Engagement Tips

Infographic. Text says: Shine a B.E.A.M. on a book. Use these tips to engage your child with what they read and increase their literacy skills. B is for Building Vocabulary. Point out unfamiliar words in the text and discuss the possible meanings. Pick a few of them to use again and again purposefully over time. E is for Excploring. Does the text spark curiosity? Follow your child's interest in the text and explore the topic further through an activity, a visit to somewhere new, reading another related text, searching the internet for a deeper dive into the topic, or by viewing a related show or movie. A is for Asking Good Questions. Ask your child the basics about the story: who, what , where, and why. Then take it a step further and ask for predictions, thoughts about character traits, themes or lessons learned in the book. Ask about their response to the text: what they thought and felt about it. Ask them if they have any wonders and explore the answers! M is for Making Connections. Help your child make connections between the text and past memories, things they are already familiar with or topics they have discussed before. Creating these connections help learners remember new information.

Tips for Building Vocabulary

Visit vocabulary.com to define unknown words in a text.

Create a flashcard set of your new words on Quizlet.com

Have your child or student make a Kahoot! for the words they are learning.

Tips for Exploring New Ideas

Visit the Public Library to check out books and other materials pertaining to topics that sparked an interest.

Use the Internet to search for sites, videos, or ideas around that topic. Make a virtual field trip out of it. Use this list of virtual field trips from We Are Teachers.

Search for places nearby to visit that might provide more insight into the topic. Use Visit Tuscaloosa as a guide.

Visit websites like notimeforflashcards.com to provide craft and extension activities.

Tips for Asking Good Questions

Be sure to give your child some time to think of an answer to your questions. Let them develop an answer in their mind before you supply one for them.

If curiosity ensues visit the Tuscaloosa Public Library or Gorgas Library at the University of Alabama for research. A librarian will be more than happy to help! Or visit this database of websites for curious kids and their families.

Tips for Making Connections

Have your child find a photo or object that symbolizes the connection you discuss or discuss a memory together from a shared personal experience that relates to the story you read.

There are three different types of connections teachers have students make in class. You can use these types of connections in your discussion:

Text to Self - connections from your own experience

What memory do you have that reminds you of the book we just read?

Text to Text- connections to something you have read before

Have you read anything else that reminds you of this book?

Text to World -connections to a real world event (current or historical)

Is there anything going on in the world that you thought about while reading this book?

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Engagement Tips

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