Thank you for reading our July 2009 newsletter!

Volume Three, Seventh Issue

WriteReading.com is dedicated to Words that make the future brighter!

 

 

The Last of the top 50 words from the Book of Mormon!

I hope many of you have enjoyed playing Book of Mormon Bingo this past month during daily scripture study! (Let me know your favorite way to play, and any comments you may have!) This month’s newsletter includes the fifth and final list of the top words from the Book of Mormon. Introducing words to your child is one of the steps to helping them become a successful reader and lifelong learner. Hopefully, you and your child are enjoying a daily routine involving reading together, letter name or number reciting and writing practice, practicing a letter sound, and some word memorization. As your child masters each of these items, future newsletters will discuss helping your child read verses from the Book of Mormon, and then, eventually, reading it silently. These important exercises are not just for children on a homeschool curriculum!

 

Materials needed:

Using a $3 hardcover missionary edition of the Book of Mormon, your child will look within its text for five incidents of a word and circle them using colored pencils. You will also need 20 blank 3”x5” index cards to make the new flashcards for this month’s top 10 words. With the cards horizontal, make two flashcards for each new word, one card with the word beginning in a lowercase letter, and the other card with it beginning with an uppercase letter. For best results, write the words copying the font used in the Book of Mormon, especially the letters “a” and “g.” This is the order to teach the last set of ten words, which are also listed in the back of the book advertised below: people, behold, who, but, also, upon, him, are, land, should.

 

Point to and repeat, write and recite, circle and recite:

As before, teach your child these new words using the “point to and repeat,” “write and recite,” and “circle and recite” activities (see March, April, and May 2008 newsletters respectively, archived at the website above). When you first show a new word to your child, see if they can read it easily from both flashcards. If so, give lots of praise, and your child will not need to do the above activities for that word! (But be sure to add the two flashcards to your review pile.) Then, introduce the next new word to your child from the list above. After your child practices their new word using the “point to and repeat” activity, also review the words learned on previous days. Mix up all the cards so the same words on the lowercase and uppercase cards are not together. When your child can quickly and easily read a word on a card, retire it. Let your child measure their progress by seeing the cards that have been retired displayed in a special place! Have your child read them to you occasionally also.

 

To do the “circle and recite” activity, sit by your child and read your scriptures while your child uses theirs. Make sure the two new flashcards are next to your child’s scriptures for easy reference. If needed, use a three-minute egg timer (the kind with sand) to help your child look for their word before asking for help. To help your child find their word, have a contest to see which of you can find the word first, looking on opposite pages in your child’s scriptures. Browse several pages, as needed, until either of you find the word. If your child finds it first, give lots of praise! If you find the word first, tell your child which verse number it is in. This will give your child practice using numbers. Point to the verse number if your child can’t find it, and then have your child point to it and repeat the number back to you ten times to help them remember it better in the future. Finally, have your child search for their word in the verse. Make sure your child finds their word a total of five times, circles each one (or underlines it), and recites it back to you when each one is found. Then your child has done their “scripture reading” for the day! If your child forgets their word while looking for it, have them point to the flashcard and repeat the word back to you ten times. A few times during the day ask your child if they can still remember their new word. If not, tell your child the word, and have them recite it back to you a few more times. When your child can remember the new word the next day when reviewing their flashcards (without any prompting) it is time to teach the next word from the list above! If not, pull out the two new flashcards from the review pile to use with the three above activities.

 

Follow-up:

If desired, space the above daily activities throughout the day. You may want your child to choose one of the activities before giving them permission to do other things. In the beginning your child will just memorize their words. This is especially helpful when learning words that do not sound out. When your child has learned the sounds that letters make, they will begin to try to sound out their words on their own. When they try this, and a word does not sound out, help them remember it by having them recite the word twice in a row, both the way it sounds out, and the way it really is. For example, if your child has begun sounding out words, but can’t figure out the word “people,” have them say it to you as “pee-o-pl-ee (or how it sounds out to them), pee-pl,” repeating that ten times. Happy reading!!

 

This unique program uses the Book of Mormon to help a child:

·        grow closer to the things of God

·        develop a scripture reading habit

·        learn how to read and write

 

Helping a child learn or practice reading and writing skills can be a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be. Head Start with the Book of Mormon: Using the Scriptures to teach Children Reading and Writing Skills, by Vicki Lynn Rasmussen (42 brief pages + 70 pages of flashcards) will give parents and grandparents the skills needed to nurture great readers using a simple scriptural plan—based on the top 50 words in the Book of Mormon. From a toddler hearing a story read to them, to a child reading silently, the three included phases will benefit all learners. Watch as your child also develops the habit of regular scripture use!

 

Thank you for purchasing this book! What better gift can you give a child than the gift of literacy? As referenced on the back cover, the author’s entire royalties will be donated to the LDS Perpetual Education Fund. This book can be ordered at the website above, or purchased at local LDS booksellers.

 

Please email any questions, comments, or success stories you have to:

info@WriteReading.com

 

Thank you, and I hope to chat with you again soon!

Hugs & wishes, Vicki (o;`~

 

 

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