Dear Parent/Guardian,

Your child is currently working on the literacy strategy, Use punctuation to enhance phrasing and prosody, which helps with the overall goal, Fluency.

As experienced readers, the use of punctuation comes automatically. We read a story and use the punctuation to make meaning of the text. For beginning readers, learning to read in phrases is important. The meaning of text is embedded in a chunk of words, not just in isolated words themselves. The order and the way words are put together in a text, creates the meaning.

Your child has been encouraged to compare the reading of text to spoken language. When reading text aloud does it have the intonation and prosody we hear every day in our conversations with others? Your child is learning the fluency strategy Use punctuation to enhance phrasing and prosody. Paying close attention to all punctuation will assist with fluency and overall comprehension of text.

How can you help your child with this strategy at home?
  1. Read aloud a segment of text to your child. Model how you control your voice to go up and down. Highlight punctuation in the text and discuss what your voice did when you came to the punctuation. It may even help to read it once without intonation or attention to punctuation, see what differences your child is able to notice.
  2. Using a pencil, underline a phrase in a sentence and model how the words are said together without a pause. Have your child repeat this phrase for you a few different times until fluency is attained.
  3. Give your child a highlighter and ask them to highlight all punctuation in a portion of text. Then, go through the text with your child, talking about what their voice should do at each highlighted spot. Finish by having your child read the excerpt aloud one or two times.
Thank you for your continued support at home!

—Mrs. Boushey

© TeachDaily.com