Reading Tips
  • Families can read together, or they may join in a story told by the library storyteller. Some libraries also set up family activities around the readings for the week, including watching movies and making projects.
  • Computers can't replace the reading and writing activities mentioned earlier in this book. But computers can support what these activities teach your child. Many computer programs offer activities that can both grab your child's interest and teach good lessons.
  • Many children enjoy TV, and they can learn from it. Keep in mind though that small children often imitate what they see, good or bad. It's up to you to decide how much TV and what kinds of shows your child watches.
  • Limit the time you let your child watch TV.
  • Encourage your child to read at least 15 minutes a day either by themselves or with you.
  • Remember to make reading fun.
  • Take the word apart and look for pieces you know.
  • Stop & Think - Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?
  • Substitute a word that makes sense and keep reading.
  • Ask a friend.
  • Say each sound and slide to the end of the word.
  • Look for picture clues.
  • Leap over the word read to the end, then go back and start again.
  • Go back and start over Reread quickly.
  • Make sure that everyone in your family has a library card. Schedule regular trips to the library.
  • Encourage your children to join a book club.
  • Ask your child to read a short editorial printed in your local newspaper and to underline all the facts with a green pencil and all the opinions with an orange pencil.
  • Pictures fascinate children of all ages. Clip pictures in the newspaper. Ask your child to tell you about the picture or list adjectives to describe the picture.
  • Create a "Family Reading Night" Pick a theme such as, "western", "multicultural" or "decades like the 60's." Have dinner and dress-up to go with your theme. Select books that are appropriate - invite friends and neighbors.
  • Have a tutor help your child to increase their reading ability.
  • The Daily DEAR Program: You shout, "Drop Everything and Read!" and your children settle into their seats to read books they've selected. This independent reading program is much more than a just-sit-there-and-read experience-it's a program that helps children build the habit of lifelong reading for the love of it.
  • A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: From image to detailed narrative. The old cliché "A picture is worth a thousand words" is put to the test in this lesson. Distribute or show a picture that tells a story and then encourage students to brainstorm words and ideas about the image before writing a story that tells background on the image or extends details on what has happened.
  • Being a Reading Detective: Finding similarities and differences in ideas. This lesson focuses on the strategy of compare and contrast. Students participate in activities that allow them to identify ways in which an author relates ideas and how these ideas can be transferred into a visual representation. Making students aware of how to use and apply specific reading strategies is essential in helping them become successful and comprehensive readers.
  • Think-alouds require a reader to stop periodically, reflect on how a text is being processed and understood, and relate orally what reading strategies are being employed.
  • Cinquain ("cin-kain") is a five-line form that uses a syllable count of two, four, six, eight, two. A "cinquain" (from cinq the French word for five) usually follows this organization:
    • Line 1: A one-word line, a noun that gives the poem its title.
    • Line 2: Two adjectives that describe what the poem is about.
    • Line 3: Three action-ing verbs that are things the subject of the poem does.
    • Line 4: A phrase that indicates a feeling related to the subject of the poem.
    • Line 5: A one-word line, noun that sums up what the poem is about, essentially renaming it.
  • In this lesson, students develop their own story lines for wordless picture books. Students explore a variety of wordless picture books, develop story lines both orally and in writing, and share their stories with others. Students use an online, interactive Story Map to assist in the development of story lines.
  • In today's culture, students are bombarded with movies based upon literature. Instead of assuming that students will watch the movie rather than reading the book, let's take advantage of this phenomena by asking students to compare and contrast books with their movie counterparts and write for variety of authentic purposes.
  • This lesson uses the informational power of the Internet for a prewriting activity. Through various Internet sites, students gather information about the history and celebration practices associated with Veterans Day. Following the prewriting activity, students write content-rich poems that honor our veterans.
  • In this lesson, students analyze a variety of poets and their poetry by reading and listening to their work. Students then use information gathered from Internet resources to select a favorite poet and perform one of their poems for the class.
  • Students increase their spelling accuracy (i.e., standard) and their retention by "constructing" spelling using sound, sight recall, and analyzing strategies, among others, instead of memorizing lists of words. The aim is to deal with spelling during drafting while preserving fluency.
  • Students keep track of unfamiliar words they encounter while reading various texts. Using a word journal notebook, students explore the perceived meaning and the standard dictionary meaning of these words. Students then create a personal dictionary in PowerPoint® using the words recorded in their word journal notebook.
  • The science fiction novel, Z for Zachariah, by Robert C. O'Brien is full of moral dilemmas. As a culminating activity for this novel, students write alternative endings for the novel based around the important decisions made by Ann Burden, the main character.