- " The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go!"
- "Be Awesome! Be a book nut!"
- "You have to be a speedy reader because there's so so much to read."
- "You're never to old, too wacky, to wild, to pick up a book and read to a child."
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Dr. Seuss Quotes
Now for a "fun" post... one of my favorite authors... Dr. Seuss has some fabulous quotes on reading...
Resources
A compiled (growing) list of resources for parents needing more information.
- Author, Patricia M. Cunningham has written MANY wonderful books that are filled with fun activities to help your child with his/her reading skills.
- Reading Rockets - Help for Struggling Readers
Above All...
READ.
If you honestly do not have the time to meet with your child's teacher and learn how you can best help your young reader... if you truly don't have the time to enjoy the suggested activities with your young reader... then I first ask you - are you sure? Being able to read is IMPORTANT for the rest of your child's life! They will learn best when they are young. Make time. However if not, then... just READ. At LEAST make time for reading, of any type.
Read with your child.
Read alongside your child.
Take turns reading with your child.
Read aloud to your child.
Listen to your child read to you.
Just read. Read. READ.
Pros and Cons of E-Readers
E-Readers are still a fairly new technology, especially when being used within a classroom. There is much to be learned about the advantages and disadvantages of e-readers within the classroom. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on this topic! Many thanks, in advance!
I have a kindle, and I absolutely love it. The benefits for my personal use, are the most obvious - just one tablet to bring along on those long car trips, instead of multiple books. Another benefit, as well as distraction, is the many game applications available for download. I also adore it for allowing me to read in the darkness of my room, without needing an additional source of light.
Speaking mainly of pros and cons relating to students in high school and below, some benefits I see to e-readers are simply that they are technology! Students today LOVE technology and are always interested in it. They seem to learn so quickly as technology changes. Because it is a piece of technology, they are interested, therefore some may read more on an e-reader than from a book. Another benefit to some e-readers is that you can highlight a word to find its definition! There is no stopping to go and look in a dictionary... just highlight the word on the screen, and there is the definition. I believe students are more likely to look up the meaning of an unknown word when reading from a e-reader, than when reading from a book. There is also an option to change the size of text. This may help many students when reading. Then again, a pair of glasses may be all that they need, in the same case.
When discussing special education students, the e-readers may be a better option for many who have trouble turning the pages of a book. With an e-reader, one only needs to push a button or slide a finger across the screen, to turn a page. There is also the "text-to-speech" function that some e-readers offer. If a student is really having a hard time pronouncing a word, he/she can use this function to hear the correct pronunciation of the word.
Some disadvantages of e-readers are the fact that many people read texts by first skimming the contents, reading headlines, etc. This option is quite difficult on an e-reader due to the fact that you would have to turn many pages to skim the headlines, which is easier done with a book, newspaper, magazine, etc. in hand. Another disadvantage is the amount of applications available for e-readers. They are often more than just readers. There are many very fun addicting games available. While you think your child may be reading, he/she could actually be playing games. This is not to say that there aren't distractions from reading all around us while we read, however, when they are all located within the same place as the texts, it can be difficult to avoid them.
One topic I have yet to understand is how schools are comfortable with giving e-readers to students. In many cases they are given grants to buy these e-readers, however, I still wonder at the ability of students to take care of the e-readers. I envision smashing them in backpacks, dropping them, losing them at home, etc. If your child has an e-reader from school, please explain. Thank you!
Lastly, a link from Scholastic, on the use of E-Readers. Thanks!
I have a kindle, and I absolutely love it. The benefits for my personal use, are the most obvious - just one tablet to bring along on those long car trips, instead of multiple books. Another benefit, as well as distraction, is the many game applications available for download. I also adore it for allowing me to read in the darkness of my room, without needing an additional source of light.
Speaking mainly of pros and cons relating to students in high school and below, some benefits I see to e-readers are simply that they are technology! Students today LOVE technology and are always interested in it. They seem to learn so quickly as technology changes. Because it is a piece of technology, they are interested, therefore some may read more on an e-reader than from a book. Another benefit to some e-readers is that you can highlight a word to find its definition! There is no stopping to go and look in a dictionary... just highlight the word on the screen, and there is the definition. I believe students are more likely to look up the meaning of an unknown word when reading from a e-reader, than when reading from a book. There is also an option to change the size of text. This may help many students when reading. Then again, a pair of glasses may be all that they need, in the same case.
