Children are more likely to become good readers and writers when they repeatedly see the many ways that reading and writing matter. Help your child learn the power of writing by helping her create her own home town book.
- photos of special places in your home town
- several pieces of paper stapled together to make a book
- markers or crayons
In Preparation:
- As you travel around your home town, start to take photos of places you visit with your child (stores, restaurants, parks, church, etc.). Get the photos developed into prints.
- On the cover of your homemade book, print the title (Your child’s name)’s Town (ex. Sofia’s Town).
- At the top of each page, print In my town, we have _____________________. Leave space under the words to place the photos. As an example, one of the pages may say, In my town we have a _______ , with a photo of a park glued on the bottom half of the page. You will fill in the blank later with your child.
Start the Activity:
Step 1: Tell your child that you have a very special book that you are going to write together. Show her the book and read the title that includes her name. Tell her that this book is all about her own home town where she lives.
Step 2: Go through the book, page by page, and talk about the photos. Then read the sentence at the top and fill in the blank. Involve your child in filling in the blank. She may be able to print the first letter of the word or the entire word. Assist as necessary.
Step 3: Read the book together once all the pages are complete.
Reduce the number of pages in the book. Fill in the blanks yourself, but be sure to talk with your child about what you are doing. In other words, model the skill of writing for her.
Once the first draft of the book is complete, you might ask your child for suggestions of other places around her town to include in the book. Assist her in taking the photos and adding the new pages to the book.
