Mid-Year Reading

Post 209

The New Year is here and hopefully things have settled down a bit at your home after the excitement of the holidays.😀 I have always loved January in school because of the calmness. The students are glad to be back with their friends and routines. They know what to expect and so do I. I guess you could say we are all comfortable with each other. Lol. A lot of learning goes on this month!

Reading is the single most important subject in the primary grades. As I’ve mentioned before, children learn to read at different speeds but in general all are reading well by Second Grade unless there is an underlying problem. The school day includes reading in lots of different ways. Some are guided reading (small groups of students on the same level with a teacher),independent reading, and read alouds (sharing a book with the whole class). And, of course, reading is highlighted in all other lessons or themes throughout the day. It is constantly emphasized.

Where should your child be in reading at this time of the year in Kindergarten? Different districts use different programs but each has a way of tracking students’ reading progress. Mine uses one called Fundations which has reading levels based on the type of book a child can read independently. But whatever program your child’s school uses, by now most students have learned letter sounds and are blending them together to figure out words. They have learned certain sight words such as I, me, my, you, we, is, etc. and are able to recognize them in print. They have also learned that looking at an illustration will help them figure out the words that go with it. (I once had a parent who would hide the illustration because he thought it was “cheating” if his daughter looked at it. It’s not!).

Generally speaking, your child should be able to read a simple text independently by now. But that is very general. At this time in Kindergarten the range for a “simple text” is everything from “the cat’ to “I see the cat” to “I can see a big red cat playing with a ball” and everything in between. That’s a huge range. And, of course, there are some students still learning letter sounds and some reading at a more advanced level.

So where should your child be right now? I think the biggest thing to see is progress. Look at where they were in September and where they are now in reading. Try not to compare them to their best friend or the neighbor’s child.(That’s hard! 🙂 ) Encourage them by continuing to read with them at home. If you want to do more to strengthen your child’s reading, check with their teacher for ways to help at home. (These can be as simple as sounding out the names of stores as you drive by or playing rhyming games with word families (-at, -in, -ike, etc.).) I have found that Kindergarteners usually make a big leap in reading around March when it suddenly all comes together. That’s what we are aiming for. Working together, you and your child’s teacher will see that happen. Remember, you are your child’s biggest inspiration and motivator. Let them know how proud you are of them when they read and they will!

Take Care. 🙂

*Please feel free to post any thoughts, questions, or ideas in the comments. 🙂

Vacation Activities

Post 197

School will be over soon (or already is) and summer is spreading in front of us like a long golden path. Time for family fun, relaxation, and no school schedules. Sounds wonderful, right? But then we worry that our children will become bored with nothing to do. What will they do with themselves over the long weeks ahead without the structure of school?

A lot of families choose summer camps for their little ones. These can be great. Some are geared toward a particular interest such as art or sports. Others are more general with games and swimming as the main highlights. Then there are the families who choose to not schedule anything during the summer. The idea is that everyone needs a break from the constant running around that happens during the school year. Either way, you know your child and what will work best for them.

The main thing I would encourage you to do is to keep your little one reading consistently during summer vacation. As a teacher, I have found that students often drop back at least one reading level over the summer. The way to prevent that is easy…keep reading! Just having your child read regularly to you at night is good. Another simple way is to let them be part of the free reading clubs that most libraries run during the summer. They usually involve prizes and incentives for books read. Whatever you decide, encourage your little one to read books at the reading level they are on and even on the one above that. (If you don’t know their reading level, ask their teacher.) Librarians can show you where the leveled books are. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with them reading an “easier” book on occasion. It’s fun and a great confidence builder. Also there are lots of online reading program that are fun and will keep your child moving along. The point is to keep them reading!

As a final note, I have personally found that it is actually a good thing for children to get bored, especially near the end of the summer. It means they have wound down from the past school year and are ready to take on the challenges of a new one.

So, keep the reading going and take care! 🙂

Graphic Novels Vs. Picture Books

Post 193

Your little student is probably well on their way to reading fluently by now. Even if they have been struggling with reading, they are certainly further along than they were in September! That’s great and it’s something you want to encourage and certainly keep going over the summer. Now that your child has learned to read (up to a point 😀), you want them to love to read. Of course, not everyone will. But being a fluent reader makes school and life so much easier that it’s a goal most of us have for our children.

A while back, the only type of book recommended for this age group was a picture book. And they are still great! In school, one of the strategies we teach beginning readers is that “words and pictures go together.” We instruct beginning students to look at the picture on a page before trying to read the words. The picture gives a clue about what to expect in the text. Good idea, right? So, why, for a long time, were graphic novels frowned upon as not really reading? They take picture book format one step further in that there are lots of pictures with the words right in them! Thank goodness this prejudice is disappearing. There are any number of excellent graphic novels out there. And if that’s what your child likes to read, I would encourage them to do so. It’s fun and that’s what reading should be. I’m not saying to skip traditional texts but maybe you could read those together. And I think you will find that one type of reading enhances the other. Your child will become more fluent in reading just by reading.

A quick note here, a lot of children like to read for information. They like to read “how to” books rather than stories. That’s absolutely fine. (How many self help books have you enjoyed?) They are reading!

The point is…whatever format your little one enjoys just keep them reading. Help them to see the joy in it and you will have a lifelong reader.😀

Take Care. 🙂