Dear Families,
There are an incredible number of advantages gained from reading to children at home in the early years.
We've all heard these reasons before...improved reading skills, improved comprehension, improved math scores (it's true!), and improved standardized testing scores.
I know that ICS parents are dedicated to supporting their students in every way possible. I know parents make every effort to read to their children at home. But, how can we make the MOST of a read aloud at home?
I try to read to students just for pleasure at least once a day during quiet time or during closing circle. It's an opportunity for them to relax, enjoy a story, and I get to share my personal enthusiasm for reading. It also an opportunity to model fluency and give examples of how the comprehension skills we've studied so far have helped me understand the story better.
Since the beginning of school year, we've gone from read alouds where it's just me reading and "thinking aloud" to read alouds where students are incredibly eager to share what they've noticed without anyone asking them to.
Here are some questions I typically ask or observations I typically make. Also, for the record, I don't ask ALL of these questions in one read aloud.
There are an incredible number of advantages gained from reading to children at home in the early years.
We've all heard these reasons before...improved reading skills, improved comprehension, improved math scores (it's true!), and improved standardized testing scores.
I know that ICS parents are dedicated to supporting their students in every way possible. I know parents make every effort to read to their children at home. But, how can we make the MOST of a read aloud at home?
I try to read to students just for pleasure at least once a day during quiet time or during closing circle. It's an opportunity for them to relax, enjoy a story, and I get to share my personal enthusiasm for reading. It also an opportunity to model fluency and give examples of how the comprehension skills we've studied so far have helped me understand the story better.
Since the beginning of school year, we've gone from read alouds where it's just me reading and "thinking aloud" to read alouds where students are incredibly eager to share what they've noticed without anyone asking them to.
Here are some questions I typically ask or observations I typically make. Also, for the record, I don't ask ALL of these questions in one read aloud.
Before Reading
1. Look at the cover. Pay careful attention to the details on the front and back cover. Are there any clues there? What do you we predict this story is going to be about?
2. I always read the author and illustrator's name. It shows that I'm applying phonics skills to unknown words.
3. Look at the book ends. On hard cover books, these are the inside covers on the front and the back of the book. Soft cover books don't usually have this feature. Why did the illustrator choose to draw that? Why did the author choose these colors? (We often talk about how everything inside a good book is on purpose, even the book ends.)
During Reading
1. Ask open ended questions about the book.
-What am I learning about this character?
-Why did the character do that?
-What is the illustration teaching me that isn't being stated in the text.
-Is this reminding me of something else I've read?
-Is this reminding me of something that's happened in my life?
-Is this a clue? Do I need to turn back?
-Why is the author/illustrator using this font? Why are these colors being used? Is there a pattern here?
2. Does your child want to ask something or share something? Let them! It's amazing what 6-7 year old's will notice.
After Reading
1. What did I learn about the characters?
2. Was my prediction about the story correct? Emphasize that the prediction was correct or incorrect rather than the child being correct or incorrect.
3. Did I learn anything about myself by reading this story? This might be related to the lesson that the author was trying to teach us.
4. What do I think of the book ends now? Any clues there? Any book by Mo Willems is filled with clues!
1. Look at the cover. Pay careful attention to the details on the front and back cover. Are there any clues there? What do you we predict this story is going to be about?
2. I always read the author and illustrator's name. It shows that I'm applying phonics skills to unknown words.
3. Look at the book ends. On hard cover books, these are the inside covers on the front and the back of the book. Soft cover books don't usually have this feature. Why did the illustrator choose to draw that? Why did the author choose these colors? (We often talk about how everything inside a good book is on purpose, even the book ends.)
During Reading
1. Ask open ended questions about the book.
-What am I learning about this character?
-Why did the character do that?
-What is the illustration teaching me that isn't being stated in the text.
-Is this reminding me of something else I've read?
-Is this reminding me of something that's happened in my life?
-Is this a clue? Do I need to turn back?
-Why is the author/illustrator using this font? Why are these colors being used? Is there a pattern here?
2. Does your child want to ask something or share something? Let them! It's amazing what 6-7 year old's will notice.
After Reading
1. What did I learn about the characters?
2. Was my prediction about the story correct? Emphasize that the prediction was correct or incorrect rather than the child being correct or incorrect.
3. Did I learn anything about myself by reading this story? This might be related to the lesson that the author was trying to teach us.
4. What do I think of the book ends now? Any clues there? Any book by Mo Willems is filled with clues!
Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you have any questions about this at home activity.
Best,
Tr. Gaja
Best,
Tr. Gaja