Expert: Debba Robinson - 3/4/2004

Question
Hello again Debba!

Thanks so much for your quick and thoughtful response.  We have already started reading "Charlotte's Web" and she loves it!

I was just wondering if she should be doing any writing exercises too? If so, what and how can I make it fun for her?

Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,

Amy

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Followup To
Question -
Dear Debba,

I'm an American and been living in Portugal for the past 8 years.  My daughter is 9 years old and is in the 4th grade.  She has always attended Portuguese schools and is fluent in both languages.  She is not completely literate in English though.  She can read simple story books in English but writes poorly.  I haven't pushed her reading and writing in English because I thought that she needed to concentrate on her Portuguese since she was attending school here.  

Now it seems that we may return to the USA.  If this happens, what can I do NOW to try to somewhat prepare her for 5th grade in the US?

Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Amy CB
Answer -
Dear Amy,

What a wonderful opportunity she has had!  I hope you and she have a cuddly relationship because the most important thing will be that you read aloud to her ... read favorite classics like Charlotte's Web, books by Roald Dahl, and anything you liked as a child.  Studies have shown that children who are read to at least 20 minutes a day do better on all sorts of tests and language activities.

This should be done with her snuggling beside you so she can see the text as you read ... if you are not cuddlers, then be sure she has a copy of whatever you are reading and expect her to follow along while you read.  Don't ask her, or expect her, to read to you unless she wants to ... the idea is that she will begin tracking English and will learn by osmosis.  And, of course, if you can read longer or more often in a day, do so.  Twenty minutes is the time set up for very young children ... her attention span is longer and she is trying to make up for lots of years.

Although her fluency might seem good in English, be sure you explain words that are unfamiliar to her.  No testing needed.  Just stop and explain words as they come up and encourage her to tell you when she doesn't understand something.

Read with expression and enthusiasm.  If you don't feel you are a good reader, you might find someone who is who would like to record books on tape for her (or purchase them if there isn't a library that has them available).

Talk about what you read ... try to make predictions as to what you think will happen next and after modeling your thinking (thinking out loud) begin asking her what SHE thinks will happen next ... or what she thinks the character should do to solve a problem ... or why she thinks someone did what they did ... or compare it to something that has happened to her or your family ... in other words, get her responding to what she is reading with you.

This activity should be fun.  Let her choose books if you don't have any particular childhood favorites, or if she expresses an interest in choosing some.  If you are looking for titles, Newberry Award books are always good (you can do a Google search for those titles).

I hope these ideas get you started.  Let me know if I can be more help.

Debba

Answer
Dear Amy,

Certainly, if you can encourage her to write, do so.  Some idea that might be fun would be to do some of the following:

1.  Write letters to favorite characters in the books (not to mail them...just for fun)
2.  Write letters to the author (could be sent if the author is still living)
3.  Write about favorite parts of the books she hears/reads
4.  Write predictions of what she thinks will happen next, and then check to see how close she came (I encourage children to choose several predictions to understand that there are NO correct answers since we are just making educated guesses).  You might expect her to tell WHY she thinks a certain thing will happen, too, to expand her thinking and reasoning skills
5.  Write letters to each other and/or friends and relatives about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING (if she sees you writing letters to family members as a model it will be more incentive for her to write....also, you could make letter writing a family activity so you all write to loved-ones together...get a penpal or two, especially if she likes to get mail
6.  Keep a journal of things she does, places she goes
7.  Write summaries of books she's read in any language, news events that interest her, TV shows and movies she's seen, etc.
8.  Write letters to soldiers
9.  Find pictures in magazines or in books and write stories based on what she sees there.

Studies show that children who write for at least 20 minutes a day (or about 150-200 words a day) improve their writing skills even if NO ONE reads what they write!  

Children who see their family members reading and writing (giving meaning to print) are much more likely to value the same.

Get excited about anything she writes.  Encourage her to use inventive spelling when she doesn't know how to spell a word.  The important thing is the CONTENT, not the grammar or mechanics (punctuation, caps, etc).  After she writes two or three things, encourage her to share one of them with you.  If you have time to hear all her writing (maybe let her read to the family each night after dinner or some other time) that is great, but it's not necessary.

Tell her what you liked about the CONTENT of her story - the details she included on how a character did something, the good word choices, - just be specific about what you like.  Then, you can go through the piece and point out grammar and sentence construction, having her write in the corrections in red ink or colored pencil.  If she triple spaces her writing there will be room to write corrections more easily.  Handwriting or computer ... doesn't matter.

After a few times of pointing out errors, make her responsible for finding mistakes before you look at it (proof reading).  Celebrate the successes ... put stars where she starts doing the right things or chooses good words.  Help her make up a spelling list of words she has wanted to use that she couldn't spell and set them up for a weekly 'test'.  

Hang up her stories and pictures ... let her 'publish' a favorite story once a month or more often by editing all her errors out and then making a cover, illustrations, etc.  This can be done on the computer or by hand.  Books can be stapled together or put together more formally so she can have a collection of her 'works'.  Have them scattered around the house for others to see and let her read them to anyone who wants to listen (younger children, relatives, friends - let her have an audience). Let her do as much of this as you can.  

Go to this site to get some vocabulary words she could work on learning / spelling:

http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/middle/

Hang words about the house that she is trying to learn.  Have her pick words she likes from stories she's reading/hearing and hang them around, or make a notebook or note cards for her to use as writing resources.  

Write her letters using some of the chosen words so she can run into them in print often.  Multiple exposures are needed for children incorporate new words and expressions into their vocabularies. When you are talking, use some of the words so she hears them used correctly in conversations.

Teach her idomatic expressions (you can buy all sorts of good books if you need ideas - I can suggest some if you need my help) and have fun playing with words.

I hope some of these ideas will spark your daughter.  Get back to me if you need more clarification or additional ideas.

Debba