1. How can I help my child with reading at Home? 1

2. Motivating Kids to Read Studies show that the more children read, the better readers and writers they become. But what can you do to motivate your children to read more regularly? Learn more about your child's interests and suggest books, magazines, and articles that relate to those topics. Sometimes good movies are a starting point for pleasure reading — after seeing a movie based on a book, children will be motivated to read the book. Sometimes travel sparks reading, and finding books that relate to a place you visit on a family vacation can get a child hooked. Keeps books and other reading materials at home. Read books with your children! Children of any age can appreciate being read to. Be a good role model — let your children see you reading. 2

3. Let’s Have a Book Talk! Use the following questions to help your child talk about a book: What is the title and who is the author of the book? Who are all the characters in the story? Name the main character(s)? Describe the main characters with details about what they are like? Where does the story take place? What are the settings for the story? Re-tell three important things that happened in the story? What are the most important things the main character(s) did? Was there anything others did to help the main character(s)? What do you think are the main ideas in this story? Is the story fact or fiction? How can you tell? If it was fiction, is it realistic fiction? Did you enjoy the book? Using details, tell why or why not? If you were the author of this book, what parts would you change and why? If you were the author of this book, what characters would you change or add and why? Would you recommend this book to a friend? Using details and examples, tell why or why not? 3

4. What is Fluency and why is important for my child to practice reading fluently? Fluency is a major goal in reading instruction. The research shows that fluency directly affects comprehension. Reading smoothly and easily and being accurate with words allows the student to read for meaning. If a student has to spend a lot of time and effort decoding a word, the meaning is lost. Your child is being taught the Fluency Chart at School. Please review this at home often. Model all these while reading to and with your child. Fluency is not about speed reading. We teach children to read like natural talk. Repetition and modeling good reading will help your child realize the importance of practicing not just at school, but home as well. 4

5. Fluency Chart 1. Read smoothly and easily. 2. Read punctuation marks. 3. Read phrases that make sense. 4. Read with expression. Review these and practice them all while you read out loud to a partner. 5

6. Different Types of Reading Practice: Model Reading-Read to your child using good fluency. Echo Reading-Read a line/sentence, then have your child read it back to you. Choral Reading-Both read it together. 6

7. To Help your child notice errors while they are reading, you might Say: You noticed what was wrong(when they self correct). Find the part that’s not quite right(when they read something wrong, but don’t stop to correct). Check to see if that looks right(when they say a word, but are unsure). There’s a tricky word on this line (to help them locate a mistake or prereading to help them). 7

8. To Help your Child Solve Words: Did that make sense in the story? What could you try that would make sense? It starts like __________. It ends like __________. Look at the parts. Do you know a word like that? Look for a part you know. 8

9. Shelby County Comprehension Progression Grades K-2 Monitor Comprehension: Readers keep track of their thinking, notice what the text is about, and what it makes them think about. This is about engagement with the text. Activate and Connect: Think about what you know. Use your background knowledge and schema (everything inside your head) to create quick thoughts that are relevant to understanding. Ask Questions: Questioning is a continual process that happens before, during and after reading. Sincere questions help guide our purpose for reading and help us clarify what we have read. Infer and Visualize Determine Importance: Read with a focus and purpose to get the “big ideas” in text. Summarize and Synthesize: Take all of the information at put it all together. 9

10. Shelby County Comprehension Progression for grades 3 and up Monitor Comprehension Activate and Connect Ask Questions Infer Meaning Determine Importance 10

11. Questions to ask for Comprehension: What kind of story is this? What is the main idea or gist of the story? Does it remind you of another book? Describe the story in a few words. After ______, what happened next? What was the best part for you? Is there something here that isn’t actually said? Is there a lesson to be learned in this book? What is the problem in the story? What is your own opinion about this story? Show me the index, table of contents, chapter headings, captions, photos, etc…(non-fiction) Did the pictures help you read this book? 11

12. Stay in touch with your child’s teacher Your child’s teacher can give you more specific information about your child’s reading ability. Set up a conference if you have a concern or just want to touch base with the teacher to see how your child is progressing. 12