Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Parents Make the Difference! An Introduction to the Denver Public Schools’ Elementary Literacy Program

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition What is the Program? A three hour Literacy Block in every classroom consisting of: Time for Independent Reading and Reading Workshop Time for Writing Workshop Time for a Skills Block

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Why Independent Reading? --Trelease (1995) “The more you read, the better you get at it; the better you get at it, the more you like it; and the more you like it, the more you do it. “

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition How Much Time Do Students Practice Reading in School? Grade Level --Patterns of Reading Practice Reading Practice (Minutes per Student)

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Home Reading and Reading Achievement Home Reading -- Minutes Per Day Words Read Per Year Reading Percentile 65.04,358,00098% 21.11,823,00090% 14.21,146,00080% ,00070% ,00060% ,00050% ,00040% ,00030%.721,00020%.18,00010% 0.002% Relationship Between Reading Volume And Reading Success Cunningham and Stanovich (adapted from Anderson, Wilson and Fielding) 1988

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition The Matthew Effect “The very children who are reading well and who have good vocabularies will read more, learn more word meanings, and hence read even better. Students…who read slowly and without enjoyment… read less, and as a result have slower development of vocabulary knowledge, which inhibits further growth in reading.” --Keith Stanovich (1986)

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Did You Know? Students can learn new words on their own JUST BY READING BOOKS. Students can figure out the meaning of words by understanding the context of a story. If students read a MILLION WORDS A YEAR, their vocabulary will increase!

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition The Million Words a Year Campaign OUR GOAL IS THAT ALL STUDENTS READ AT LEAST ONE MILLION WORDS A YEAR!

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Research shows that the best predictor of a child’s growth as a reader from 2 nd to 5 th grade, is the amount of time spent reading. (Anderson, Wilson and Fielding, 1988)

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition The Million Words a Year Campaign Helps students develop good reading habits Creates excitement about reading every day Supports students to become better readers

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Grade Level Goals GradeReading & Rereading Listening to Read Alouds ECE2-4 familiar books/day (independently or with another child or adult) 1-2 books/day (1-2 at home) K2-4 familiar books/day (independently or with another child or adult) 1-2 books/day (1-2 at home) 1 st 4 or more books/day (independently or during guided reading) 2-4 texts/day 2 nd 1-2 books or long chapters/day At least 1 more difficult book

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition Grade Level Goals GradeReadingListening to Read Alouds 3 rd short chapter books (Daily Read Alouds do not count) 4 th 25 chapter books (~125 pages) (Daily Read Alouds do not count) 5 th 25 chapter books (~150 pages) (Daily Read Alouds do not count)

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition What Can YOU Do to Help? Make sure your children are reading every day! 15 – 30 minutes a day of reading at home will help students reach a Million Words a Year! Talk to your children about the books they are reading.

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition What Can YOU Do to Help? Make sure your child has a library card, and visit the public library as a family. Check out books from your school library every week. Monitor your child’s homework every day.

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition What Can YOU Do to Help? Talk to your child’s teacher. Communication is important. Make sure your children know that you care enough to spend time with them.

Denver Public Schools Colorado Parent Information & Resource Center Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition We need to work together to reach our goals. Parents make the difference!