Make Reading A Priority
Research demonstrates that students who spend more time reading, read better. Some students enjoy reading and read as much as they can. Others prefer doing anything more than reading. For those parents, I would encourage the following: 1)Set a certain time and place for reading. Do not tell your child to go read, instead read together. If you do not have time to do this - hire someone to do it with you student. It can even be a mature high school student. 2)Go with your child to pick out books at their reading level. They should be able to read a page in the middle of the book and have no more than 5 errors on the page. 3)Set up a reward system. Do not make your child wait until the end of the summer to receive his/her reward. Make smaller rewards weekly with a larger reward if he/she completes the summer schedule.
Being able to read well is so important for children's future academic achievements that we must all work to make reading a priority just like we do for practicing an instrument or playing a sport. Making sure your child reads may be a struggle, but it is a struggle worth undertaking.
Thank You!
I want to thank all of the parents for the privilege of teaching your children. It is a rewarding and fulfilling job and I am very thankful to be employed by such a wonderful school district. Have a safe and fun summer. I am looking forward to the fall with another new beginning.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
For the Week of May 25th
Structure Brings Security
I had the privilege of attending a two day conference this past week at Northern Illinois University organized by Illinois ASPIRE. Besides learning about many helpful studies in the area of reading, I also learned about setting behavior goals for students. One of the speakers, Randy Sprick, Ph.D., spoke of how important school structure is for the success of our students. He used an example of school lunch lines. If school lunch lines are run inefficiently so that students have to wait a long time to get their lunches, then students begin to think about how they are going to get down to the lunch lines before everyone else. The problem is that they start to think about this while they are in still in the class that meets before lunch and so their attention is taken away from the lesson on which they should be concentrating. I was thinking about how I feel better when my life is properly structured. I like to have a plan for what meals I am going to prepare and have the food on hand to make those meals. I like to know that my clothes are ironed and ready to wear. I like to know that I have enough time to do what I need to do and also get enough sleep at night so that I feel rested and energetic the next day. Children, also, thrive with structure. If there is a natural flow and rhythm to their lives, they feel more comfortable and secure. This structure varies from family to family, but it should include eating times, homework times, reading times, helping times, relaxing times and bed times. The gifts of well-structured homes and schools can be a positive influence on the behavior of our children, both in school and out of school.
I had the privilege of attending a two day conference this past week at Northern Illinois University organized by Illinois ASPIRE. Besides learning about many helpful studies in the area of reading, I also learned about setting behavior goals for students. One of the speakers, Randy Sprick, Ph.D., spoke of how important school structure is for the success of our students. He used an example of school lunch lines. If school lunch lines are run inefficiently so that students have to wait a long time to get their lunches, then students begin to think about how they are going to get down to the lunch lines before everyone else. The problem is that they start to think about this while they are in still in the class that meets before lunch and so their attention is taken away from the lesson on which they should be concentrating. I was thinking about how I feel better when my life is properly structured. I like to have a plan for what meals I am going to prepare and have the food on hand to make those meals. I like to know that my clothes are ironed and ready to wear. I like to know that I have enough time to do what I need to do and also get enough sleep at night so that I feel rested and energetic the next day. Children, also, thrive with structure. If there is a natural flow and rhythm to their lives, they feel more comfortable and secure. This structure varies from family to family, but it should include eating times, homework times, reading times, helping times, relaxing times and bed times. The gifts of well-structured homes and schools can be a positive influence on the behavior of our children, both in school and out of school.
Friday, May 15, 2009
For the Week of May 18th
Helping Your Child with Vocabulary Acquisition
A mature reader is able to use context clues as a strategy to help understand unknown vocabulary words. You can encourage your student to see and recognize clues that will help them to understand the nuances of words better. There are four main types of clues that authors use.
The first is to give the reader the definition or a synonym of the word. An example is: A hydrophyte is a plant which grows well in very wet places. When you come across this type of word, simply ask your child, "What does the sentence say a hydrophyte is?" You can point out that if they see words such as "refers to, is defined as, is or means," then the definition is sure to follow. Sometimes the vocabulary word or its definition is in italics. Sometimes the definition is set off by commas, dashes or parentheses.
The second type of clue authors use is to give us examples or illustrations to make the word's meaning clearer. An example is: The boy was very responsible. He always tidied up his room before he left for school. He did his homework neatly and on time and he remembered to feed and groom his dog. By studying the examples of the responsible boy, the reader can begin to understand what responsible means.
The third type of clue authors use is contrast. This is when the word's opposite appears in the sentence. An example is: Tommy is very rambunctious but his brother is quiet and orderly. Some word clues that help signal a contrast are "however, on the other hand, in contrast, but, yet, different and unlike."
The fourth type of clue authors use is inference. To use this type of clue effectively, you must apply your background knowledge to information in the text. An example is: My teenage daughter was being flippant when I asked her why she was late coming home last night. She said that she had gotten run over by a train and it was none of my business anyway. Using your background knowledge of how teenagers can behave, along with the words that the teenager said, and you can begin to understand the meaning of flippant. Make sure to look at the sentences around the vocabulary word to get as many context clues as possible.
