Home Literacy Program
Your child's "homework" for this year will be participating in our home literacy program. I strongly encourage families to participate, however, it is not mandatory and I will not be tracking your involvement with it. It is simply a way for you to stay connected to our learning and for you and I to demonstrate a positive home-school relationship for your child. Each family will need to decide what works best for them and their child regarding frequency and the types of learning activities they choose to participate in at home. This should be a fun and enjoyable time for you and your child!
Inside the Home Literacy Duotang you will see:
*Our Phonics Poems
*Reading Strategies
*Your child's words
*Popcorn Words
*Word Games (Spelling & Reading)
*Reading Comprehension Games
*Printable Books (small printed books we've used in class--when they come home, just add them to your duotang)
*100 Book Challenge (optional)
Book Bag Program
Every Tuesday a bag of approx 10 beginning reader books will be going home. Please return your bag of books back to school by each Tuesday. (Starting after Thanksgiving)
My Child Refuses to Participate:
**It is important that your child maintains a high level of success and engagement in any learning activity you choose to do. Frustrated children = negative learning experiences and can create problems for them (and you) down the road. If you find that your child is not interested in a book in the book bag or one of the word games, simply move on and try something else, take a break and come back to it later, or change it a bit to include an interest of your child (I am happy to help you brainstorm this).
Some children benefit from positive reinforcement and you may want to consider including a small reward for their participation. It doesn't have to be elaborate it could simply be that every time your child participates they put a sticker on the calendar. Or further, those stickers added together equal special computer time, favourite show of their choice, special time with you, going to the park, a toy, candy, etc. It is up to you if you'd like to do this or not and how you do it. Not every child needs extra motivation to do learning activities at home, but some do, and that's ok too.
Your children work hard at school every day, they could also just be tired and needing a night off--who doesn't need that! :)
If your child's lack of interest or negative attitude towards activities is a concern or you can see it escalating, please let me know and we can figure out together how to support your child's learning at home.
Reading with your child:
Mix up reading for your child. It is important they are exposed to a variety of different ways to enjoy reading.
Reading alone, reading with someone and listening to reading (book on CD or computer) are all valuable!
Your child will receive new word when they can read 9/10 of their words
I will check in on how they are doing with their words approximately every 2 weeks and will send home new words when they are ready. Don't worry if your child doesn't get new words--the point of Words Their Way is just that--their way! Which means, words at their level and the time they need to learn them.
What does Reading at "Your Level" Mean?
A "Good Fit" (for books and words) is when children are able to read the majority of the words and only have a few challenges. Experiencing a high level of success = maintaining interest and self-confidence to attempt those few "tricky" words. It can take a while for beginning readers to have a bunch of words they can read. If you find 10 words is too many for your child, use the words they know plus one or two more... slowly adding new words that you focus on.
Reading Fluency (rate and accuracy at which you read) and Reading Comprehension (understanding what you read) are equally important. You may read with your child and find they fly through the words, so you wonder... "How can this be your level? This must be too low." Try incorporating comprehension questions/activities. Your child will not be moved onto to the next level if they don't have a strong level of comprehension of what they are reading as well.
You can also challenge your child in reading by encouraging them to read with expression and pay attention to grammar such as periods, commas, question marks and exclamation points. (This is also connected to Reading Fluency.)
What does knowing 9/10 words mean?
It means they can point to and read each word at a rate of 2-3 seconds without any help or prompting.
My child can read all the words, what else can I do with them?
Can your child spell them on their own? Can your child explain what each word means? Can your child use the word in a sentence?
What is the most important thing I can do with my child this year?...
Inside the Home Literacy Duotang you will see:
*Our Phonics Poems
*Reading Strategies
*Your child's words
*Popcorn Words
*Word Games (Spelling & Reading)
*Reading Comprehension Games
*Printable Books (small printed books we've used in class--when they come home, just add them to your duotang)
*100 Book Challenge (optional)
Book Bag Program
Every Tuesday a bag of approx 10 beginning reader books will be going home. Please return your bag of books back to school by each Tuesday. (Starting after Thanksgiving)
My Child Refuses to Participate:
**It is important that your child maintains a high level of success and engagement in any learning activity you choose to do. Frustrated children = negative learning experiences and can create problems for them (and you) down the road. If you find that your child is not interested in a book in the book bag or one of the word games, simply move on and try something else, take a break and come back to it later, or change it a bit to include an interest of your child (I am happy to help you brainstorm this).
Some children benefit from positive reinforcement and you may want to consider including a small reward for their participation. It doesn't have to be elaborate it could simply be that every time your child participates they put a sticker on the calendar. Or further, those stickers added together equal special computer time, favourite show of their choice, special time with you, going to the park, a toy, candy, etc. It is up to you if you'd like to do this or not and how you do it. Not every child needs extra motivation to do learning activities at home, but some do, and that's ok too.
Your children work hard at school every day, they could also just be tired and needing a night off--who doesn't need that! :)
If your child's lack of interest or negative attitude towards activities is a concern or you can see it escalating, please let me know and we can figure out together how to support your child's learning at home.
Reading with your child:
Mix up reading for your child. It is important they are exposed to a variety of different ways to enjoy reading.
Reading alone, reading with someone and listening to reading (book on CD or computer) are all valuable!
Your child will receive new word when they can read 9/10 of their words
I will check in on how they are doing with their words approximately every 2 weeks and will send home new words when they are ready. Don't worry if your child doesn't get new words--the point of Words Their Way is just that--their way! Which means, words at their level and the time they need to learn them.
What does Reading at "Your Level" Mean?
A "Good Fit" (for books and words) is when children are able to read the majority of the words and only have a few challenges. Experiencing a high level of success = maintaining interest and self-confidence to attempt those few "tricky" words. It can take a while for beginning readers to have a bunch of words they can read. If you find 10 words is too many for your child, use the words they know plus one or two more... slowly adding new words that you focus on.
Reading Fluency (rate and accuracy at which you read) and Reading Comprehension (understanding what you read) are equally important. You may read with your child and find they fly through the words, so you wonder... "How can this be your level? This must be too low." Try incorporating comprehension questions/activities. Your child will not be moved onto to the next level if they don't have a strong level of comprehension of what they are reading as well.
You can also challenge your child in reading by encouraging them to read with expression and pay attention to grammar such as periods, commas, question marks and exclamation points. (This is also connected to Reading Fluency.)
What does knowing 9/10 words mean?
It means they can point to and read each word at a rate of 2-3 seconds without any help or prompting.
My child can read all the words, what else can I do with them?
Can your child spell them on their own? Can your child explain what each word means? Can your child use the word in a sentence?
What is the most important thing I can do with my child this year?...