with chalk. Using shaving cream or whipping cream would have been fun too!

*Spelling practice: Any of the above activities can work for practicing spelling words but we also practiced with pictures and letter cards. What made it fun is that we were outside on a blanket, still enjoying the sun. {this is the activity in the picture above}

*Journal writing: Since reading and writing go hand in hand, I gave Charlie his own notebook where we practiced writing with crayons and he was able to take home each day. This gave him the opportunity to write stories or draw pictures if HE wanted to. If he did, he earned a sticker. :)

We played a few other games that I had saved from teaching as well as reading together for 15 to 20 minutes daily. The best way to improve fluency is to read everyday for at least 20 minutes. 

Last, to help motivate Charlie, I gave him a mini notebook where he could earn 3 stickers during each "session." He could earn them for: using his best handwriting, reading his very best, and overall always doing his best. We then set goals: when he earned 15 stickers he could go get a special treat and when he earned those stickers we set another goal. Positive reinforcement is SO important when helping a child learn and be successful.

Charlie and I had so much fun working together and hopefully some of these activities/tips will help you at home or in the classroom!