Kennedy School Back to School Night Literacy Newsletter September 2015

Welcome Parents!

Reading with Your ChildrenHow to Read Aloud to Your Child and Why It's Important

According to the Family Literacy Foundation, the many benefits of reading aloud with children are: Children's self esteem grows as they experience the security of having a parent or other caring person read aloud with them. Children experience increased communication with parents and other family members. Children are introduced to new concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet, in a fun, age appropriate way. Children build listening skills, vocabulary, memory, and language skills. Children develop imagination and creativity. Children learn information about the world around them. Children develop individual interests in special subjects like dinosaurs, cats, or cars. Children learn positive behavior patterns and social values. Children learn positive attitudes towards themselves and others. CHILDREN LEARN THE JOY OF READING!

Monthly tips for parents:Rediscover Your Public LibraryBy: Reading Rockets Libraries are great resources for families with young children; you can find books, entertainment, educational and cultural enrichment, literacy tips, and other valuable information. Here are six reasons to visit your public library!

The Top 6 reasons to go visit

1. Free programs and activities: From author visits to puppet shows to family films, libraries offer programs with kid appeal after school, on the weekends, and during the summer. Ask your librarian for the schedule of upcoming events.

2. Workshops: Many libraries offer workshops that can help enrich your life as an adult and support you as a parent. At many libraries, it is possible to learn to knit, prepare your taxes, update your resume, gain computer skills, or improve your parenting skills.

3. Books: Librarians are happy to make recommendations and most public libraries have a special section just for children's books.

4. Movies: Your public library is a great source for free access to the latest blockbusters, family

movie classics, documentaries, or favorite TV shows.

5. Magazines and newspapers: Introduce your child to some of the magazines designed just for children. With bold photographs, poems and a joke or two, magazines are another reading choice for beginning readers. Or catch up on the news in your community and share a smile over the comics.

6. Computers: Most public libraries offer free Internet access, computers with educational games for kids, and valuable online resources for teenagers.

A Peek at Small Group Instruction in Your Child’s Classroom. What is Guided Reading?

A Parent’s Guide to Guided Reading By: Mary Doman, Scholastic

Guided reading: Helping your child learn how to read is not easy. It becomes even more challenging since schools often use leveling systems unfamiliar to most parents. One of the most popular leveling systems in use today is Guided Reading Levels (GRL). This system was developed by two renowned teaching specialists, Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas, in the late 1990s and has been found in classrooms around the world ever since as guided reading. Guided reading is also referred to as Fountas and Pinnell Levels after its founders.    

Guided Reading: How Does Guided Reading Work?

Guided reading is used in the classroom in small-group instruction and for independent reading. When your child enters a new grade he or she is assessed and assigned a guided reading level based on word-knowledge, comprehension, and fluency. The levels range alphabetically from A to Z, with level A representing the lowest level and level Z the highest. This allows the teacher to work closely with each student to help them become better readers by introducing them to increasingly challenging books while meeting the varying instructional needs of each child in the room through guided reading.

These guided reading categories are: 

Genre: The type of the book  Text Structure: How the book is organized and

presented Content: The subject matter of a book   Themes and Ideas: The big ideas that are

communicated by the author   Language and Literary Features: The types of

writing techniques employed by the writer Sentence Complexity: How challenging the syntax is

of each sentence Vocabulary: The frequency of new words introduced

in the book Words: The ease at which the words in the book can be

figured out or decoded by a reader Illustrations: The correlation and consistency of

images and pictures in the books to the words printed on the page

Book and Print Features: The physical aspects of the printed word on the page.

Help Kids to P.I.C.K. the Right Books

Choosing the best book can be easy when kids have a little bit of support.

By Amy Mascott, Scholastic

Choosing the best book can be easy when kids have a little bit of support.

The secret to helping kids learn how to choose the right book is simple.

It's all about teaching them one word that they can keep in their back pocket any time they're in the library or school media center. It's one word they can lean on when they're in the class book corner or at the book fair.

All they need to remember is P.I.C.K.

P.I.C.K. stands for Purpose, Interest, Comprehension, and Know the Words.

P = Purpose: We need to have kids consider their purpose for reading.  Why are they looking for a book in the first place? Is it totally a free choice, or is there some other reason for reading it?

In order to determine purpose, consider asking:•    Are they reading for pleasure?  •    Are they trying to learn something?  •    Is the book going to be read silently or out loud?  •    Who is their audience?

Most often, purpose for reading can be found with a quick answer.

I = Interest. When choosing a book, it should be something of interest.  With the many millions of books on shelves today, there's bound to be something out there for everyone.  And emphasizing the interest connections is super-important as well.  If the child is interested in cars, then don't stop at fictional stories about cars; consider books about racetracks, car construction, history of racing, racecar drivers, or car design.  If it's magic that intrigues your daughter, then emphasize books about magic shows, magic tricks, and magicians; look for books that involve fantasy, science, and invention.

Even if children have a short amount of time to choose books, they can determine interest by:•    Looking at the front cover•    Flipping through the pages to glance at photos or illustrations•    Reading the back cover

•    Reading the chapter titles

C = Comprehend.  Is the book something that the child can comprehend? Can he or she understand what's read?  Is it a book that is appropriate for his or her level or abilities?

Children are more aware of their reading "level" than we may think, so though we don't want to lean entirely on it, it's okay to remind kids that if they're choosing a book to read independently, and they read at a Level E (for example) that they should not choose a book from the Level M basket. Also, it's important to teach kids that if the book isn't labeled with a level, they can quickly assess if it's an appropriate book for them by opening the book and choosing a page – the book is appropriate for them if they are able to understand what they read.  

Children can determine comprehension asking themselves:•    Did I understand what I just read?•    Do I remember what I read?•    Was I able to read most of the words?

This brings us to our final letter: K.

K = Know the Words.  Readers should be able to decode -- or read -- and understand the majority of the words on the page.  The key is to remembering the "Five Finger Rule."  

The "Five Finger Rule" outlines a general idea of how many words a reader should be able to read on each page.•    0-1 unknown words = book is too easy•    2-3 unknown words = book is just right•    4-5 unknown words = book is too difficult

Knowing P.I.C.K. is empowering for kids. They want to know how to choose books that fit for them -- books that are enjoyable, fun, and exciting.  It's all about giving our kids the tools they need to be strong, confident readers. Choosing the best book is the starting point.

For more information contact:Erin J. StinsonKennedy School Literacy Coachestinson@northbergen.k12.nj.us