Tips for being a good mentor: Be a good listener Act as a friend Share your own love of reading Notice when a student “lights up” Validate what a student says or does Be expressive Ask questions Be a cheerleader Have fun!

Ways to read: Echo read Read together Take turns reading Read to them Popcorn read Just listen

Ways to read: Find a comfortable place to read Try to spark the student interest Look at the cover Look at the pictures Note the characters – or note the topic Talk about what you think might happen – or what the book might tell you

During reading: Use voice inflection Enjoy the pictures Stop and look at text features Talk about the setting/topic Talk about the characters/interesting details Talk about what is happening/being learned Relate the text to personal experience Question the text

Correcting errors: Wait. Perhaps the child is thinking Be gentle and patient Don’t point out every mistake Help them sound it out Help them use word parts Help text features Help them use context clues

Independent Strategies by Jill Warner When I get stuck on a word in a book, There are lots of things I to do. I can do them all, please, by myself. I don’t need any help from you I can look at the picture to get a hint, Or think what the story’s about. I can ‘get my mouth ready’ to say the first letter, A kind of ‘sounding out.’ I can chop the word into smaller parts, Like on and ing and ly. Or I can find smaller words in compound words- Like raincoat and bumblebee. I can think of a word that makes sense in that place, Guess or say “blank” and read on until the sentence has Then go back and try these on: Does it make sense? Can we say it that way? Does it look right to me? Chances are the right word will pop out like the sun In my own mind, can’t you see? If I’ve thought of and tried out most of these things, And I still don’t know what to do, Then I may turn around and ask for some help to get me through

After reading: Think – was the story about what you thought it would be about? Have the student retell the story in their own words Encourage critical reflections with questions

Why do you think the author wrote this book? What did the author have to know to write this book? What does this book make you think about? Could this story happen in real life? Who is telling the story? Who are the main characters? How did the author describe _________? Why is _______ important in the story? Do you know anyone like __________ in the story? What happened in the beginning of the story? What happened when…? What might have happened if…? Can you think of a different way the story could have ended?

Where did the story take place? Does the setting change in the story? What is the problem in the story? How was the problem solved? How did the pictures help you enjoy the book? Tell me one thing you learned about _____. How did you feel when…? What was your favorite part? What special words does the author use to help you see, hear, smell, taste, feel ______? If you could ask the author one question, what would you ask?