A mature reader is able to use context clues as a strategy to help understand unknown vocabulary words. You can encourage your student to see and recognize clues that will help them to understand the nuances of words better. There are four main types of clues that authors use.
The first is to give the reader the definition or a synonym of the word. An example is: A hydrophyte is a plant which grows well in very wet places. When you come across this type of word, simply ask your child, "What does the sentence say a hydrophyte is?" You can point out that if they see words such as "refers to, is defined as, is or means," then the definition is sure to follow. Sometimes the vocabulary word or its definition is in italics. Sometimes the definition is set off by commas, dashes or parentheses.
The second type of clue authors use is to give us examples or illustrations to make the word's meaning clearer. An example is: The boy was very responsible. He always tidied up his room before he left for school. He did his homework neatly and on time and he remembered to feed and groom his dog. By studying the examples of the responsible boy, the reader can begin to understand what responsible means.
The third type of clue authors use is contrast. This is when the word's opposite appears in the sentence. An example is: Tommy is very rambunctious but his brother is quiet and orderly. Some word clues that help signal a contrast are "however, on the other hand, in contrast, but, yet, different and unlike."
The fourth type of clue authors use is inference. To use this type of clue effectively, you must apply your background knowledge to information in the text. An example is: My teenage daughter was being flippant when I asked her why she was late coming home last night. She said that she had gotten run over by a train and it was none of my business anyway. Using your background knowledge of how teenagers can behave, along with the words that the teenager said, and you can begin to understand the meaning of flippant. Make sure to look at the sentences around the vocabulary word to get as many context clues as possible.
Friday, May 8, 2009
For the Week of May 11th
Science and Literacy
Does your child enjoy science? Do they struggle in science? The following books have been recommended by The Reading Teacher. These books were picked for both their scientific content and their literacy. They are recommended for 5th graders but would be great as read alouds also.
Science Projects: Sound by S. De Pinna
Space Station Science: Life in Free Fall by M. J. Dyson
Destination Rain Forest by J. Grupper
The Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet by M. Hooper
Animal Defenses: How Animals Protect Themselves by E. Kaner
Light and Sound by P. Lafferty
The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy by K. Lasky
Super Cool Science: South Pole Stations, Past, Present, and Future by S. Markle
Tornadoes by S. Simon
A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by W. Wick
Reading During the Summer
As we approach summer, I would encourage you to think about your family's reading plans. We make plans for sports camps, vacations and swim lessons. Why not make reading plans? If as a family, you decide when reading would best fit in your schedule, then it is more likely to happen. Don't let this summer slip away without spending some quality time with some good books. Your children will thank you for it - maybe not now, but sometime in the future.
Does your child enjoy science? Do they struggle in science? The following books have been recommended by The Reading Teacher. These books were picked for both their scientific content and their literacy. They are recommended for 5th graders but would be great as read alouds also.
Science Projects: Sound by S. De Pinna
Space Station Science: Life in Free Fall by M. J. Dyson
Destination Rain Forest by J. Grupper
The Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet by M. Hooper
Animal Defenses: How Animals Protect Themselves by E. Kaner
Light and Sound by P. Lafferty
The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy by K. Lasky
Super Cool Science: South Pole Stations, Past, Present, and Future by S. Markle
Tornadoes by S. Simon
A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by W. Wick
Reading During the Summer
As we approach summer, I would encourage you to think about your family's reading plans. We make plans for sports camps, vacations and swim lessons. Why not make reading plans? If as a family, you decide when reading would best fit in your schedule, then it is more likely to happen. Don't let this summer slip away without spending some quality time with some good books. Your children will thank you for it - maybe not now, but sometime in the future.
Friday, May 1, 2009
For the Week of May 4th
Family Book Clubs - Thank you to all of the students and parents who came out to our Family Book Club evening. It was such an enjoyable evening. I just love hearing students discuss important topics and interacting with their parents and others. It is impressive to hear the thoughtful, wise comments students make.
Small Groups - Our RTI (Response to Intervention) small groups continue to work on the three big areas of reading: fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. We work on fluency by doing phonics work, word families, sight words, repeated readings, reader's theater, book reading, and Read Naturally, our computer program. We work on vocabulary by working on the words they encounter in their reading. We work on comprehension by explicitly teaching and practicing the six reading strategies of predicting, connection, visualizing, inferring, summarizing and questioning. Like I said last week, reading and writing go hand-in-hand so we continually read and write and then write and read.
Small Groups - Our RTI (Response to Intervention) small groups continue to work on the three big areas of reading: fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. We work on fluency by doing phonics work, word families, sight words, repeated readings, reader's theater, book reading, and Read Naturally, our computer program. We work on vocabulary by working on the words they encounter in their reading. We work on comprehension by explicitly teaching and practicing the six reading strategies of predicting, connection, visualizing, inferring, summarizing and questioning. Like I said last week, reading and writing go hand-in-hand so we continually read and write and then write and read.
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