READING WITH YOUR CHILD

Reading with your child is not only a fun activity, it is also a way to build better literacy skills for your child. By reading with your child, you are showing them that reading is a valuable activity. It can also be a fun alternative to television or video games. Your child will enjoy the time you cuddle on the couch and share a good book. Many of our teachers ask for reading time each night. They do so because they know the value of independent reading. It allows children time to practice. Some of that time can be you reading to them, modeling the fluency.

Here are some tips for reading with your child.

• Have your child read a book to you.
• You choose one of your favorite books from your childhood and read to your child.
• Take turns reading each page.
• As you read, track the print to help your child follow along with the words.
• Discuss the pictures in the book and how they relate to the words.
• Talk about the characters and who they remind you of.
• Discuss the plot of the book. What was the problem and how did they solve it?
• Re-read old favorites.
• After you are done reading, draw a picture about the story.
• Help your child write a different ending to the story.
• Use different voices when you read aloud to demonstrate expression of the characters.
• Visit your local library and choose books for future readings with your child.

Our library at Stride is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Stop by to visit with Ms. Ethelyn. Also, if you can donate books to the library. If you ever have any questions or concerns about your child's reading, please feel free to contact me.

Monica Schraut

Reading Coach at Stride Academy

Selecting Books for Your Child

Reading at home is very advantageous to your child's reading success. In this blog I will try to help you find the right books for your child, connect you to links that will help you and your child select literature for their level, give suggestions on ways you can help your child be successful in reading and give some reviews for children's literature. I would like to begin by sharing information about some well-known reading awards given to books. If you do not know what books to read with your child, these award winning books would would be a great place to start. Some of the better known awards given to children's literature are the Newbery Medal Award and the Caldecott Medal Award. The NewBery Medal Award is given annually by the American Library Association to an author for the most distinguised contribuition to American literature for children. The 2009 Newbery Award winner is The Graveyard Book written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. The Caldecott Medal Award is given annually by the American Library Association to the artist of the most distinguised American picture book for children. The 2009 Caldecott Award winner is The House in the Night illustrsted by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson. In addition to the winners each year, the American Library Association also has a list of honorable mention winners. In addition to the Newbery and Caldecott, here are several other awards given to literatue. The Parents Choice Award is given for the best books in five areas; fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, picture books and reference books. The Parents Choice Award is also given to magazines, toys, software, videogames, televison and websites. Another award given to books is the Coretta Scott King Book Award which is given African American authors and illustrators for works of literature that promotes an appreciation of culture of all people. This award was designed to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Corretta Scott King for her determination to continue to work for peace. These are only four of many awards given for children's literature and are a great starting place when looking for fine literature for your child. Most book stores have award books grouped by their award as well as lists avaiable. Your local library can also assist you in locating these award winning books. I also have a list of them available in my room and will be happy to talk to you about them at any time. Besides being sure that your child is reading high quality literature, you also want them reading material that is of interest to them, so it is important to have a balance of reading materials for your child to read. I have included two links on my blog that will help you find books of interest for your son or daughter. The first list will connect you to the Parents Choice List of literature. The second is a website created by the author James Patterson. You may recognize his name from books you have read. I know James Patterson is one of my favored authors. Several years ago he realized that his own son did not like to read, so he and his wife worked to find books that would interest their son. That lead James Patterson to begin writing books that would interest children and also lead him to creating the website Read Kiddo Read which gives suggestion of titles for literature from birth on up. Check out this website as it not only gives a summary of a wide selection of books, but also has suggestions on how to get your son or daughter more involved in reading. I hope this information will help you guide your child in selecting good literature. Please check back for more reading tips in the future, and take some time to share memories of your favorite books from your childhood with your child. It might spark an interest or maybe you'll want to pick up a book from your childhood at the library to share with you child.