Thursday, June 22, 2017

Summer Literacy Resources

Read Aloud Tips

Reading to your child is one of the most important activities you can do.
Choose books that will appeal to your child’s interests, that have rich vocabulary, and that are a little bit harder than what your child can read independently.
Emphasize certain words and vary your voice for more dramatic read aloud sessions.
Encourage your child to make connections between the read-aloud story and their own life.
Read a chunk of the story and ask your child open ended questions. It is helpful to give your child a minute to think about the question. This will encourage your child to think more deeply about the story. Your questions can also help your child to elaborate and expand their ideas. This same strategy is equally effective when you play audio books in the car with your children. Stopping the audio book and having a brief discussion will deepen your child’s comprehension.
When explaining the meaning of vocabulary, use a child friendly definition. This kind of definition uses everyday language and connects to how the word is used in the story.
Most importantly, treasure this time to read wonderful children’s literature with your child.

Book Lists


Independent Reading Time
Summer is a great time for your child to seek out books that reflect hobbies, summer outings and trips. This is a wonderful time for children to read more books by favorite authors.  Our school website will have a link created by our library staff for summer reading resources and book lists.
Magazines are fun to read in the summer. Your local library will have a number of children’s magazines to choose from. Some great children’s magazines include: Click, Kids Discover, New Moon, Ranger Rick, Stone Soup, Cricket, Cobblestone, Zoobooks and Odyssey.
Set aside a daily time for your child to read. Scheduling in family reading times are wonderful ways to model that everyone in the family loves to read.

An independent book is one in which a child can read twenty words in a row with only one error. Rereading a book is a perfect opportunity for your child to further develop their reading fluency. Books that contain too many difficult words can be read in a partnership with a parent or as a read aloud.

When children need help reading a word, ask them to use strategies that they have been practicing all year. This includes: using the beginning consonant, vowel patterns, and reading to the end of the sentence and then using context clues. They should ask themselves whether the word makes sense in the sentence and if it looks like the word in print. If they still need help, you can tell them the word.
It is helpful for a parent to have read some of your child’s independent reading selections. They can then retell the story to you and engage in a deeper discussion knowing that you have also read this book.

A packet was sent home for your Lower School child that will enable them to reinforce comprehension and writing skills during the summer. The reading log will allow your child to record the books they read during the summer and to feel satisfaction with their reading accomplishments.  Writing about their summer reading books helps children to process their thinking and deepens their comprehension. Included in this packet are pages for the students to complete that will reinforce the reading strategies that have been focused on this year.  Your child's classroom teacher and I would love to review any reading logs that the children would like to share with us at the beginning of the new school year. This would be a wonderful opportunity for us to learn about the books that your child has enjoyed during the summer.

Additional Literacy Activities
·      A journal or scrapbook is a great vehicle for your child to record summer memories. Photographs and illustrations can accompany their writing.
·      Children can create their own graphic books using characters from their readings, inventing new characters or using their own adventures during the summer as the basis for their graphic story.
·      Creating a family newspaper can provide the perfect opportunity to interview family members and friends.
·      Children can create posters for favorite movies and books.
·      Writing letters to family and friends is another way to encourage summer writing.  Children have loved writing poetry this year. Keeping a special journal just for poetry that your child can take to the beach, on a walk in the woods or sitting in a garden will encourage the poetic muse. 
·      Your child can create lists for practical purposes such as a list to organize the packing for a family vacation. As a family, you can read books and travel brochures about and during your vacation. 
·      Reading aloud stories from a particular genre can inspire your child to write in a similar genre.

Internet Sites

ReadWriteThink Printing Press from the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association has tools online for children to write newspapers, flyers, brochures and booklets.  The web site is www.readwritethink.org
Additional web sites that promote literacy include: www.starfall.com. The games on this site promote phonemic awareness and phonics. Children can listen to stories on line at www.storylineonline.net.  Three sites that your children can use to research their interests are  http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals, https://www.pebblego.com/
Scholastic web site offers students the opportunity to log in their summer reading hours to win prizes.  http://www.scholastic.com/summer.

Library Summer Reading Programs
All public libraries offer summer reading programs. Look on the website for your local library and you will see an array of offerings. http://www.montcolibraries.org/ This link will take you to the Montgomery County public library website and you can then reach a link that will take you to your own public library and the summer reading opportunities that are offered.  The Philadelphia public library link follows and explains their summer reading opportunities. https://libwww.freelibrary.org/programs/summerreading/
Barnes and Noble offers summer reading opportunities as well and the following link will take you to their website for their summer program. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/summer-reading/379003570/

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