Welcome to Language Arts! Please take a few minutes to read this letter together.
Reading is a complex cognitive process. The only way to get better at reading is to read – this holds true for excellent readers as well as reluctant readers. With this in mind, my goal is for your son or daughter to read two million words this school year. For the average student, two million words a year translates to 40 minutes of reading every day. To make up forty minutes of reading, your child will be expected to read 20 minutes for homework each night in the book of their choosing, in addition to whatever we happen to be reading during class time. I will do my best to motivate your child to read academically as well as for pleasure. Some reading will be done in class, but your son or daughter will also have opportunities to select his or her own books to be read independently. They may choose books from my library, Canyon Vista's Library (check out our library's ebook selection through Mackin Via), or from a personal library. It is important that your child has a current book to read at all times.
There is no more important homework than reading. Research shows that the highest achieving students are those who devote leisure time to reading. Recently, the largest-ever international study of reading found that the single most important predictor of academic success is the amount of time children spend reading books, more important even than economic or social status. And one of the few predictors of high achievement in math and science is the amount of time children devote to pleasure reading. Notice the astounding evidence in the chart above.
I also want to emphasize the importance of reading a “just right book”. Reading a just right book helps the reader practice and gain experience. Just right books contain only a few words per page that the child doesn’t know, but the book can be read with fluency and ease. Students may encounter books that are too challenging, but we would like to change that category from “challenging” to “someday books”. As we teach deeper comprehension and thinking skills, it is important that your child is practicing with text he or she can read and understand independently.
There is no substitute for regular, sustained time with books. Please sit down with your child tonight and talk about the best time and place for reading to happen at your house. Is after school and before dinner a good point to catch his or her breath, curl up with a good book, and escape into a great story? Or will your child join the book lovers who like to read ourselves to sleep at night? And whenever the reading happens, is the environment quiet? Is the TV off? And is there good light?
In addition, reading is a building block of writing. Reading and writing are interdependent processes that are essential to each other and mutually beneficial. This year, the students will read a variety of mentor texts as we explore the characteristics of different genres of writing. We call this, “reading like a writer”. One of the best ways to improve writing skills is to be a cognizant reader.
From the very beginning of the school year, it is a priority to me to foster a love of reading and writing. My goal for all students is to effectively exhibit the ability to covey meaning through writing and construct meaning through reading. I look forward to collaborating with you in nurturing your child’s reading and writing habit.
Enthusiastically,
Mrs. Jalil Canyon Vista Language Arts Department
Sources: The Reading Zone by Nancie Atwell
WAYS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD AT HOME
1. Ask to see your child's planner nightly.
2. Have your child print out his or her grades from Home Access on a weekly basis. Express your concerns, but also celebrate!
3. Visit teacher websites frequently. (Daily if needed!)
4. Help your child clean out his or her binder on a weekly basis.
5 Wondering how your child is doing behaviorally and/or academically? Contact your child's teacher.
6. Set a timer for reading. (There are bookmarks with built in timers for sale at Barnes and Noble. A kitchen timer works well also!)
7. Make sure there is a designated time carved into the day for reading.
8. Provide a quiet place for reading that is free of distractions.
9. Observe your child's reading habits. Is your child on task?
10. Your child wants to watch his or her favorite television show rather than read? Set the DVR and have a TV night during the weekend. Include a favorite snack!
11. Read! Sit down and read your current book along with your child.
12. Talk to your child about his or her current book. Discuss the story. Is it enjoyable? If not, why? Is it just right? Not interesting?
13. Take turns reading the book aloud. This helps with fluency!
Parents, support your child's reading habit at home. If your child is having trouble answering the following questions, he or she may not be in a just right book. Please contact me for assistance. It also may be a good idea to read the same book as your child to deepen the discussion. Happy reading!
1. Where and when does the story take place? How do you know? If the story took place somewhere else or in a different time, how would the story be different?
2. What incident, problem, conflict, or situation does the author use to get the story started?
3. What does the author do to create suspense, to make you want to read on to find out what happens?
4. Who is the main character of the story? What kind of person is the main character? How did you know?
5. Are there any characters that changed during the story? If so, how are they different? What changed them? Did it seem believable?
6. Some characters play small but important roles in a story. Name such a character. Why is this character necessary to the story?
7. Did you have strong feelings as you read the story? What did the author do to make you feel strongly?
8. Is this story like any other story you've read or watched? How so?
9. Is there anything that seems to make this particular author’s work unique? If so, what?
10. What is the most important idea, message, or lesson (theme) the author is trying to get across in the story?
11. Did the story end the way you expected it to? What clues did the author offer to prepare you to expect this ending? Did you recognize these clues as important to the story as you were first reading/hearing it?