Using all the signs around us to prepare your child to read
We see signs every day. Pictures, shapes, and significant colors are everywhere. How often do you talk to your child about signs? Do you spend time showing your child different signs and talking about what the signs mean? Teaching your child to read signs is a good step to building reading readiness as it teaches them that symbols carry meaning. After all, letters are symbols that make up words, and those words carry meaning. Here are some fun ways you can expose your child to everyday signs.
Let’s Read Signs. The most important tactic you can have with signs is to correlate signs with reading. Simply saying, “Let’s read signs today!” makes a big difference. Some signs you can read together with your child include railroad crossing, yield, women/men, traffic lights, picnic tables, no feeding ducks, lanes merging, walk/don’t walk, DVD/VCR buttons, elevator buttons, school zone, construction zones, map symbols, escalator/elevator location, phone booth, and computer icons.
Let’s Make Signs. Spend the day drawing signs for the things in your house. Have your child decide what picture symbol will represent what in your house. You could draw a picture of a toilet and tape it to the bathroom door. Draw a picture of a flame and write hot and tape that sign near the stove. Draw a bell and tape that sign on the doorbell. Your child will have fun getting creative with important signs in their life and they will learn how to communicate messages through symbols.
Book Resources. Below is a list of books that you can purchase or borrow from the library. These books are a great way to introduce the concept of signs and to teach your child what each sign means. After your child gets through the book on his own, tell him, “You can read!” Read these sign books with your child every day and they will be so proud of themselves.
Signs in Our World: Spot the Signs All Around You! by John Searcy
Signs (Ultimate Sticker Books) by DK Publishing
I Read Signs (Reading Rainbow Books) by Tana Hoban