Checking for Understanding

Hi Families of Young Readers!

This month we are focusing our attention on a comprehension strategy that we use during our lessons called “Check for Understanding”.  You can use this strategy at home when you are reading with your child.  

When students use this strategy, we are asking them to think about what they are reading, not just read the words accurately.  We want them to be sure that they know who they are reading about and what happened.

You can access all of the extra resources, websites and games related to the “Check for Understanding” strategy on my blog page under Shared Reading Strategies.  Take a look!

Flip the Sound Reading Strategy

Hi Families of Young Readers!  

This month we are focusing our attention on a skill called Flip the Sound.

 Flip the Sound is a word attack strategy readers use to figure out an unfamiliar word.  Good readers use their letter sound knowledge to decode words by trying out the different sounds a letter can make until they hear a word they recognize and that makes sense in the sentence.

Knowing the multiple sounds a letter or letter combinations can make and being able to flip the sounds around is an essential literacy skill.

You can access this month’s Flip the Sound resources under Shared Reading Strategies on our blog for at home tips and interactive practice for your child.  Take a look at how to use this skill as an Accuracy Strategy and prompt your child with a Kinesthetic Motion to support your young reader.  And most of all, remember to have fun!

Chunk It Reading Strategy

Hi Families of Young Readers!

This month we are focusing our attention on a reading strategy that we use during our lessons called “Chunk It!”.  You can use this strategy at home when you are reading with your child.  

“Chunk It!” is a strategy that is helpful for students to use when they encounter an unknown word in a book.  When they use this strategy we are asking them to look for parts (or “chunks”) of the word that they DO know.  These parts may include prefixes, suffixes, root words, blends, word families, syllables, or any part of the word that they recognize.  They use these clues to determine what the word is that they are trying to read.  When students are able to read unknown words more quickly and easily, they can focus more of their attention on understanding what they have read.  

You can access all of the extra resources, websites and games related to the “Chunk It” strategy on my blog page under Shared Reading Strategies.  Take a look for specific examples of what to do and say to help your child successfully use this strategy at home.  Soon, they will be finding “chunks” of known words all around them!

Making Predictions with your child

Hi Families of Young Readers!  
This month we are focusing our attention on the skill of PREDICTING.

 Predicting is a skill to help a reader anticipate what he/she is about to read.  It is also a strategy that readers use while they are reading to guess an outcome or event that will take place next in a story.  When readers PREDICT, they use clues from the text and what they already know from their life experiences to guess what will happen next in the story.  When readers make predictions it is evident that they are thinking about what they are reading. 

 

You can access this month’s PREDICTING resources under Shared Reading Strategies for at home tips and interactive practice for your child.  Take a look at how to use First Lines, Thinking Out Loud, and Show the Evidence in your home to support your reader.  And most of all, remember to have fun!

Celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

Dr. Seuss was a wonderful children's author who has helped countless children learn to read and learn to enjoy reading.  His birthday is on March 2nd (He would have been 111 this year!) and each year children across the country celebrate this day by participating in fun reading activities in his honor.  I invite you to visit www.seussville.com for ideas of fun ways you can celebrate at home.  Maybe you will want to whip up some green eggs and ham for breakfast on Monday, make a truffala tree bookmark or draw the places you'll go, but I'm sure you'll find some great ideas to celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday!
Seussville Website

Great Website for kids- www.abcya.com

Want to spend some fun time together with your child on the computer?  But you want it to be educational?  Check out this great website!  It has tons of educational games that you can play together, organized by grade level.  Look for the "Letters" section for reading related activities, the "Numbers" section for math related activities and the "More, Holiday or Just for Fun" sections for some just plain fun activities.  ABCya Website