Mme Courtney Thomson

Student Support Services Teacher

W.S. Hawrylak School

Just because you might not speak French, doesnt

mean that you cant play an active and very
important role in helping your child learn to read and
express themselves in a second language. Your
involvement in your childs education can make a
significant difference!
Your child, in many cases, will transfer the skills
they have learned in oral expression, reading and
writing from one language to another.

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

ENCOURAGE
LISTEN

MODEL

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

 Be Positive! Be a strong supporter and encourage your

child in their efforts to learn a second language

Ask your child to teach you words, sentences, songs or

stories they have learned at school

Give praise when your child reads or speaks in French.
Watch a French television show or listen to a French

song together
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Oral language is the foundation on which reading is built,

and so to develop their oral language you can:
Encourage your child to read, say the alphabet, or

speak to you in both French and English

Ask questions about their day at school
Discuss their feelings about learning French, what

they enjoy and what they find challenging

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

 Let your children catch you reading and read with

them in English
Model pre-reading and post-reading strategies that
are important in understanding written text
Provide learning experiences outside of school in
English as often as you can (making lists, writing
notes, reading signs, etc.)
Encourage word tracking and picking out appropriate
level books for reading
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Developing Alphabet knowledge is very important and

should continue to be reviewed, even into older grades.
Help your children learn to identify uppercase

(majuscule) and lowercase (miniscule) letters.

Use alphabet books to help your children recognize

the letters and learn the sequence

Identify letters not only in alphabetical order, but
also at random
Use magnets, beads, flashcards and books to make it
more fun!
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Developing phonemic awareness is understanding that what we say

is made up of a series of separate sounds.
This is done after the student is able to identify their alphabet
letters by name and by sound.
Encourage your child to explore sounds in words:
Read often, associate words to pictures
Point out words as you read them in text and pronounce clearly
Clap out syllables and pronounce words in an exaggerated voice
Have your child identify words that start/end with the same
sound
Ask your child to identify beginning and ending sounds (ex: how is
bat different from cat? How is it the same?)
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Comprehension is what reading is all about.

Decoding without comprehension is simply, word
barking-being able to articulate the word correctly
without understanding its meaning.
(Shanker, 2009)

You can check for understanding by:

Discussing the text with them
Asking questions about the text (but not too
many!)
Having them retell the story/information
Reading and re-reading stories!
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

All strategies can be done in English, even if the reading

material is in French.
Pre-reading activities are used to make meaning of what
they are reading by looking at pictures, finding known
words and using background/prior knowledge.

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Talk about the book before your child or

yourself reads it:
Look at the title, the cover, and the pictures
Discuss what the book might be about (prediction)
Think about what words might be in the book

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Talk about the book while your child or

yourself reads it:
Does it remind you of anything/another experience?

If so, what?

Does the book match the prediction?

What might happen next?
Ask about vocabulary

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Talk about the book after your child or

yourself reads it:
Did the book match the predictions?
What parts did you like/dislike? Why?
What personal connections did you make?
Did this remind you of any other stories you know?
Retell the story together
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Continue to read aloud to your child, even after they

become fluent readers. Use these tips when reading to
your child to model good reading strategies:
Use your finger to track while you read
Pay attention to punctuation (pause at commas and

periods, read dialogue as if someone is talking, change

your voice for different characters, etc.)

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Please take some (or all!) of the resources provided

tonight.
Please visit my website for more ideas, articles, website
and app suggestions, or just to contact me with any
questions you might have.
courtney.thomson@rbe.sk.ca
learningresourcezone.weebly.com
THANK YOU!
Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013

Shanker, J. L., & Cockrum, W. A. (2009). Locating and correcting reading

difficulties (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
Trehearne, M., & Healy, L. H. (2004). Reading Comprehension: Strategies That
Work. Nelson language arts, grades 1-2: teacher's resource book (pp. 421-537).
Toronto: Thomson Nelson.

Mme Courtney Thomson, Updated September 2013