When a whole school reads a book, there’s a lot to talk about. Reading together and talking about the story sends a “pleasure” message to the child’s brain and encourages the brain to want to read more.

The odds are against a child whose role models at home are seldom if ever seen or heard reading.

And a big thank you to

the BHE PTO, the Long Family, and the Wold Foundation

for supporting this worthwhile family activity. Without their donations this year we wouldn’t be able to continue our One Book One School family read aloud.

Kenny and the Dragon will teach us about:

friendship
acceptance
tolerance
and the power of reading

Reading with a Purpose

Fluency

Fluent readers are able to read orally with appropriate speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Fluency is the ability to read as well as we speak and to make sense of the text without having to stop and decode each word. The National Reading Panel’s research findings concluded that guided oral reading and repeated oral reading had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, reading fluency, and comprehension in students of all ages.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary development is closely connected to comprehension. The larger the reader’s vocabulary (either oral or print), the easier it is to make sense of the text. According to the National Reading Panel, vocabulary can be learned incidentally through storybook reading or listening to others, and vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly. Students should be actively engaged in instruction that includes learning words before reading, repetition, multiple exposures, learning in rich contexts, incidental learning, and use of computer technology.

Comprehension

Comprehension is the complex cognitive process readers use to understand what they have read. Vocabulary development and instruction play a critical role in comprehension. The National Reading Panel determined that young readers develop text comprehension through a variety of techniques, including answering questions (quizzes) and summarization (retelling the story).

Bauer, Tamara. “Watercolor Illustration of Cute Skunk Wearing Glasses, Reading in Bed Stock Illustration - Illustration of Watercolour, Colorful: 269371218.” Dreamstime, 14 Feb. 2023, www.dreamstime.com/colorful-watercolour-painting-adorable-skunk-glasses-reading-book-bed-ai-generated-watercolor-illustration-cute-image269371218. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

Bauer, Tamara. “Watercolor Illustration of Cute Skunk Wearing Glasses, Reading in Bed Stock Illustration - Illustration of Cute, Funny: 269371236.” Dreamstime, 14 Feb. 2023, www.dreamstime.com/colorful-watercolour-painting-adorable-skunk-glasses-reading-book-bed-ai-generated-watercolor-illustration-cute-image269371236. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.