FAQs

A: Check out the slideshow presentation under the Home page for more information.

A: It depends on each individual student. Each student has their own strengths and weaknesses with reading, and some may require more direct, intensive instruction regarding reading comprehension. Check out the short slideshow on the Home page for more details.

A: For questions and concerns, you can contact me by email at jtracey@ecusd4.com or phone at (217) 623-5733 or (217) 623-5603. I'm more than happy to schedule in-person conferences Monday through Friday as well!

A: One of the best ways to encourage children to do any behavior is to model it yourself. By taking 5 minutes to sit with your student and read, you can model healthy habits and a good relationship with reading as fun. You can do this in a multitude of ways: sitting together and reading the same book aloud, sitting next to each other but reading different books (parallel play), listening to an audiobook instead of music while doing chores around the house, etc. You may have to use trial and error to figure out which method your student responds to best.

A: If your student is disengaged with reading entirely, a great way to rekindle reading habits is by pinpointing your student's interests. Do they like to watch TV and movies? Try to zero in on a common theme among the shows, like having animals as the main characters, fun mysteries, princesses, etc. Once you find 2 or 3 themes, find books targeted at your student's age group that have those themes. Allowing your student to have choices in what they read is vital to their sense of autonomy and to their overall enjoyment of reading.

A: Ultimately, anything that students enjoy reading is great, even if it is something untraditional like manga, graphic novels, comic books, etc. Finding materials that struggling readers enjoy reading is often half the battle, so it's important to preserve those interests and to support them outside of school.

For example, let's say your student only loves graphic novels, but you would like them to read traditional books and novels. One great way to mix these two is to find graphic novel adaptations of published works. They're more common than you may think. Even classical works like the Handmaid's Tale, Romeo and Juliet, and The Pit and the Pendulum have been successfully adapted to graphic novels. This strategy combines the visual aspect that the student loves, and it introduces advanced topics, words, and themes in a way they can understand.

If you're stuck and not sure where to start, you can check out my book recommendations on the Grown-Up Resources page. There, I have 20 recommendations for picture books and chapter books.