Parent Materials for Literacy Learning
Parents of English language learners can utilize many materials
to help their child with development of literacy skills. Materials and
standards associated with general school curriculum can prove to be challenging
for English language learners for a number of reasons, including being written primarily
in English, and also often not being relevant to student’s lives. The materials
listed and described below are useful for extra practice in developing literacy
skills at home that are easily accessible for parents, and can be tailored to a
learner’s specific academic needs. Online games, printables, flashcards, and
literacy teaching activities are listed to help parents enrich their child’s
literacy learning skills outside of school.
ABC Teach
This website is an online resource that contains English
learning activities for students. On the home page, there is a tab entitled “directory”,
under which there is an English as a second language category. There are
printable booklets, coloring pages, games, and vocabulary activities that are
free under this tab, but it is also an option on the website to get a
membership. A monthly subscription is $9.99 a month, with an annual and
biannual option as well. One drawback of this website is the presence of ads
for other websites which can look like activities on the ABC Teach website and
can be misleading. A strength of the website is the good selection of printable
activities for parents that are available without a subscription, and the many
categories under which parents can find activities in different languages
(Spanish, French, German, Italian, and American Sign Language).
Languageguide.org
Upon entering the website, users simply type in the target
language that they are learning, and there are vocabulary pages that provide
spoken audio of the alphabet, numbers, ordinal numbers, and other categories of
English words when the user hovers their cursor over a word or picture. A
strength of the website is that it is a very easy, straightforward way to find
basic vocabulary learning that parents can have their children work on as many
times as necessary without being graded. The audio is clear, and there are speaking
and listening challenges on each of the pages, which provides a level of
interactive work. However, if parents are working with younger students, the
website could possibly be a bit boring, as there are not colorful illustrations
or games. Below is a photo of what one of the pages on the website looks like,
which is easy to navigate.
Mrs. Perkins’ Dolch Words
This website provides an extensive list of “Dolch” words (from
Edward Dolch’s 1948 book Problems in Reading), which are essentially
words that must be quickly recognized in order to achieve fluency; also known
as “sight words”. Different lists of words are grouped by grade, as well as the
option of the full list, and users can use a browser to open the list or download
them in PDF form. This is useful for parents to make flashcards, or simply keep
a list of the words for their child to work on. Parents are often given the
option of using flashcards by their child’s teacher, and this website offers
the list of words for children to work with at their own pace. The website also
has games and worksheets. There is no cost or membership option, so that is one
of the strengths of the website in addition to no cost, ease of navigation, and
useful information. One drawback of the site may be that there are not enough
engaging games and activities for younger students, but the website is not
lacking in resources.
MES Kids
This website features many printable flashcards for literacy
learning, organized on the left side of the home page. There are flashcards available
in many different languages, including Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian,
Russian, and Portuguese, which are marked with flag icons. There are printables
for games and bingo cards as well. A strength of this website is the wide array
of languages available for parents (and teachers) to use, and it is easy to
navigate and straightforward. The flashcards are free and feature good
illustrations. There are some pop-up ads to navigate, but the site still
functions as needed. The site features a menu at the top of the home page that
contains games, phonics, worksheets, and online flashcards as well as printable
ones.
https://www.mes-english.com/flashcards.php
ABCYa
This website offers many literacy learning games for students
aged pre-K to sixth grade, and is an engaging site for elementary students,
from personal experience as a kindergarten teacher. It offers free games, with
ads that play before the game, or a subscription with a monthly payment to
access more games. A drawback to this website is that it offers some games that
do not touch on any literacy learning skills, and may require parents to choose
which games their child focuses on. However, the literacy learning games that
it offers are fun and engaging for children, if they are not engaged in working
on flashcards. The games are tied to Common Core literacy standards, and the
tab at the top of the home page lists the standards by grade for parents, and
which games are suitable for the standard listed.
Flashcards are a great and easy addition to at home learning. Parents can create flash cards using paper or index cards they have at home. Create the flashcards using common spoken words used in the english language or use common sight word lists provided by classroom teachers. Sight words are helpful, but utilizing school related vocabulary words will allow this material to be used for students at all levels. Another modification to using flashcards can also be writing the native speaking word on the back, using the flashcards to also provide opportunities for assisting the student with translating words from their native to English speaking words. This can also be helpful when students are developing their language skills. Another great addition to using flashcards at home would be to place sentence starters or conversation cues on flashcards that are common. This may help students become more comfortable communicating with students and teachers in the classroom.
Home Library
Encourage parents to create a home library that allows students to have access to a wide variety of different types of text. Encourage parents to purchase books that are in their native language as well as English. There are even some books that are bilingual and have both forms of language written in the book. Growing a library at home will encourage and motivate students to learn more. They will see the value their families place into reading and learning. The library can also provide opportunities for parents to engage in critical thinking discussions with their children. Encourage students to conversate about the book in their native language or English, drawing attention to details that are unique to their cultures or the new culture they are learning. As their home library grows, encourage students to take books to school that have cultural value to them. This will give them more confidence and pride in sharing their culture with others. Unfortunately, creating a home library will not be free, unless done digitally. Scholastics has great options for purchasing multicultural books for students at all different levels and ages. (https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/life-experiences-values/multicultural-books-preschoolers.html and https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/life-experiences-values/multicultural-books-kids-ages-6-10.html) Another alternative world be utilizing the city library is another great alternative to continuously providing students with exposure to multicultural books at a cheap cost.
Home Word Wall
Create a word wall at home using pieces of paper or index cards. This word wall can be placed on the side of the kitchen refrigerator or on a small portion of a child’s bedroom wall. Each night, encourage students to practice activities using the words, adding more words each week from school. This is a great way to encourage students to use the vocabulary they are learning and being exposed to in school. To help students make connections, use the word wall to describe similarities between common words in their native language and English. This material can also be used to practice sentence structure, rhyming words, and can be used to encourage students to complete writing activities utilizing their words. Consistently change the words on the word wall each week to go along with the schools curriculum, or allow students to continuously build a wall of words they have learned. Encourage students to share what words they have difficulty with and utilize that opportunity to help students practice necessary literacy skills at home.
ELL Brainpop
This online material (https://ell.brainpop.com/) is a great program to use at home. It allows access to different activities that students can use related to their native language. Enhancing student vocabulary, language skills, and digital literacy. There are free activities that students can utilize or parents are welcomed to purchase the program to provide their child with paced lessons and activities for a cost of $79.00 for grade 3-8 or a price of $150.00 for all grade levels. The purchased program allows for students to play games, challenges, and interactive vocabulary lessons to enhance learning in both their native language and English. This will ensure parents are providing a useful opportunity for technology that is both affordable or may require a fee. Take time to watch the introductory video to learn more. https://educators.brainpop.com/video/brainpop-ell-quick-tour/
StudyCat
Study Cat is an active language learning program for students that is offered in over five languages. Https://studycat.com/ provides students with access to critical literacy thinking games and activities that target language and vocabulary development. This material is best used for beginning English or other language learning students that have been introduced to a new culture and language. This site offers a free 30-Day trial or a starting fee of $25.00 dollars for students to actively participate in the program. The curriculum is presented at a pace that is individualized for the student to teach them a variety of literacy skills such as phonics, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and reading. This interactive material is designed to be engaging and motivate students to learn a new language, but can also be used for assistance and practice in their native language at home.
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