Teaching kids to read, write and spell can be improved with a focus on improving Oral Language.In this article I just wanted to get you on the road with some basic information that will help you support your child before the NAPLAN results are put into the back of our mind. These thoughts could stay there until the next round of assessment and then the worry will begin again.Teaching kids to read, spell and write are  basic skills that will create a brighter future.  Literacy is a very important part of Numeracy, because if a child can’t read and understand he will have problems interpreting what has to be done in Math.

 Literacy is teaching kids to read, teaching kids to spell and teaching kids to write. Grammar and punctuation are part of all three areas. For today, because these children are in Year Three or above, let’s just look at one item that will improve all areas. I am spending a lot of time at work and in business doing exactly what I am telling you here.

    GET YOUR CHILD TO TALK CLEARLY AND IN WELL CONSTRUCTED SENTENCES.

 Here are some basic rules 

1. Look at the person
2. Speak clearly and loudly enough for the other person to hear

 Continue to read great literature to your child to turn his life around. Search the library for books that will add interesting words to his speaking and writing and increase his knowledge and creativity. Lastly, talk to him using the language that he has just heard and listen carefully to his sentences.

 One item to work at this week at any year level is to discuss how authors create characters using language and pictures. When reading to your child talk to him about one character in the story, try not to overload.  For very young children this can be an activity where they talk about a friend or another impressionable person in their life.
• Talk about what is seen in the pictures (physical characteristics, facial expression, how do they dress and what this tells the reader)
• Talk  about the words that the author uses to describe the character
• Talk about the character’s actions and what these words and actions tell about the character.

  That is enough for this article; I hope that your weeks go well with these strategies. These  are basic reading comprehension strategies that with consistent practice will create an improvement in many areas of your child’s Literacy.  Teaching kids to read, teaching kids to spell and teaching kids to write are all inter- related and all begin with great oral language. Give your child the unexpected thrill of being a reading, spelling and writing star by developing great speaking and listening skills.
Ann Foster

Ann Foster is a teacher with a unique teaching talent. Her tutoring  programs and products help children, teachers and parents to achieve extraordinary results quickly. She has a track record of bringing into action programs that are easy to follow and that achieve results. Ann has been working online teaching students and adults successfully for the last four years and has taken children from average results to well above. Letter Box staff solve problems and puts wings onto dreams.
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