When discussing special education students, the e-readers may be a better option for many who have trouble turning the pages of a book. With an e-reader, one only needs to push a button or slide a finger across the screen, to turn a page. There is also the "text-to-speech" function that some e-readers offer. If a student is really having a hard time pronouncing a word, he/she can use this function to hear the correct pronunciation of the word.
Some disadvantages of e-readers are the fact that many people read texts by first skimming the contents, reading headlines, etc. This option is quite difficult on an e-reader due to the fact that you would have to turn many pages to skim the headlines, which is easier done with a book, newspaper, magazine, etc. in hand. Another disadvantage is the amount of applications available for e-readers. They are often more than just readers. There are many very fun addicting games available. While you think your child may be reading, he/she could actually be playing games. This is not to say that there aren't distractions from reading all around us while we read, however, when they are all located within the same place as the texts, it can be difficult to avoid them.
One topic I have yet to understand is how schools are comfortable with giving e-readers to students. In many cases they are given grants to buy these e-readers, however, I still wonder at the ability of students to take care of the e-readers. I envision smashing them in backpacks, dropping them, losing them at home, etc. If your child has an e-reader from school, please explain. Thank you!
Lastly, a link from Scholastic, on the use of E-Readers. Thanks!
Finding the Right Book
There are many factors that play into what kind of book any child might prefer. Essentially, absolutely everything that makes one book different from another book, could play into it. Because there is such a wide variety of books and a wide variety of children, I cannot explain here what kind of book your child is interested in. You, as a parent, will need to look through books with your child and ask questions about why they do or do not want to read certain books. Take notes, even if just mentally, on what interests they have and what kind of books they search for. Spend a morning in the library, taking note of the books your child pulls out to bring home. Request catalogs of books from companies who sell them, and encourage your child to circle the ones that interest him/her.
Remember to just encourage reading. If your child always chooses "how-to" books, or comic books, etc., encourage him/her to try reading a variety of genres. Everyone has a favorite, yet we should all have the skills to read all genres. Getting those skills built up for the future is important. Perhaps your child reads one genre quite often, at home, but you are hearing from his/her teacher that he/she is having difficulty with textbooks at school. This means you need to work on reading informational texts, with your child.
Despite my inability to show you the "right book", I can point you to some tips that, once you have found that book, will help you “sell the book” to him/her… creating interest and a desire to read the book. One suggestion is to begin reading to your child. If you read aloud to your child, with great expression to create interest, up until a book comes to a very critical point, your child will likely want to read on, if you put the book down and stop reading. You can also do a form of this in simple conversation. Think of it as a preview to a movie. Talk about the book, creating a big question, leaving your child curious as to how it plays out in the story.
Lastly, remember that though your child may take interest in a book due to the topic, he/she may find the text to be at a very dependent level. Request the help of your child's teacher in choosing books that are at your child's reading level.
Despite my inability to show you the "right book", I can point you to some tips that, once you have found that book, will help you “sell the book” to him/her… creating interest and a desire to read the book. One suggestion is to begin reading to your child. If you read aloud to your child, with great expression to create interest, up until a book comes to a very critical point, your child will likely want to read on, if you put the book down and stop reading. You can also do a form of this in simple conversation. Think of it as a preview to a movie. Talk about the book, creating a big question, leaving your child curious as to how it plays out in the story.
Lastly, remember that though your child may take interest in a book due to the topic, he/she may find the text to be at a very dependent level. Request the help of your child's teacher in choosing books that are at your child's reading level.
Creating Confidence in your Struggling Reader
As we all well know, humans are generally not motivated to participate in something they have previously failed many times at. Add along with that, the fact that most often, your student is reading in school, surrounded by many peers whose opinions he/she greatly admires. To top that off, depending on what age your child is, he/she may be getting picked on in school for being a struggling reader. Middle and High school students often seem to be especially cruel to one another. All of these things combined, create a great need for confidence in your child, in order to motivate him/her to continue reading.
Confidence can be created, no matter what the background of the child’s reading experiences. Encourage your child to keep trying. Praise the effort he/she makes, whether or not the reading was fluent. Encourage risk-taking and personal connections to the stories. Discuss what he/she has read each time. Move beyond the question and answer worksheets and go in-depth into the stories, encouraging your child to take a greater interest in the story. Be sure that whatever your child is reading, is appropriate for him/her. Appropriate literature is something that is at his/her independent reading level. Be sure to speak with your child’s teacher if you need help determining your child’s independent reading level. Allow your child to have time alone to read. While reading out loud is very good practice for struggling readers, it is also extremely good for them to have some time alone for personal reading as well.
