Why Read?

One of the major focuses of our year is reading. Students are taught a variety of strategies to help them decode new words as they progress in their reading journey. When you are at home reading with your child encourage them to call upon these strategies.

Reading at home with your child is one of the most important things that you can do to help them in their education. Even before they can read books themselves children learn to love the sound of language through printed words and being read to. By listening to someone read to them children are able to use their imagination and expand their understanding. This also helps them to develop their listening skills which is so crucial. Even after your child learns to read and becomes more independent it is still important to set time a side every day to read together. At this time if we choose books that are of interest to our children but above their reading level you challenge their understanding and can often motivate them to work on improving and growing. Aside from just reading together we often encourage parents to talk to their child about the book that they read. Making connections to the books we have read and just talking about stories can often inspire children love of reading as they see themselves in the stories. When a child develops a love of reading this can transfer over into all areas of their learning. They may progress from reading stories to reading books that teach them about animals, facts about the world, or even the world of coding! Reading books with our children is the stepping stone to creating passionate, life long learners.

In the classroom we set aside time each day to work with students in Guided Reading Groups. These groups allow us to read out loud with a group of students everyday. We are able to make predictions about the text, read the book, make connections and do follow up activities. This is one way that can strengthen our relationship with students while strengthening their reading skills. We work with the same book throughout the week which allows the students to work on their fluency and comprehension while reading books that relate to their interests. By working in smaller groups students are often more excited to share their connections to the text and gain confidence in what they are reading. Ask your child what book they are reading during Guided Reading time!