Florida Schools are Promoting Literacy

If you live in Florida and have previously lived in another state, you might have realized that Florida's educational standards are below where you have previously lived, especially with regard to literacy. That's why Florida Schools are now fostering a program to help parents help their children with the growing literacy problem facing the state. They believe that parents are the foundation to a love of reading in a child; so they've developed some tips for parents that are dedicated to helping their children read better.

How Can Florida Schools Help Me Help My Child?

Before any advice can be given, it has to be understood that you can promote your child's literacy levels in many different ways. Florida Schools recommend that you don't just pick one tip and encourage your child to do it, use all of the tools suggested as a way to give your child a well-rounded approach to learning about reading.

Ï Teach: Florida Schools know that reading cannot just be acquired. While children can do extraordinary things like picking up another language just by exposure to it, they cannot learn to read on their own. When your child is young, make sure to make an environment that is very word friendly. If a child grows up in a very print-rich environment, he'll be more responsive to the prospect of reading simply because he's been around words all his life. Florida Schools also suggest that you make sure to set a good example for your child and read as often as you can. Don't just read to him though, read something you're interested in by yourself. If your child sees you reading, he'll grow up with the understanding that it's good and ok to do so.

Ï Emergent Reading: Have you been reading to your child lately and noticed that he looks like he's beginning to read? This is most likely emergent reading and Florida Schools encourage you to foster this in your child. Emergent reading is simply your child pretending to read as he becomes more familiar with the story. He's beginning to recite it from memory. Encourage him to tell you the story in his own words because it allows him to gain a better understanding of the words he's hearing. It'll help him recognize words when he's actually starting to learn to read. Florida Schools want you to engage your child in discussions about the book you've just read in order to help him with this.

Yes, it is important for you to use these tips to help your child love to read, but Florida Schools seem to be relying too much on parents and not enough on their teachers to teach essential literacy skills. However, if you start early before you child starts school, you can help teachers teach literacy in Florida Schools because you've already taught him that learning and reading is fun. But, in digression, Florida Schools should do more than just rely on parents to teach children essential literacy skills.

Written By Patricia Hawke