All students must read daily at their reading level or below. Books that are
too hard will frustrate the children and not give them enough practice to
increase their reading skills.
I'd like my students to read 15-20 minutes a day, 5 days a week outside of
school. This may include reading books, comics, magazines, recipes, stories
on the web etc...
It is very important for students to have book talks with family and friends
to share their thoughts about what they are reading and to develop a life
long love of reading.
Student have a Home Reading and Writing Notebook that contains a calendar for
parents to record the time in minutes spent reading at home.
Once a week, the student needs to write about something they read at home
that week. This activity may be the child's prediction or a summary of their
favorite part and why. Please refer to the many activity suggestions given in
the Back to School Night Folder for ideas. There is something for everyone on
the recipe cards so pick one and adjust it as needed. Creativity is welcome.
The Home Reading and Writing Journal may be kept in the Book Pouch the
student carries to and from school daily with their reading books. Some
families may decide to place it in a safe place at home and return it on
Fridays that is fine.
I REASSESS FOR READING LEVELS SO WHEN I AM DONE I
WILL PLACE A STICKER ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE POUCH WITH THE CHILD'S LEVEL IN
CASE THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN. IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT A LEVEL IS FOR A BOOK
YOU HAVE AT HOME GO TO MY LINKS PAGE AND CHECK OUT THE SCHOLASTIIC LINK.
UNDER TEACHERS YOU CAN CLICK ON BOOKWIZARD AND TYPE IN THE TITLE TO FIND OUT
THE GUIDED READING LEVEL FOR MOST BOOKS. REMEMBER IT IS JUST A GUIDE.
Students should have at least 2 books on their level and at least 3 books
that are easier. So if your child is reading at a level J then he/she should
have 2 J books and 3 books between H-I. Rereading easy to read book is
not only fun, but it helps the student build their fluency.
Sometimes students find a book that they REALLY want to read that is above
their level. If the child on level J wants to read an M book then they should
NOT read it alone to themselves. It should be read to them by an adult so
they can hear the adult read it fluently (smoothly, with expression). You may
want to take turns and let them read a paragraph after a page is modeled to
them. If the child is reading word by word and struggling to sound out 3
words on a page then please understand that this can be frustrating for them
so offer to read their paragraph first and have them read it. If that
doesn't help, please read it all to them so that the student may focus on
comprehension and not decoding.
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Thinking Ideas to Use in Reading Journal
Boys and Girls, when you read at home remember to do what strong readers do
such as make connections, predict, ask questions, react, give your opinion
and build your vocabulary. Here are some sentence starters you may use on
the "Book Notes" to help you guide your thinking like strong readers do.
Make Connections:
When_____ it made me remember the time I _______.
When I was reading tonight this part reminded me of another book I read
called _______, because_________.
Make Predictions and Change Predictions:
After I read the title and the chapter names I thought the story would be
about______________________.
I changed my prediction because ___________________________.
Question and wonder why things happen:
I wonder why _____(name character) ______(describe action or what character
did that surprised you).
On page ___ I thought _______ (record a question you had during your reading)
because _________.
Summarize
Summarize in YOUR OWN WORDS what you read tonight. Write what it was mainly
about; please do not retell every minor detail.
Interesting Words
Strong readers notice when they come across new words to add to their written
and verbal language (talking). If you came across a new vocabulary word
record it and then use a dictionary to write what it means so that you can
try to use it in your daily talking and writing.
