Nebraska Reading/Writing Standards
Suggested Parent Activities
Grades 2-4
• Read aloud to your child on a regular basis.
o Consider reading a chapter a night before your child goes to bed. Children enjoy listening to a good story, and reading stories just beyond their own independent reading levels is a good way to help your child improve vocabulary knowledge and comprehension.
o Reading many different types of text will expose your child to new vocabulary and sentence structures. This will help your child comprehend different types of stories and articles he/she will encounter both in and out of school.
• Many children in elementary grades will benefit from closely examining words and word patterns. Children may not see these patterns on their own and may not realize how the structure or spelling of a word can be a direct clue to learning and remembering word meanings. Reading materials already in the home can be used to provide practice activities for children and help them make the connection from the classroom to the real world. Some sample activities are provided below.
o Challenge children to go on “word hunts” in which they look for words with the same features. Word hunts can be conducted on any kind of printed materials available at home, such as newspapers, magazines, and cookbooks. For example, you can ask your child to look for words that end in the suffix “ful” in today’s newspaper or challenge your child to see how many words he/she can find with the “ai” spelling pattern.
o Encourage your child to keep a personal dictionary. Children can develop their own dictionaries of new words or words with similar patterns by recording words in a notebook.
o Talk about new words and point out new words or distinguishing features of words as you encounter them.
• Provide time and encouragement for your child to read independently.
o Provide access to books your child can independently read.
o Consult with your child’s teacher or librarian if you need help selecting books.
• As children read, encourage them to mark unknown words. Using a homemade bookmark is a convenient way to encourage children to identify unknown words for later discussion. Using lightweight pieces of cardboard and construction paper, children can write the name of the book on one side and keep a running list of new words on the other. The bookmarks provide a record both of the books the child has read and all the new words he or she has encountered. After reading or studying, you and your child can go back and discuss the new words that were identified. Your discussion could include aspects such as: (a) different parts of the word (prefix, root, suffix) and the possible meanings of the word parts; (b) rereading the sentences around the word to understand how the word is used; (c) using a dictionary to find multiple meanings of the word; (d) using a dictionary to discover the origin of the word and discussing how the word origin relates to present-day meaning; (e) thinking of other words with similar spellings or meanings. Children can also make their own personal dictionaries in which they write new words, their meanings, and words with similar spellings or meanings.
• Ask your child’s teacher for help identifying common word parts (prefixes, roots, suffixes) and meanings that your child should know.
• Use and discuss figurative language in conversations with your child. Examples include: idioms (“shake a leg,” “get a move on,” “it’s raining cats and dogs”) and similes (“like a bolt of lightning,” “as quiet as a mouse”).
• Reading and making greeting cards is another way to creatively use language and may often include the use of figurative language. Show your child greeting cards with funny, serious, or thought-provoking messages. Your child can create his or her own cards for friends and relatives using a folded piece of paper, designing a cover, and writing a short verse inside.
• TV can be a source for vocabulary development.
o Have your child keep a weekly TV log and write down new words heard or seen each week. Talk with your child about the word meanings or look them up in a dictionary.
o As your child watches commercials, ask him or her to identify and think about slogans used for various products.
o Ask your child to invent a product and write slogans or an ad for it.
• Provide opportunities for your child to think about and talk about what he or she has heard.
o After you have read a story or passage to your child, ask him or her to illustrate a favorite part or certain aspect (such as a main character, the setting, a certain event). A caption can be added to reinforce the drawing’s message. Drawings and illustrations help children comprehend the message more clearly and frequently enable them to remember more of what they have read or heard.
o Ask your child to retell the selection you have read. Ask questions to prompt your child if he or she omits important story elements.
• Use everyday activities to help your child understand and appreciate practical applications of reading.
o Include your child in the kinds of reading you do in your day-to-day life. For example, you and your child can read and follow directions from a cookbook when preparing meals or snacks. Pre-prepared foods (such as TV dinners or box dinners) can also provide an opportunity for your child to read and follow directions.
