9 Strategies for Supporting Written Language Development at Home

Written communication plays a vital role in personal and academic lives. While therapy sessions are valuable, there are numerous activities that can be incorporated into a daily routine at home to enhance your child’s written language abilities. Here are 9 strategies for supporting written language development at home.

1. Reading Aloud
   Let your child read books aloud to you. After each paragraph or page, ask a variety of questions to assess comprehension. Include questions related to sequencing (what happened first/last), details (what did the boy do), and hypothetical situations (what could happen at the end of the story). Gradually increase the complexity of questions to encourage deeper understanding and critical thinking skills.
   
2. Writing Practice
   Encourage your child to engage in various writing activities at home. This can include making lists (e.g., grocery lists, packing lists), journaling about their day, or writing letters, emails, or texts to family and friends. Writing provides an opportunity to practice grammar, punctuation, and organization, while also fostering creativity and self-expression.
   
3. Giving Directions
   Incorporate written language skills into board game sessions. Have your child read the game directions aloud and explain them to other players. This activity promotes reading fluency, comprehension, and the ability to convey information clearly to others.
   
4. Reading for Pleasure
   Encourage your child to read a variety of printed materials for pleasure. This can include magazines, online articles, letters, or recipes. After reading, engage in discussions about the content, encouraging critical thinking and expanding vocabulary.
   
5. Culinary Language Experience
   Involve your child in cooking activities, allowing them to read the directions aloud and explain the steps to you. This exercise combines practical life skills with language development, as they practice reading and comprehension in a real-world context.
   
6. Environmental Print
   Encourage your child to look for environmental print in the community, such as signs and logos. Identify familiar brands like McDonald’s, Hershey, or Lego, and discuss the significance of these symbols. This activity promotes word recognition, letter-sound associations, and print awareness.
   
7. Reading Strategies
   When reading with your child, emphasize written words that match the pictures on each page or focus on words that contain their target sounds. This helps reinforce connections between spoken and written language, as well as aids in sound production and word recognition.
   
8. Target Sound Practice
   Provide models of correct sound production and syllables in words. Encourage your child to repeat these words, focusing on accurate sound production. This practice strengthens articulation skills and enhances overall speech clarity.
   
9. Rhyming Games
   Engage in rhyming games to teach your child that different sounds give words different meanings and help create nonsense words. This activity promotes phonological awareness, an essential skill for reading and writing.

Supporting written language development at home is an enriching and rewarding experience. By incorporating these activities into your daily routine, and tailoring them to your child’s interests and abilities, you can foster the development of strong written language skills.

For more ideas, visit my blog post 7 Ways to Use Google in Speech Therapy