Reading with Upper Elementary Children \\\\\

Why Read With Your Child Who Can Read Independently? Reading with your child shows that you value reading as important. Reading together allows you to discuss with your child what s/he is reading, leading to deeper comprehension. Allows your child to read material that would be too difficult to read on his/her own. Helps you monitor your child’s reading skills Allows you to model fluency when reading.

What is Reading Together? Three elements: 1.You read aloud to your child. 2.Your child reads aloud to you. 3.You talk about what you are reading.

Choosing What to Read 1. Child’s reading level. 2. Interesting Topics 3. Let your child pick the book or offer a selection. 4. Favorite authors. 5. Text that informs: newspapers, magazines, computer searches.

While You Are Reading… 1. Read with expression—make the story come alive. 2. Try using different voices for different characters. 3. Stop and discuss new vocabulary words. 4. Talk about how you understand new words. 5. Think aloud- *I wonder if... *I think... *I can’t wait to find out... *I didn’t know... I can’t wait to find out if Andy wins the contest!

6. Talk about what is happening in the story and ask what might happen next. 7. Ask open-ended questions about the story. While You Are Reading (continued)

1. Encourage your child to read with expression. 2. Help your child use the context to figure out unknown words. 3. If your child makes a mistake that affects meaning and doesn’t self-correct, ask “Did that make sense?” While Your Child Is Reading…

4. Suggest rereading a difficult sentence or paragraph. 5. Encourage your child to make predictions and have you clarify anything they do not understand. While Your Child is Reading (cont.)

6. If your child does not understand what s/he is reading, stop and discuss it. Ask her/him to read it again. 7. Keep the reading fun. Some struggle is good. Too much frustration is not good. 8. Know when to take over reading or end the reading session. While Your Child Is Reading (cont.)

1. Have a short discussion about the story. 2. Help your child summarize the main idea. 3. Discuss the problem and solution of the story. 4. Ask open-ended questions about the story or subject of the book. 5. Help your child make connections to his/her world or another story or book. After Reading

Tips for Reluctant or Struggling Readers NUMBER ONE TIP: Set the child up for SUCCESS! When reading, students should only be encountering 1 unknown word for every 100 words.

Tips for Reluctant or Struggling Readers Make sure your child is reading books at his/her reading level. Find books about topics s/he is interested in. Order a magazine subscription in his/her name. Build off of books s/he has shown interest in before (same author, series, or topic.)

Tips for Reluctant or Struggling Readers Don’t make your child struggle too long over a word. Simply supply the word and move on. When done reading, do a quick demonstration on how to figure out the word the child was struggling with. You might give him/her a few more words to practice together. Set up a reading time every night for the whole family. Everyone reads- NO EXCEPTIONS! Without outside distractions and choices, reading will become a habit.

Think outside the box- reading isn’t just about reading books. Also consider: reading directions for a game, a recipe to make together, magazines, the newspaper (even just the sports page), the computer, instructions for building a model. Read together materials your child would struggle reading on his/her own, including textbooks. More Tips for Helping Reluctant or Struggling Readers:

Create a cliffhanger- you read a book to your child. When the book gets to the part that your child just can’t wait to find out what happens, you quit reading. They must read the book to find out what happens. Graphic Novels- books that have a comic book look. Designed for reluctant or struggling older readers. Make sure your child sees you reading!

Tips For Reading With Advanced Readers Advanced readers have a solid foundation of basic reading skills. The focus for advanced readers should be: 1. Expanding vocabulary. 2. Increasing and building comprehension. 3. Challenging their thinking in fun and enjoyable ways. A proletariat is…

Ideas for Working With Advanced Readers Have higher level books available to them. Go beyond the classroom. Do extension activities. Read even more advanced books aloud to them. Partner read together or read and discuss the same book. Guide deeper discussions of what you’ve read together. Get your child a magazine subscription. Pair fiction and nonfiction reading. Emphasize quality not quantity. Make sure books match your child’s maturity level.

Booklists and Sources for Books Book Wizard - find books by reading level, find books similar to another book Scholastic Parent (tab on top of web page)- filled with all kinds of articles on reading, 116 book lists (by theme, for reluctant readers, by grade, etc.) book orders search for books by reading level, interest level, topic can make your own booklist with your child grade-reading-list-age-9-10/