• The newspaper or a favorite magazine can also be a source of many reading activities for you and your child.
o Pick out an interesting article from a newspaper or magazine. As you are preparing lunch or dinner, tell your child that you are busy and ask him or her to read the article to you.
o Have your child pick a headline from a newspaper or magazine. Help your child change the headline into a question. Then the child can read the article to find an answer to the question.
o Clip out an interesting article or news story and cut the paragraphs apart. Ask your child to read the paragraphs and put them in order.
• Provide opportunities for your child to interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs.
o Many children enjoy looking at maps, especially those of their own neighborhood or city. Provide a map of your neighborhood and encourage your child to identify the route he or she takes to school or to a friend’s home.
o Your child can also use a city map to plan routes to follow when shopping, going to medical appointments, or attending special events.
o When planning a vacation, let your child see the road map and help you plan where you will drive. Talk about where you will start and where you will end a trip. Let your child follow the route between these two points.
o Help your child use the chart from the TV guide to identify the time and day of favorite shows.
• Provide opportunities for your child to visit a public library.
o Help your child identify a purpose for the library visit (for example, to select a novel to read for enjoyment; to find information about a specific topic of interest).
o Help your child obtain a library card and learn how the public library system works.
• Provide access to computers and technology.
o If a computer isn’t available at home, learn about the availability of computers at your local library or public school.
• Help your child understand and use telephone books.
o Help your child find your or a friend’s listing in the white pages of the telephone book. Explain the organization and information found in the white pages. Ask your child to look up numbers when you need them.
o Help your child understand and use the yellow pages. Explore the index and help your child understand how information is categorically organized. To practice using the yellow pages, give your child a hypothetical situation and ask him or her to find a related service or company in the yellow pages. You may also want to have your child look through the yellow pages, select a service, and write an ad for it.
o Show your child how to locate emergency numbers in the telephone book.
• Read many different kinds of books, stories, articles, and poems to your child. Encourage your child to independently read different types of books, stories, articles, and poems.
o If needed, ask your child’s teacher or librarian for help identifying a broad selection of text.
o Keep a record of stories that you read so that you may more easily determine if you are reading from a variety of book types.
o You might compare different types of books, discussing how they are alike and how they are different.
• Identifying character, plot, theme, structure and setting helps children make sense of text and enables them to find pleasing and meaningful patterns in the things they read.
o Talk with your child about the main characters in the story. Ask your child to describe characters’ qualities and relate them to people or characters in familiar books or movies. Discuss the goals and motivations of characters they encounter in books and movies.
o Encourage your child to make predictions about the story, based on his or her knowledge of familiar story plots. Ask questions like, “What do you think will happen next?” “What could [the main character] have done differently?” “How would you solve the problem?” “How would you end this story?”
o Discuss the underlying message or theme in stories, but take care not to overdo this activity-- remember that stories are often enjoyable in and of themselves, even without searching for a “message” or “moral.” Some stories, such as fables, are intentionally designed to convey a message or moral. Those types of stories are designed to encourage discussion about a particular theme or message. Your child’s teacher or librarian can help you identify stories that have a special message or moral.
o Discuss the setting of the story with your child. Consider the historical time period in which the story might have taken place or the clues that setting gives to the kind of story that will follow. Ask questions like “Could this story happen today?” “What clues does the author give you to know that this story happened long ago?” “What kind of story usually starts with ‘once upon a time’?” Discuss the place that is described and ask your child to talk about how he or she pictures the place.
o Read lots of different kinds of stories to children to help build their repertoire of knowledge of different kinds of story patterns and elements
• Read news and magazine articles and informational books with your child.
o Before reading, discuss the purpose of reading the informational text and identify questions that you and your child would want the text to help you answer.
o During reading, pause occasionally to discuss the information you’ve read up to that point.
o After reading, discuss whether the text helped you answer your original questions. Talk about what you could do to find information to answer other questions about the topic.
• Ask your child to read a short editorial printed in your local newspaper. Help him or her distinguish between fact and opinion by underlining the facts and circling the opinions. As your child progresses in understanding the difference between fact and opinion, have him or her do the preceding activity independently. You could also ask your child to write an editorial on a topic, identifying his or her own facts and opinions. Discuss why one person’s opinion might be different from another’s opinion, even though the facts may be the same.
