Literacy Activities for Fathers and Sons

Did You Know?

• Boys need male role models in reading.
• Dads have a major influence over their child’s education and how well they perform.
• If male role models value reading, boys will learn to value reading as well.

So What Can Fathers Do?

• Read with your son as often as possible.  Consider reading Father and Son Read-Aloud Stories, a collection of fairy tales refashioned for a boy’s imagination.
• Make literacy activities interactive:

1. Play games – spell words when playing basketball – Horse style

• Make up rhymes together
• Act out stories you read together
• Research a specific topic your child has an interest in, read books about that topic, read information online about the topic — together
• Read online material together
• Create friendly spelling competitions for your child
• Encourage a subscription to a magazine:  Sports Illustrated for Kids, National Geographic for Kids, Your Big Backyard, or Ranger Rick.  Read it together.
• Read the newspaper (or online news) with your son.  Discuss current events.
• Read graphic novels or comic books.  Then create your own.
• Choose a topic and create a pop-up book
• Use music and lyrics to help your son remember important spelling words and/or vocabulary
• Provide plenty of opportunities for your son to discuss his reading with you.  If it helps him, allow him to graphically display his thinking about a book.  This will guide him to a deeper understanding of the text.
• Keep a father/son journal.  Write notes back and forth to each other – about your day, books you’ve read, favorite activities to do together, etc.

©2010 by Dawn Little for Literacy Toolbox. All Rights Reserved.  All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Tags: literacy activities for fathers and sons, male role models for boys