1. School and Home: Partners in Literacy Development
By Christine Treasure, Assistant Principal, Brighton Central School District

2. All children must learn to read and write to be successful in school
and in life. This goal requires the time, attention, and support of every child’s school and home.
So how can school and
home work together to build
a strong literacy foundation
for our children?

3. The “Big Five”
In 2000 the National Reading Panel’s (NRP) Report on Teaching Children to Read sited five critical components of reading:
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension

4. Phonemic Awareness: What is it?
A child’s ability to focus on and manipulate phonemes in words
Phonemes are the smallest units of spoken language. When phonemes are put together, they make up syllables and words.
There are 41 phonemes in the English language. Some words are made up of a single phoneme (a, oh); while others are made up of more. For example, there are two phonemes in ‘go’, three phonemes in ‘ship’, and four phonemes in ‘stop’.

5. Phonemic Awareness: What is it?
Research suggests that phonemic awareness and letter knowledge are the two best school-entry predictors for how well students learn to read over the first couple years of schooling. So development of a child’s phonemic awareness is crucial especially during the early years (ages 3-6).

6. Phonemic Awareness: How can I help?
Exposure to nursery rhymes and other songs/chants is the best way to support your child’s phonemic awareness.
Snap and clap rhymes – Start a simple snapping and clapping rhythm ending each time with words that rhyme (clap, clap, snap, “bat”, clap, clap, snap, “mat”)
“I say, you say” – I say ball, you say __________(child fills in a rhyming word)
Rhyming riddles - Ask your child “What rhymes with ring but starts with s? What rhymes with book, but starts with c?”

7. Phonics: What is it?
Phonics has to do with the relationship between sounds and our written language. Children need to understand how letters correspond to sounds and how to use this knowledge in reading and spelling.
Alphabetic knowledge is needed to decode words, to remember sight words, to call on sight word knowledge to read words using analogy, and to spell words.

8. Phonics: How can I help? Here are three great sites about phonics:
– This site is for kids.

9. Fluency: What is it?
Fluency builds the bridge between word recognition and comprehension.
As a reader becomes more fluent, their reading sounds natural as if they are speaking. The reader is able to focus on the meaning of the text, not on decoding words.
Fluency develops gradually over time and requires a lot of practice.

10. Fluency: How can I help?
Modeling fluent reading – Reading aloud to a child is so valuable. To model fluency, point to each word you are reading and show him/her where and how you pause. You can also point out how the text shows you when to raise or lower your voice. For example, when the author put an exclamation at the end of a sentence I raised my voice a little to show excitement.
Repeated re-readings – Re-readings can take many forms. You can model first and then have the child re-read. You can read together. You can have your child read along with a book on tape. You can take turns (I read; then you read.) reading a passage. Regardless of the specific way you choose to re-read a text, make sure you select a brief passage ( words) in a text that is comfortable for your child. Three to four re-reading is plenty of practice.

11. Fluency: How can I help?
Reader’s Theater – Reader’s Theater is a fun way for students to practice fluency. They rehearse and perform plays for an audience. The script can be based on a story book or come from an actual play. Even better, have your child write the script first to bring in writing practice! Positive praise from a family audience is always a wonderful way to reward a child’s hard work.
Other resources:
You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together, by Mary Ann Hoberman
You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together, by Mary Ann Hoberman
- more tips for parents
- Free reader’s theater scripts

12. Vocabulary: What is it?
Vocabulary plays an important role in learning to read. In fact, research has shown a link between reading ability and vocabulary size.
In school, teachers use a variety of ways to teach vocabulary to students including:
Providing multiple exposures to a word (seeing and/or hearing a word over and over again)
Pre-teaching a word (teaching the definition before a child reads it in text)
Putting/reading a word in context (either visually or in text)
Visually representing a word (having students draw a picture/sketch to represent a word is a very powerful strategy)

13. Vocabulary: How can I help?
Using vivid language in your every day conversations with your child. Talking often about diverse subjects increases a child’s vocabulary (and background knowledge).
Wide reading is also very valuable. When students read a wide variety of texts, they learn new vocabulary.