• Read and discuss folktales, legends, and myths from around the world. Compare stories and identify common ideas.
• Provide access to biographies or historical accounts of important events in American culture. Talk about important historical figures and their contributions to American culture.
• Provide opportunities for your child to use writing for many different purposes.
o Encourage your child to keep a diary to record daily events and his or her own thoughts.
o Encourage your child to write letters to family members and friends.
o Have your child help you make lists for shopping trips.
o Keep a notepad near the phone or in a designated spot. Encourage your child to write notes to you and other family members to inform you of special events, items to remember, or special requests.
o Have your child write about special events or trips you want to remember. Keep a folder or notebook of these special times and occasionally read your child’s accounts.
o Consider starting a family newsletter to share with friends and relatives. Have your child write a column or article talking about an item of special interest.
• Provide your child with feedback about his/her written compositions.
• Encourage children to ask questions and make observations about the world around them. Help your child generate questions like:
“What would happen if . . .”
“I wonder why . . .”
“How does that work?”
Show your child how you use notes or outlines to remember and learn information.
• Ask your child to summarize information, both orally and in written form.
• Have your child write a summary of a favorite book, movie, or TV episode, helping him or her identify the main points and highlights.
• Ask your child to summarize his or her day.
• Regularly engage your child in conversation and provide him or her with opportunities to listen to and engage in conversations with others.
o Talk about and model appropriate ways to gain the floor when speaking.
• Notice when your child uses appropriate techniques when interacting with others. Provide feedback to your child about his or her behavior.
o During family gathering times (such as the evening meal) occasionally ask your child to be the conversation “leader.”
• Role-play various social settings and the behaviors expected in those settings. For example, you might pretend to be eating in a restaurant or having a snack at a reception.
• Consider limiting the amount of time spent watching TV and substitute conversation or participating in board games or other family activities instead.
• Provide opportunities for your child to give oral directions to others.
o Play games like “Simon Says” or “Mother May I?”
o Ask your child to help you recreate a project he or she has completed at school.
o Have your child give directions for performing household chores or activities.
• Provide opportunities for your child to deliver information to an audience.
o Recruit family members and friends to listen to occasional oral presentations your child provides.
o Provide your child with feedback about his or her performance, discussing the strengths you observed.
Grades 5-12
• Read aloud to your child on a regular basis. All children and young adults enjoy listening to a good story, and listening to stories read aloud is a great way to help your child improve vocabulary knowledge, comprehension skills, and listening skills. Listening to books read aloud also provides the listener with new information. It is a great way to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in.
• Provide time and encouragement for your child to read independently. Provide access to a variety of books and other written text. Spend time visiting your public library or a local bookstore together.
• Communicate with your child’s teacher about his or her progress in the areas of reading and writing.
• Let your children see you reading and writing for a variety of purposes. Talk to your child about what you are reading and writing. Be a positive reading/writing role model!
• Provide access to computers and technology. If a computer isn’t available at home, learn about the availability of computers at your local library or public school.
• Provide opportunities for your child to use writing for many different purposes.
o Encourage your child to keep a journal to record daily events and his or her own thoughts.
o Encourage your child to write thank-you notes and letters to family members and friends.
o Have your child help you make lists for shopping trips.
o Keep a notepad near the phone or in a designated spot. Encourage your child to write notes to you and other family members to inform others of special events, items to remember, or special requests.
o Have your child write about special events or trips you want to remember. Keep a folder or notebook of these special times and occasionally read your child’s accounts.
o Consider starting a family newsletter to share with friends and relatives. Have your child write a column or article talking about an item of special interest.
• Regularly engage your child in conversation and provide him or her with opportunities to listen to and engage in conversations with others.
• Notice when your child uses appropriate speaking and listening techniques when interacting with others. Provide feedback to your child about his or her behavior.
• Consider limiting the amount of time spent watching TV and substitute conversation or participating in board games or other family activities instead.
