Reading with My 2nd Grader at Home
Read, Read, and Read Everyday!
Read, Read, and Read Everyday!
2nd graders are coming into their “reading lives,” meaning, they have preferences for what they like to read and are experiencing the joy and independence of reading on their own.
Continue to read aloud to your children in your most dramatic voice. This will expose them to words and books they can’t yet read on their own. Let your child be captivated by a great story, even one they’ve heard many times. They will relax, feel connected to you, and cherish this time together.
Continue to read aloud to your children in your most dramatic voice. This will expose them to words and books they can’t yet read on their own. Let your child be captivated by a great story, even one they’ve heard many times. They will relax, feel connected to you, and cherish this time together.
Show Them That YOU Are a Reader
Show Them That YOU Are a Reader:
2nd graders are excellent observers and they are watching how you read. Share your reading habits. Do you enjoy reading magazines when you only have a few minutes? When do you escape into a good book? Do you collect cookbooks? Do you like browsing in the new books section at the library? Do religious books help calm your mind when you’re worried? Tell them what gets you enthusiastic to read.
Play With Words
Play With Words
If your child is still mastering reading, make it a goal to get them exercising their letter sound skills. Ask your child what letter and sound a word starts with (“Cake starts with “c” which makes the sound/ck/.”). Then, ask them to switch the “c” with a “r”. “What word does it make now? Rake. Now, turn the -ake into -aking. What word does it create? Raking.” Advanced letter sound and word activities, such as switching around sounds, adding and taking them away, build strong reading skills.
Diffuse Frustration At All Costs
Diffuse Frustration At All Costs
2nd grade reading and homework becomes more demanding. Your child may experience frustration and anxiety about the work they must complete. These emotions can lead children to shut down or avoid the work that challenges them.
If memorizing sight words has been frustrating, scale back and just focus on two or three words and let them create a picture for the word to help them remember it. It’s important to help them handle these big emotions and encourage them every step of the way.
Teach your child to treat making an error like a puzzle to be solved, rather than feeling like they are a failure. Remind your child that you are on their side and they are never “bad” or “dumb” for not knowing the answer, and that it’s normal. You might try explaining reading is just like learning to ride a bike or to swim in that it felt uncomfortable and frustrating at first, but after struggling and practicing they were able to do it.
If memorizing sight words has been frustrating, scale back and just focus on two or three words and let them create a picture for the word to help them remember it. It’s important to help them handle these big emotions and encourage them every step of the way.
Teach your child to treat making an error like a puzzle to be solved, rather than feeling like they are a failure. Remind your child that you are on their side and they are never “bad” or “dumb” for not knowing the answer, and that it’s normal. You might try explaining reading is just like learning to ride a bike or to swim in that it felt uncomfortable and frustrating at first, but after struggling and practicing they were able to do it.
Get Free Homework Help
Get Free Homework Help
Tutor.com Live Homework Help from the CMLibrary
Get free homework help from a live, online, qualified tutor—up to 10 free tutoring sessions each week! All you need is a library card and an Internet connection. You can use Tutor.com from home, school and even the Library. Tutor.com is available for K-12 students to get help from English-speaking or Spanish-speaking tutors in a wide range of subjects including math, science, English, social studies and essay review. NOTE: One Access students should enter their Student ID number as their username and their 4-digit birth year as the password.
Get free homework help from a live, online, qualified tutor—up to 10 free tutoring sessions each week! All you need is a library card and an Internet connection. You can use Tutor.com from home, school and even the Library. Tutor.com is available for K-12 students to get help from English-speaking or Spanish-speaking tutors in a wide range of subjects including math, science, English, social studies and essay review. NOTE: One Access students should enter their Student ID number as their username and their 4-digit birth year as the password.
- English-speaking tutoring: Daily from 4 p.m. to midnight.
- Spanish-speaking tutoring: Sunday to Thursday, 4 p.m.-10 p.m.
Create a Personal Dictionary
Create a Personal Dictionary
Take seven sheets of blank copy paper and fold them in half, stapling the fold to create a book. On the cover have them write “My Dictionary”. Show your child how to write one letter of the alphabet on the top of each page. Keep this at home so they can write their new sight words in it each week or words they ask you to spell. Encourage them to draw a small picture to help remind them what the word means. For example, if the word is “two” have them draw two tiny hearts on the tips of the w to remind them it means the number 2. This is an empowering technique for children to take ownership of learning and using new words.
