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First, we need a "Just Right Book". What is a "Just Right Book"?
A just right book is a book that is a good fit for your child as a reader. When choosing a just right book, the student should be able to identify most of the words on the page. If most of the words are too difficult, the book is too challenging. If most of the words are too easy, the book is not challenging your child as a reader. If you have questions about choosing a just right book, Mrs. Sanders can help you to find "Just Right Books" for your child.
Your child should be tracking while they are reading. What is tracking?
Tracking is a way for the students to follow along with the text while they are reading. When a student tracks their reading, they use their finger to follow along with the text as they read. This also helps the students to sound out each letter one at a time while they are reading a text. When you are reading to your child, it is helpful for you to model this process for them. Tracking while you are reading to your child is helpful for your child to follow along with what you are reading as well.
Sounding out each letter sound on a difficult word.
When your child comes to a difficult word, allow them to try and sound out the word on their own before telling them. You can help them to break down the word by sounding out each individual sound and piece the sounds together to make a word. Look at one sound at a time and piece them together. If your child seems to not be getting the word, tell them but try to work together as a team to learn the word.
Asking questions during reading can help with comprehension.
While you and your child are reading a book together, ask your child questions related to the story. By asking them questions, this will help them to remember the text and locate the important parts of a story. By retelling what they are reading it is helping them to develop comprehension skills that they will need as future readers. It is important for your child to understand that these are not words on a page but a story being told. Some questions that would be helpful to ask during their reading would be:
1. What is happening in this story?
2. How do you know these events are happening?
3. What clues did you find in the text that made you think that?
4. Who are the main characters in the story?
5. What do you know about these characters?
6. Are you learning anything about the characters?
7. How does this story make you feel? Why?
8. Do you have any schema about this story?
9. Is your schema growing while you are reading this story?
10. What do we know so far?
11. Do you have any wondering questions about the story?
12. Are you wondering anything by looking at the pictures in this story?
What are picture clues?
Picture clues is a strategy that is used by reading the pictures within a text. The students look through the pictures before reading the story and try to determine what the story is going to be about. They read the pictures by studying each happening and try to decide what is going to happen throughout this story. Allow your child to take a "Picture Walk" through a story before reading and determine what they think will happen. This will help them to think during their reading about their predictions made from picture clues. This will also prompt some of the questions that you can ask while reading with your child.
Was your prediction about this correct?
How do you know that you had a misconception?
What do you think is going to happen next?
What predictions can you make about this story?
How can my child learn fluency?
Your child will eventually become a reader that will read in one fluid motion, this is called fluency. One way to help them with learning fluency is to read a portion of the story to them so that they know what it should sound like. "Read like me, now you try" is a way to promote this process to them. While you are modeling this process to them be sure that you are tracking your reading.
A tool to help in this process is something that we call a whisper phone. A whisper phone can be made out of two corners of a PVC pipe put together to make a phone. This is a helpful tool for students to use to practice fluency so that they can hear how they sound and compare it to how you sound during your reading.
Popcorn Words!
Use the popcorn words while your child is reading. Make a big deal about them finding a popcorn word and knowing how to read that particular word. These are words that are used in the classroom everyday! The children are still learning them but point out when you see a popcorn word in a story and try to be as exciting as you can about it!
If you have a place to post these words around your house, that would be helpful to your child to see them. Refer to them during the day and ask them these words to ensure that they keep them in their schema.
Does the word make sense?
Allow your child to struggle some in trying to discover what a word means. Allow them to think about the letter sounds and how to piece those sounds together to create a word. This can be very difficult to watch them try and try, but give them time to try on their own before you tell them what the word is. Allow the child to piece the sounds together and ask them, does that make sense? Does that word fit the sentence or does it not make sense?
For example: Which of these makes the most sense?
a. The dog scurried across the road.
b. The dog scuffed across the road.
Scurried makes more sense than scuffed. Allow the child to see that and notice the mistakes that they make and how to correct those mistakes.
Reading
Strategies
These are the strategies that your child is using at school during Reader's Workshop. You may use the same strategies while reading at home.
Reading Strategies
Eagle Eye Look at the Pictures!
Look at the pictures for clues to help figure out the word.
Lips the Fish Get Your Lips Ready!
Say the first few sounds of the
word out loud.
Read to the end of the sentence and
say the sounds again.
Stretchy Snake “S-t-r-e-t-c-h” it out!
Stretch the word out slowly.
Put the sounds together to figure out the word.
Chunky Monkey Chunk the Word!
Look for a “chunk” that you know
(-ing, -at, -and, ap,)
Look for a word part (be-, -er, etc)
Tryin’ Lion Try It Again!
Try to reread the sentence.
Try a word that makes sense.
Skippy Frog Skip It, Skip It!
Skip the word (“skip it, skip it”)
Read to the end of the sentence.
“Hop back” and read it, read it until it makes sense.
Helpful Hippo Ask For Help!
After you have tried all of the
other strategies, ask for help.
These are the strategies that your child is using at school during Reader's Workshop. You may use the same strategies while reading at home.
Reading Strategies
Eagle Eye Look at the Pictures!
Look at the pictures for clues to help figure out the word.
Lips the Fish Get Your Lips Ready!
Say the first few sounds of the
word out loud.
Read to the end of the sentence and
say the sounds again.
Stretchy Snake “S-t-r-e-t-c-h” it out!
Stretch the word out slowly.
Put the sounds together to figure out the word.
Chunky Monkey Chunk the Word!
Look for a “chunk” that you know
(-ing, -at, -and, ap,)
Look for a word part (be-, -er, etc)
Tryin’ Lion Try It Again!
Try to reread the sentence.
Try a word that makes sense.
Skippy Frog Skip It, Skip It!
Skip the word (“skip it, skip it”)
Read to the end of the sentence.
“Hop back” and read it, read it until it makes sense.
Helpful Hippo Ask For Help!
After you have tried all of the
other strategies, ask for help.