Reading Comprehension
It is hard to believe that October is already here! Prairieview's small intervention groups are up and running. In those groups that focus on reading comprehension there are 4 strategies that we teach to help students comprehend text. Those strategies are predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarizing. Good readers are constantly making predictions about what will happen next or what they might read about next. When readers are predicting, we know they are thinking about what they are reading. Good readers also ask themselves questions about what they are reading. It can be questions that are answered in the text or questions that they need to be answered from an outside source. Once again, if readers are asking themselves questions, we know they are thinking about what they are reading. The third strategy we teach our students to use is clarifying. Clarifying can mean figuring out words that we can not read by sight by chunking them into parts that we can read. It can also mean going back and rereading while using context clues and/or picture clues to help us understand a part of the book that was confusing. The final strategy we want the students to use is summarizing. When students stop after reading a portion of a book and take the time to summarize what they have read, they can figure out pretty quickly if they are actually thinking about what they read or if they were just letting the words go in one eye and out the other. When reading together as a family, I would encourage you to use these same strategies to reinforce what we are teaching here at school.
Chess Club
Chess Club got off to a great start this week. This week both Tuesday's and Thursday's clubs will be meeting. I could still use more parent volunteers if anyone would like to join us. Even if you could only help out for a week or two, I would appreciate it!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
For the Week of September 24th
Chess Club
Tuesday and Thursday chess clubs are beginning this week. I still need more parent volunteers for Tuesday's club. If you would like to help out please email or call me. Children who do not walk or ride a bike should be picked up at the 3rd grade door between 3:25 and 3:30.
Early Dismissal
Reminder: This Friday, September 28th is an early dismissal day. The school day will end at 11:00 a.m.
Children are Great Imitators!
Spend some time reading everyday in front of your children. If children see you enjoying a good book or magazine, they will learn that it is an fun thing to do. I heard about one family who fixed something enjoyable to drink, like hot chocolate in the winter, and they sat around together each reading something silently to themselves. Reading is so important that we should do everything we can to make reading a priority in our families.
Tuesday and Thursday chess clubs are beginning this week. I still need more parent volunteers for Tuesday's club. If you would like to help out please email or call me. Children who do not walk or ride a bike should be picked up at the 3rd grade door between 3:25 and 3:30.
Early Dismissal
Reminder: This Friday, September 28th is an early dismissal day. The school day will end at 11:00 a.m.
Children are Great Imitators!
Spend some time reading everyday in front of your children. If children see you enjoying a good book or magazine, they will learn that it is an fun thing to do. I heard about one family who fixed something enjoyable to drink, like hot chocolate in the winter, and they sat around together each reading something silently to themselves. Reading is so important that we should do everything we can to make reading a priority in our families.
Friday, September 14, 2012
For the Week of September 17th
Reading to Your Children
Some parents think that their child is too old to be read to when they are able to read to themselves. Reading to children, however, continues to be important throughout the grade school years. An adult can read a book that has harder words, vocabulary and even situations than a child can handle on his/her own. When a child hears words that he/she is not familiar with it helps him/her to be able to figure out those words more easily in the future. Just knowing that word exists helps the child to decode that word. It also helps the child to build his/her vocabulary. Many words can be learned just using the clues in the story of their meaning. You may have the opportunity to discuss the meaning of some words which also helps the child. Since you are there when the reading happens, you can discuss what is happening in the story and help the student to make sense of it. For example, if the story is about some part of history that is unfamiliar, you can help your child to understand the context in which the story takes place. Another good reason to read to your child is that it provides for a routine that is calming and relaxing before they go to sleep. It is beneficial for your child to be well rested before a day of hard work at school. By having a routine of getting ready for bed and then listening to part of a well-written book, it helps promote a sense of well-being. It helps for them to focus on something other than their own cares and worries and therefore, to fall asleep easier. I encourage you to read to your children, even your 4th and 5th graders before they go to bed. I think your whole family will enjoy it.
Some parents think that their child is too old to be read to when they are able to read to themselves. Reading to children, however, continues to be important throughout the grade school years. An adult can read a book that has harder words, vocabulary and even situations than a child can handle on his/her own. When a child hears words that he/she is not familiar with it helps him/her to be able to figure out those words more easily in the future. Just knowing that word exists helps the child to decode that word. It also helps the child to build his/her vocabulary. Many words can be learned just using the clues in the story of their meaning. You may have the opportunity to discuss the meaning of some words which also helps the child. Since you are there when the reading happens, you can discuss what is happening in the story and help the student to make sense of it. For example, if the story is about some part of history that is unfamiliar, you can help your child to understand the context in which the story takes place. Another good reason to read to your child is that it provides for a routine that is calming and relaxing before they go to sleep. It is beneficial for your child to be well rested before a day of hard work at school. By having a routine of getting ready for bed and then listening to part of a well-written book, it helps promote a sense of well-being. It helps for them to focus on something other than their own cares and worries and therefore, to fall asleep easier. I encourage you to read to your children, even your 4th and 5th graders before they go to bed. I think your whole family will enjoy it.
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