Suggested Parent Activities
Grades 2-4
• Read aloud to your child on a regular basis.
o Consider reading a chapter a night before your child goes to bed. Children enjoy listening to a good story, and reading stories just beyond their own independent reading levels is a good way to help your child improve vocabulary knowledge and comprehension.
o Reading many different types of text will expose your child to new vocabulary and sentence structures. This will help your child comprehend different types of stories and articles he/she will encounter both in and out of school.
• Many children in elementary grades will benefit from closely examining words and word patterns. Children may not see these patterns on their own and may not realize how the structure or spelling of a word can be a direct clue to learning and remembering word meanings. Reading materials already in the home can be used to provide practice activities for children and help them make the connection from the classroom to the real world. Some sample activities are provided below.
o Challenge children to go on “word hunts” in which they look for words with the same features. Word hunts can be conducted on any kind of printed materials available at home, such as newspapers, magazines, and cookbooks. For example, you can ask your child to look for words that end in the suffix “ful” in today’s newspaper or challenge your child to see how many words he/she can find with the “ai” spelling pattern.
o Encourage your child to keep a personal dictionary. Children can develop their own dictionaries of new words or words with similar patterns by recording words in a notebook.
o Talk about new words and point out new words or distinguishing features of words as you encounter them.
• Provide time and encouragement for your child to read independently.
o Provide access to books your child can independently read.
o Consult with your child’s teacher or librarian if you need help selecting books.
• As children read, encourage them to mark unknown words. Using a homemade bookmark is a convenient way to encourage children to identify unknown words for later discussion. Using lightweight pieces of cardboard and construction paper, children can write the name of the book on one side and keep a running list of new words on the other. The bookmarks provide a record both of the books the child has read and all the new words he or she has encountered. After reading or studying, you and your child can go back and discuss the new words that were identified. Your discussion could include aspects such as: (a) different parts of the word (prefix, root, suffix) and the possible meanings of the word parts; (b) rereading the sentences around the word to understand how the word is used; (c) using a dictionary to find multiple meanings of the word; (d) using a dictionary to discover the origin of the word and discussing how the word origin relates to present-day meaning; (e) thinking of other words with similar spellings or meanings. Children can also make their own personal dictionaries in which they write new words, their meanings, and words with similar spellings or meanings.
• Ask your child’s teacher for help identifying common word parts (prefixes, roots, suffixes) and meanings that your child should know.
• Use and discuss figurative language in conversations with your child. Examples include: idioms (“shake a leg,” “get a move on,” “it’s raining cats and dogs”) and similes (“like a bolt of lightning,” “as quiet as a mouse”).
• Reading and making greeting cards is another way to creatively use language and may often include the use of figurative language. Show your child greeting cards with funny, serious, or thought-provoking messages. Your child can create his or her own cards for friends and relatives using a folded piece of paper, designing a cover, and writing a short verse inside.
• TV can be a source for vocabulary development.
o Have your child keep a weekly TV log and write down new words heard or seen each week. Talk with your child about the word meanings or look them up in a dictionary.
o As your child watches commercials, ask him or her to identify and think about slogans used for various products.
o Ask your child to invent a product and write slogans or an ad for it.
• Provide opportunities for your child to think about and talk about what he or she has heard.
o After you have read a story or passage to your child, ask him or her to illustrate a favorite part or certain aspect (such as a main character, the setting, a certain event). A caption can be added to reinforce the drawing’s message. Drawings and illustrations help children comprehend the message more clearly and frequently enable them to remember more of what they have read or heard.
o Ask your child to retell the selection you have read. Ask questions to prompt your child if he or she omits important story elements.
• Use everyday activities to help your child understand and appreciate practical applications of reading.
o Include your child in the kinds of reading you do in your day-to-day life. For example, you and your child can read and follow directions from a cookbook when preparing meals or snacks. Pre-prepared foods (such as TV dinners or box dinners) can also provide an opportunity for your child to read and follow directions.