14. Vocabulary: How can I help?
Free association- Have your child say or write any words that come to mind when he/she thinks of a targeted term. Then have her/him explain how one or two of the words from their “list” is related to the targeted term.
Comparing terms- use sentence stems ( _______________ and ______________ are similar because…, are different because
Solve analogy problems (Bone is to skeleton as word is to _____________, inch is to foot as millimeter is to ________________)
Play Vocabulary Charades, Pictionary, or Apples to Apples
You can use any of the above teaching strategies at home as well.

15. Comprehension: What is it?
Comprehension is an extremely complex process. It is the construction of meaning of a written text. It requires the reader to utilize the other critical components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary) seamlessly and then go beyond those components to understanding the message the author has sent.

16. Comprehension: What is it?
The National Reading Panel referenced eight strategies for effective comprehension instruction. These strategies are:
Self monitoring – Readers develop strategies to monitor their comprehension. Readers become aware of what they understand and what they don’t understand so that they can problem solve when needed.
Sharing with others – Reading is very social. We learn from one another.
Use of graphic organizers to structure what they’ve read/learned
Story structure – Readers can use the structure of a story to help them understand the story (plot, setting, character, events, etc.)

17. Comprehension: What is it?
The National Reading Panel referenced eight strategies for effective comprehension instruction. These strategies are:
Generating questions – Readers are more successful when they can ask questions about what they’ve read.
Answering questions – Readers can judge whether or not they’ve comprehended a text when they can answer questions about that text. If they receive quick and accurate feedback about their responses they can determine their own level of understanding.
Summarizing text
Multiple strategy approach to reading – When readers know a large number of strategies, they can use them interchangeably (and sometimes simultaneously) to support comprehension.

18. Comprehension: How can I help?
Talk with him/her about what they are reading.
Ask questions – “What is your favorite part?” “Why do you think the character did…?” “What do you think the author is trying to say?”
Help your child make connections between what is being read and life (their personal life and the world) - “Is that story like any other stories we know?” Do you remember when...? That is similar to what’s happening to the character in the story.”

19. Comprehension: How can I help?
Read with your child. Have him/her read a section silently and then discuss it together afterwards.
Talk to your child about how to monitor comprehension. “I realized I had skipped a very important word when I got to the end of the paragraph and it didn’t make sense. I had to go back and re-read the paragraph to make sense of it all.”
If you feel your child is struggling with comprehension, talk with your child’s classroom teacher.

20. Components of a K-2 Balanced Literacy Program
Reading
Read Aloud
Shared Reading
Guided Reading
Independent Reading
Writing
Shared Writing
Interactive Writing
Guided Writing or Writing Workshop
Independent Writing
Information from Guiding Reading, Fountas & Pinnell, 1996

21. Goal of a Balanced Literacy Program
To help students become
independent
readers and writers
and
To make literacy an integral
part of their lives

22. -Max DePree, CEO of Herman Miller, Inc.
CRPS Building Goal
“Only a group of people who share a body of knowledge and continually learn together can stay vital and viable.”
-Max DePree, CEO of Herman Miller, Inc.

23. Finding a Just Right Book
Ask yourself questions: Is there a series I’d like to read? What topics interest me? What authors do I like?
Preview the Book.
Read the cover.
Read the blurb.
Read the Table of Contents.
Look at the Illustrations.

24. Finding a Just Right Book
3. Use the “Five Finger Rule”: Choose a page in the book that interests you and read it. Put a finger up for each word you do not understand. 1 2 3 4 5
Too easy
Just Right
Too Hard

25. General Tips
Remind your child to use our CRPS library as a source for great reads.
Ask your child’s teacher for support if you notice a need or have a question about reading and writing

26. Thank you for your participation today!
Any questions….