Make Homework Time Happy
Make Homework Time Happy
If your child dreads homework and is struggling to complete it, rethink your approach to completing homework. Show your child ways to get comfortable, like standing at a counter to write, laying down on the floor or sitting on a large yoga ball. Let them eat their favorite snack or chew gum as a reward for getting started. Model how using a timer and setting it for 5 minutes at a time gives them a goal for staying focused. When the timer beeps, get up, run a lap around the house and start again. All TVs, tablets and distractions should be off and away so your child’s space is clear and quiet. If they have a friend or neighbor, invite them over so they can have a “study group” and complete their work together. Kids work at different paces, one child may take a half hour to complete what takes another child 10 minutes. If you feel like your child is overwhelmed and frustrated, it’s time to notify the teacher.
Take Turns
Take Turns
Children need lots of practice with reading and they need someone to hear them read. Simply telling a child “go read” before they have the ability to read well by themselves does not help build their skills. Your guidance and corrective feedback is the help they need to improve. “Oops, I think you skipped a line....Could you read that one word back to me?....How do you read a sentence with an exclamation point?” Your listening and taking turns reading with them makes the activity fun and gives them the chance to hear how YOU read as well.
Let THEM Choose Books to Practice
Let THEM Choose Books to Practice
As 2nd graders mature, they begin to define what subjects they enjoy. This includes the types of books they like to read. Getting your child motivated to read means they have to make the selection of what to read. Your role is to give them time to practice. Set aside time at home as “Reading Time,” such as the 20 minutes before dinner time. Turn off TVs and tablets and take away distractions so they can get lost in a book of their choice. Reading ability for older students is closely tied to the amount of time children read on their own.
Give Access to the Best Books: Go to the Library!
Give Access to the Best Books: Go to the Library!
The library will have everything you need to get your child practicing their new reading skills with the best books. If your child is a CMS student, they automatically have a Charlotte Mecklenburg Library card and can check out as many as 99 books at a time! If they do not already have a library card, they can tell the librarian their student ID number to check books out. You can find out your child’s school ID number by looking on their report card or calling the school.
Find a library location close to you
Use the “Goldilocks Strategy” for picking out books. Most children should spend time with “just-right” books.
Have your child ask themselves:
The Five Finger Rule
Find a library location close to you
Use the “Goldilocks Strategy” for picking out books. Most children should spend time with “just-right” books.
Have your child ask themselves:
- Is this book too hard?
- Is this book too easy?
- Is this book just-right?
The Five Finger Rule
- Hold up your fist
- As you read the book, put up a finger each time you find a word you don’t know
- If you get to five fingers before you are with done with the book, it’s too hard.
Can’t make it to the library? Read a book on ANY computer!
Can’t make it to the library? Read a book on ANY computer!
NC Kids Digital Library (Free, requires library card number)
NC Kids Digital Library offers e-books, audiobooks, streaming videos, and Read-Alongs. This collection was specifically designed for youth ages pre-K through 4th grade and includes picture books, youth fiction, youth nonfiction, and more.
Libby, by Overdrive (Free app for iPhones and iPads, Google Play, or Windows Mobile) This app can be used on your phone or tablet to access the NC Kids Digital Library for Read Along books for free.
Boys Rule, Boys Read Iron Guy Carl provides boys between the ages of 9 - 14 with great book recommendations with the hopes of inspiring them to love reading.
Libby, by Overdrive (Free app for iPhones and iPads, Google Play, or Windows Mobile) This app can be used on your phone or tablet to access the NC Kids Digital Library for Read Along books for free.
Boys Rule, Boys Read Iron Guy Carl provides boys between the ages of 9 - 14 with great book recommendations with the hopes of inspiring them to love reading.
Build Up Their Reading Sessions
Build Up Their Reading Sessions
In 1st grade, reading required a lot of hard work from children, but once they master “decoding” (sounding out) words and get into the habit of reading, it should become effortless. 2nd graders often make the mistake of choosing books too far above their reading level, which causes frustration and ends with them quitting. Make sure they have picked a book that (1) they like, (2) they can comfortably read, and (3) they can understand on their own. Help them set a timer to sustain longer reading times on their own. Start with a 10 minute reading goal and build up to 20 minutes.