• The newspaper or a favorite magazine can also be a source of many reading activities for you and your child.
o Pick out an interesting article from a newspaper or magazine. As you are preparing lunch or dinner, tell your child that you are busy and ask him or her to read the article to you.
o Have your child pick a headline from a newspaper or magazine. Help your child change the headline into a question. Then the child can read the article to find an answer to the question.
o Clip out an interesting article or news story and cut the paragraphs apart. Ask your child to read the paragraphs and put them in order.
• Provide opportunities for your child to interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs.
o Many children enjoy looking at maps, especially those of their own neighborhood or city. Provide a map of your neighborhood and encourage your child to identify the route he or she takes to school or to a friend’s home.
o Your child can also use a city map to plan routes to follow when shopping, going to medical appointments, or attending special events.
o When planning a vacation, let your child see the road map and help you plan where you will drive. Talk about where you will start and where you will end a trip. Let your child follow the route between these two points.
o Help your child use the chart from the TV guide to identify the time and day of favorite shows.
• Provide opportunities for your child to visit a public library.
o Help your child identify a purpose for the library visit (for example, to select a novel to read for enjoyment; to find information about a specific topic of interest).
o Help your child obtain a library card and learn how the public library system works.
• Provide access to computers and technology.
o If a computer isn’t available at home, learn about the availability of computers at your local library or public school.
• Help your child understand and use telephone books.
o Help your child find your or a friend’s listing in the white pages of the telephone book. Explain the organization and information found in the white pages. Ask your child to look up numbers when you need them.
o Help your child understand and use the yellow pages. Explore the index and help your child understand how information is categorically organized. To practice using the yellow pages, give your child a hypothetical situation and ask him or her to find a related service or company in the yellow pages. You may also want to have your child look through the yellow pages, select a service, and write an ad for it.
o Show your child how to locate emergency numbers in the telephone book.
• Read many different kinds of books, stories, articles, and poems to your child. Encourage your child to independently read different types of books, stories, articles, and poems.
o If needed, ask your child’s teacher or librarian for help identifying a broad selection of text.
o Keep a record of stories that you read so that you may more easily determine if you are reading from a variety of book types.
o You might compare different types of books, discussing how they are alike and how they are different.
• Identifying character, plot, theme, structure and setting helps children make sense of text and enables them to find pleasing and meaningful patterns in the things they read.
o Talk with your child about the main characters in the story. Ask your child to describe characters’ qualities and relate them to people or characters in familiar books or movies. Discuss the goals and motivations of characters they encounter in books and movies.
o Encourage your child to make predictions about the story, based on his or her knowledge of familiar story plots. Ask questions like, “What do you think will happen next?” “What could [the main character] have done differently?” “How would you solve the problem?” “How would you end this story?”
o Discuss the underlying message or theme in stories, but take care not to overdo this activity-- remember that stories are often enjoyable in and of themselves, even without searching for a “message” or “moral.” Some stories, such as fables, are intentionally designed to convey a message or moral. Those types of stories are designed to encourage discussion about a particular theme or message. Your child’s teacher or librarian can help you identify stories that have a special message or moral.
o Discuss the setting of the story with your child. Consider the historical time period in which the story might have taken place or the clues that setting gives to the kind of story that will follow. Ask questions like “Could this story happen today?” “What clues does the author give you to know that this story happened long ago?” “What kind of story usually starts with ‘once upon a time’?” Discuss the place that is described and ask your child to talk about how he or she pictures the place.
o Read lots of different kinds of stories to children to help build their repertoire of knowledge of different kinds of story patterns and elements
• Read news and magazine articles and informational books with your child.
o Before reading, discuss the purpose of reading the informational text and identify questions that you and your child would want the text to help you answer.
o During reading, pause occasionally to discuss the information you’ve read up to that point.
o After reading, discuss whether the text helped you answer your original questions. Talk about what you could do to find information to answer other questions about the topic.
• Ask your child to read a short editorial printed in your local newspaper. Help him or her distinguish between fact and opinion by underlining the facts and circling the opinions. As your child progresses in understanding the difference between fact and opinion, have him or her do the preceding activity independently. You could also ask your child to write an editorial on a topic, identifying his or her own facts and opinions. Discuss why one person’s opinion might be different from another’s opinion, even though the facts may be the same.
