For the Week of February 2nd

I was excited this week to get a new book from the International Reading Association. It is titled: Bright Beginnings for Boys: Engaging Young Boys in Active Literacy.I haven't had a chance to read the whole book, but as I was skimming it, looking forward to what I was going to be reading, I came across the following which I wanted to share with you. This is a brainstormed list (p. 137) that comes from boys who have been asked how their older brothers should work with their siblings when they read a book.
10. Have FUN!
9. After you read, take time to discuss the book. Ask one another who, what, when, why, and how questions.
8. Ask the child his or her favorite part and character.
7. If the child is a reader, have him or her read to you. If you notice too many mistakes being made, check for readability. Ask the librarian or teacher in charge to make sure the book is at the proper level.
6. If the child does make an error while reading that distracts from the meaning of the story, prompt the child with a question that will help him or her recognize the error.
5. As the child reads, remember that some mistakes are OK. If the child says house for home it does not change the story's meaning. If meaning is not altered, let it go.
4. Encourage the child to ask questions about the story if the plot is confusing.
3. Identify and discuss unfamiliar words.
2 Encourage conversation. Ask the child if his or her initial predictions were correct.
1. Take time to discuss the book before you read. Look at the cover, point out the author and illustrator, and ask the child what he or she thinks the book will be about.

For the week of January 26th

Fluency

An important part of fluency is reading in phrases instead of word-by-word. If your child struggles in this area, one way to help him/her is to echo read. First point out places that make natural breaks to take a quick breath, like commas and just before prepositions (on, under, around, beside, behind, between etc.) Then, you read a sentence in phrases at breaks that help to give meaning to the sentence. Have your child read the sentence trying to echo you or read it exactly as you have. As your child gets better and better at this, you might ask him/her if he/she could think of another way to read the sentence, with different pauses, that give clear meaning to the sentence but emphasize a different word or phrase.

Doing this with 2-3 sentences every night can help your child become a more fluent reader.

For the Week of January 12-16

Students will be taking the IOWA tests this week. One factor that makes a huge difference in a student's ability to perform well on tests is the amount of sleep he/she has received the night before the test. Another factor is getting the fuel, through nutritious food, which supports the hard work the brain is going to be given that day. By making sure our Prairieview students get to bed early enough to enjoy a full night's sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, and encouraging them to do their best work, we can be confident that we will have accurate test results. Accurate test results are important because they help to inform our practice as teachers - what have we learned and on what do we need to focus.