Reading

Here's a "handy" reminder about what's important in a retelling: characters, setting, talking about beginning, middle, the end and any connections you have to the story. 

Comprehension Guide for Parents

        When reading a book with your child these are the terms that your child needs to know.   

        You do not need to do this every time you and your child read but if it is done occasionally it will help your child’s comprehension skills to grow.  

Concepts of Print (parts of the book):

        Say to your child:

o       Show me the cover of the book.  (The cover is the front of the book.)

o       Point to the title.  (The title is the name of the book.)

o       Tell your child the name of the title and the author.  (The author wrote the book.)

o       Show me the title page. (This is the page inside the book that repeats the title and the author.)

o       Show me where the story begins.

o       Point to the 1st word on the page.  Point to the last word on the page.  

As you read the text with your child, point to each word.  This is called tracking or one-to-one correspondence.

Enjoy the story together!

When reading a book with your child these are strategies and questions to help increase your child’s understanding of the story.  

Read a few pages of the story and then stop and ask a few of these questions.

 ~       Who are the important characters in the book? (These are the people and/or animals in the story.)

~       What has happened so far? (retelling)

~       What do you think will happen next?

~       What is the setting of the story?  (The setting tells where and when the story takes place.)  When did the story take place? Where did the story happen?

~       How do you think the story will end? (prediction) Continue reading to the end.  Then ask some of these questions:

~       What was the problem in the story?

~       How was the problem solved?

~       Can you retell the story to me in the correct sequence? (order) (You can give clues, if needed.)

~       What would you have done if this had happened to you?

~       What was your favorite part?  Why?

~       Did you like the book? Why? 

Have fun reading with your child!

STRATEGIES FOR FIGURING OUT UNKNOWN WORDS

•              When your child reads in class independently I encourage them to use different strategies to figure out words they are unsure of.

•              To help the connection between home and school below are the strategies we use in class that you can use at home when they are reading to/with you.

Chunk The Skunk-Chunk the Skunk looks for sound chunks to help him figure out a word.

Spoon The Raccoon Detective-Spoon the Raccoon detective is always on the "look" out for picture clues.~ Picture clues can help you figure out unknown words. Keep your eyes peeled for picture clues.             

Hugo The Huge Mouth Hippo-Hugo the huge mouth hippo always has his mouth ready to read new words.

Slither The Sound It Out Snake-He ssssss....sounds out the beginning,middle and ends of words. 

Hoot The Owl Of Many Questions-Hoot asks lots of questions.~ Does it make sense? What word would fit?