Hearing and saying the parts of words help prepare children to learn to read.
What you'll need:
* A list of words with two parts, like baseball, raincoat, sunshine, and motorcycle.
What to do:
* Sit beside your child. Tell the child that you will say a word and then you will leave off part of the word. Ask your child to tell you what part you left off.
For example, tell the child, "Let's say sunshine without sun; what part is left? That's right, shine." Repeat this activity with another word: "Let's say motorcycle without motor; what part is left? That's right, cycle." "Now you try it. Say 'manhole' without man."
* As your child learns this game, try leaving off the last part of words (manhole without hole is man; motorcycle without cycle is motor).
READ*WRITE*NOW Activities for Reading and Writing Fun - May 1997
