Welcome to my webpage for June 2009. This issue will focus on summer
reading activities. Summer reading is important because valuable skills are
not always maintained during the break and the yearly momentum is lost.
Therefore, I have compiled ideas that you may try.
1. Establish a routine. Your child can benefit from independent reading 2-3
times weekly for 30-40 minutes per period. Library books are easily
available in addition to the take home material I provided throughout the
year. The children were encouraged to keep these materials in an accessible
location.
2. Public libraries and larger bookstores such as Barnes and Noble provide
summer reading programs for little or no cost.
3. Review my linkspage. Many of the sites are updated regularly. The site
provided by the Keystone State Reading Association, KSRA, supplies diverse
selections geared to younger and older students. Two new links have been
added. The first is www.summerreadingclub.org.au/ This link provides
activities for the age groups 5-7, 8-10, and 10+. It also provides book
selections found at your local public library. The second is
www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/childrenindex.html/ This link provides
classic and contemporary short stories for children. Many selections can be
read online, downloaded to paper, or viewed through hand held devices.
4. Miscellaneous activities include:
-Be a model for your child. Let your youngster see you reading.
-Provide a personal library in your child's bedroom. Be sure to acquire
a variety of books.
-Subscribe to a child's magazine. Many are listed on the KSRA website.
-Write letters and thank-you notes.
-Write messages to each other and make up grocery lists.
-Read menus together.
-Write a family journal or start a memory box.
-Discuss a newspaper or magazine article.
In related news, I use an interesting series for intermediate age
students entitled Classic Starts. Traditional classics are abridged and
carefully rewritten for 4th and 5th grade readers. Questions for discussion
follow each selection. Examples of titles include: Black Beauty, Dracula,
Little Women, Robinson Crusoe and The Wind in the Willows. There are 30
selections in all. I purchased several from Barnes and Noble and use them in
my classroom library. The children read and like them!
Enjoy your break from school.
"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of
books is the best of all."
Jacqueline Kennedy