Confidence can be created, no matter what the background of the child’s reading experiences. Encourage your child to keep trying. Praise the effort he/she makes, whether or not the reading was fluent. Encourage risk-taking and personal connections to the stories. Discuss what he/she has read each time. Move beyond the question and answer worksheets and go in-depth into the stories, encouraging your child to take a greater interest in the story. Be sure that whatever your child is reading, is appropriate for him/her. Appropriate literature is something that is at his/her independent reading level. Be sure to speak with your child’s teacher if you need help determining your child’s independent reading level. Allow your child to have time alone to read. While reading out loud is very good practice for struggling readers, it is also extremely good for them to have some time alone for personal reading as well.
Strategies to Help a Struggling Reader
What follows is a list of some strategies you can use to help your struggling reader, or even to "polish" the skills of your independent reader!
Pre-reading strategies
• KWL Chart
KWL stands for KNOW, WANT TO LEARN, and LEARNED. On a piece of paper, whatever size you choose, make three columns. K, W, and L go at the top of each column. Before you begin reading, fill in the "KNOW" section with the facts that you already know about what you are about to read, or have read. Fill in the "W" section with facts you want to learn about the story, or informative text topic. After reading, fill out the "L" section with the facts that you have learned, after reading. This activity will help with comprehension, and recognizing that we read with a purpose in mind.
• Discussion / Predictions
Without using a chart, discuss and make predictions on what you are about to read. Write them down if you desire. Enjoy this time, thinking of every possibility when questioning what you are about to read.
During-reading strategies
• Say Something
The say something strategy is very straightforward. Pair up (2 or more) with your child and as you read, stop periodically to "say something!" Set a timer, or mark every few pages or paragraphs. Stop every time you reach that mark, and say something! What should you say? You can predict, ask a question, make a simple comment on something you liked or disliked, connect it to a real-life occurrence, find the meaning of an unknown word, or summarize or clarify what just happened in the text.
• Post-it notes
Sticky notes are a great tool for readers! As you read, you can make notes on post-its, stuck into your book, on things you want to discuss. Similar to the "Say Something" strategy, except this would be without stopping reading, instead making notes to discuss later upon completion of the reading.
After-reading strategies
• Retelling
Upon completion of reading the text, retell the story!
• Somebody Wanted But So
This strategy works especially well for readers who have trouble recalling the plot line of a story. On a sheet of paper, create four columns with each word "Somebody Wanted But So" at the top of each column. In the "somebody" section, write the main character's name. In the "wanted" section, write what that character's goal was in the story. In the "but" section, write what happened at the climax, typically, when something got in the way of that character's goal. Finally, in the "so" section, write what ended up happening at the close of the story, in relation to the character's original goal. Often, you can repeat this strategy with a secondary character from the story.
Vocabulary strategies
• Word Collection
Pretty self-explanatory. Make collections of words on notecards, on a chart, in a notebook, etc. Choose words that are either interesting, hard, or simply because you enjoy the use of the word within the text! Take time to discuss each word, the root and meaning of the word, etc.
• Using context as clue
When helping your child figure out the meaning of a word, be sure to always point out the context the word is used in, and question your child towards making educated guesses as to what the word means.
Fluency strategies
• Echo reading
Echo reading is just as it sounds. A parent reads a sentence, and the child repeats. The key to assisting your child in fluency skills, will be read fluently, and encourage your child to repeat with the same intonations and speed.
• Reread texts
By simply rereading texts fairly often, your child will become more familiar with the texts, and will therefore be able to focus more on fluency, rather than the word recognition, vocabulary, etc, which has become automatic for him/her after many repeated readings.
• Read Aloud to your child
As you read out loud to your child, he/she will be hearing the sound of fluent reading, much the same as we speak. By repeatedly hearing the same texts, he/she will be able to more easily read these texts independently with fluency. It is important that you read with expression.
Word Recognition strategies
• Word wall
Create a word wall with your child. On a large sheet of paper posted in a place your child will frequent, write words! You can write words that your child has trouble with, frequently used words, or words of interest. Create games when reading these words each day. Rehearse them, discuss them, award your child for mastering difficult words.
