Reading and Writing At Moreland Hills Elementary

At Moreland Hills Elementary we strive to create partnerships between teachers and families to build a culture of thinking, applying, and problem-solving as together we grow our readers and writers.

How can you help at home?

You can ask questions.

BEFORE READING

• Tell what you think this story or text is going to be mostly about?

• What do you already know about this topic (era, person, place)?

DURING READING

• What do you picture in your mind right now?

• How does this story remind you of other stories or movies you know?

• How does this story remind you of people you know?

AFTER READING

• What do want to tell a friend about this book?

• What do you still wonder about after reading this book?

• Retell what happened in this book at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.

You can model your thinking.

Parents, as you read aloud to your child you can wonder aloud to model your thinking:

• Stopping to think out loud and then rereading that part

• Asking a question about what might happen next: "Maybe..."

• Talking to yourself and then stating your opinion or what you notice

• Paying attention to and naming the details in the drawings or diagrams

• Paying attention to and naming the curious details in the photographs

• Recapping what has happened so far in a story or book

You can encourage a growth mind-set...a “can do” attitude.

• Form a parent-child "book club" (separately reading the same book and making an appointment to talk about it together)

• Engage your child in conversation about books and stories

• For younger students, dress-up and act like characters or act out scenes of favorite stories

• Share wordless picture books and be the storytellers

• Read a broad range of books to your child at any age (picture books, magazines, comic books, poetry books, joke books)

• Talk about all the reasons you read (bake a cake, plan a trip, fix a bike, or to just have fun). Use the prompt “ I need to read this because…”

Resources you may want to study further:

Comprehension Strategies Study (on-line resource)

7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help Your Kids Read It and Get It! by Susan Zimmerman (check this out at the library or find it at a book shop)