• Read and discuss folktales, legends, and myths from around the world. Compare stories and identify common ideas.
• Provide access to biographies or historical accounts of important events in American culture. Talk about important historical figures and their contributions to American culture.
• Provide opportunities for your child to use writing for many different purposes.
o Encourage your child to keep a diary to record daily events and his or her own thoughts.
o Encourage your child to write letters to family members and friends.
o Have your child help you make lists for shopping trips.
o Keep a notepad near the phone or in a designated spot. Encourage your child to write notes to you and other family members to inform you of special events, items to remember, or special requests.
o Have your child write about special events or trips you want to remember. Keep a folder or notebook of these special times and occasionally read your child’s accounts.
o Consider starting a family newsletter to share with friends and relatives. Have your child write a column or article talking about an item of special interest.
• Provide your child with feedback about his/her written compositions.
• Encourage children to ask questions and make observations about the world around them. Help your child generate questions like:
“What would happen if . . .”
“I wonder why . . .”
“How does that work?”
Show your child how you use notes or outlines to remember and learn information.
• Ask your child to summarize information, both orally and in written form.
• Have your child write a summary of a favorite book, movie, or TV episode, helping him or her identify the main points and highlights.
• Ask your child to summarize his or her day.
• Regularly engage your child in conversation and provide him or her with opportunities to listen to and engage in conversations with others.
o Talk about and model appropriate ways to gain the floor when speaking.
• Notice when your child uses appropriate techniques when interacting with others. Provide feedback to your child about his or her behavior.
o During family gathering times (such as the evening meal) occasionally ask your child to be the conversation “leader.”
• Role-play various social settings and the behaviors expected in those settings. For example, you might pretend to be eating in a restaurant or having a snack at a reception.
• Consider limiting the amount of time spent watching TV and substitute conversation or participating in board games or other family activities instead.
• Provide opportunities for your child to give oral directions to others.
o Play games like “Simon Says” or “Mother May I?”
o Ask your child to help you recreate a project he or she has completed at school.
o Have your child give directions for performing household chores or activities.
• Provide opportunities for your child to deliver information to an audience.
o Recruit family members and friends to listen to occasional oral presentations your child provides.
o Provide your child with feedback about his or her performance, discussing the strengths you observed.
Grades 5-12
• Read aloud to your child on a regular basis. All children and young adults enjoy listening to a good story, and listening to stories read aloud is a great way to help your child improve vocabulary knowledge, comprehension skills, and listening skills. Listening to books read aloud also provides the listener with new information. It is a great way to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in.
• Provide time and encouragement for your child to read independently. Provide access to a variety of books and other written text. Spend time visiting your public library or a local bookstore together.
• Communicate with your child’s teacher about his or her progress in the areas of reading and writing.
• Let your children see you reading and writing for a variety of purposes. Talk to your child about what you are reading and writing. Be a positive reading/writing role model!
• Provide access to computers and technology. If a computer isn’t available at home, learn about the availability of computers at your local library or public school.
• Provide opportunities for your child to use writing for many different purposes.
o Encourage your child to keep a journal to record daily events and his or her own thoughts.
o Encourage your child to write thank-you notes and letters to family members and friends.
o Have your child help you make lists for shopping trips.
o Keep a notepad near the phone or in a designated spot. Encourage your child to write notes to you and other family members to inform others of special events, items to remember, or special requests.
o Have your child write about special events or trips you want to remember. Keep a folder or notebook of these special times and occasionally read your child’s accounts.
o Consider starting a family newsletter to share with friends and relatives. Have your child write a column or article talking about an item of special interest.
• Regularly engage your child in conversation and provide him or her with opportunities to listen to and engage in conversations with others.
• Notice when your child uses appropriate speaking and listening techniques when interacting with others. Provide feedback to your child about his or her behavior.
• Consider limiting the amount of time spent watching TV and substitute conversation or participating in board games or other family activities instead.