• Prefixes, suffixes, root words, and high-frequency words
On a word wall, or elsewhere, be continually discussing words! Look at the prefixes, suffixes, and roots of words, noting other words that share the same parts, the meaning of each part, etc. Practice high-frequency words frequently! These are words that we read many times, they are everywhere!
This is simply a summary of a few suggestions for ways to help your child with his/her reading skills. If you have questions about the posted suggestions, or need a new suggestion for a certain skill, please be sure to comment and ask for help! There are many many more strategies available, tried and true!
Thank you!
Pre-reading strategies
• KWL Chart
KWL stands for KNOW, WANT TO LEARN, and LEARNED. On a piece of paper, whatever size you choose, make three columns. K, W, and L go at the top of each column. Before you begin reading, fill in the "KNOW" section with the facts that you already know about what you are about to read, or have read. Fill in the "W" section with facts you want to learn about the story, or informative text topic. After reading, fill out the "L" section with the facts that you have learned, after reading. This activity will help with comprehension, and recognizing that we read with a purpose in mind.
• Discussion / Predictions
Without using a chart, discuss and make predictions on what you are about to read. Write them down if you desire. Enjoy this time, thinking of every possibility when questioning what you are about to read.
During-reading strategies
• Say Something
The say something strategy is very straightforward. Pair up (2 or more) with your child and as you read, stop periodically to "say something!" Set a timer, or mark every few pages or paragraphs. Stop every time you reach that mark, and say something! What should you say? You can predict, ask a question, make a simple comment on something you liked or disliked, connect it to a real-life occurrence, find the meaning of an unknown word, or summarize or clarify what just happened in the text.
• Post-it notes
Sticky notes are a great tool for readers! As you read, you can make notes on post-its, stuck into your book, on things you want to discuss. Similar to the "Say Something" strategy, except this would be without stopping reading, instead making notes to discuss later upon completion of the reading.
After-reading strategies
• Retelling
Upon completion of reading the text, retell the story!
• Somebody Wanted But So
This strategy works especially well for readers who have trouble recalling the plot line of a story. On a sheet of paper, create four columns with each word "Somebody Wanted But So" at the top of each column. In the "somebody" section, write the main character's name. In the "wanted" section, write what that character's goal was in the story. In the "but" section, write what happened at the climax, typically, when something got in the way of that character's goal. Finally, in the "so" section, write what ended up happening at the close of the story, in relation to the character's original goal. Often, you can repeat this strategy with a secondary character from the story.
Vocabulary strategies
• Word Collection
Pretty self-explanatory. Make collections of words on notecards, on a chart, in a notebook, etc. Choose words that are either interesting, hard, or simply because you enjoy the use of the word within the text! Take time to discuss each word, the root and meaning of the word, etc.
• Using context as clue
When helping your child figure out the meaning of a word, be sure to always point out the context the word is used in, and question your child towards making educated guesses as to what the word means.
Fluency strategies
• Echo reading
Echo reading is just as it sounds. A parent reads a sentence, and the child repeats. The key to assisting your child in fluency skills, will be read fluently, and encourage your child to repeat with the same intonations and speed.
• Reread texts
By simply rereading texts fairly often, your child will become more familiar with the texts, and will therefore be able to focus more on fluency, rather than the word recognition, vocabulary, etc, which has become automatic for him/her after many repeated readings.
• Read Aloud to your child
As you read out loud to your child, he/she will be hearing the sound of fluent reading, much the same as we speak. By repeatedly hearing the same texts, he/she will be able to more easily read these texts independently with fluency. It is important that you read with expression.
Word Recognition strategies
• Word wall
Create a word wall with your child. On a large sheet of paper posted in a place your child will frequent, write words! You can write words that your child has trouble with, frequently used words, or words of interest. Create games when reading these words each day. Rehearse them, discuss them, award your child for mastering difficult words.
• Prefixes, suffixes, root words, and high-frequency words
On a word wall, or elsewhere, be continually discussing words! Look at the prefixes, suffixes, and roots of words, noting other words that share the same parts, the meaning of each part, etc. Practice high-frequency words frequently! These are words that we read many times, they are everywhere!
This is simply a summary of a few suggestions for ways to help your child with his/her reading skills. If you have questions about the posted suggestions, or need a new suggestion for a certain skill, please be sure to comment and ask for help! There are many many more strategies available, tried and true!
Thank you!
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