1. Helping Your Intermediate Child at Home Presented by Karen Madden, M.Ed. –karenmadden@foresthills.edu

2. This is important…Everyday just talk to your child! Kids need conversations and to hear new vocabulary so don’t be afraid to use “big” words. -Talk to your child about the shows they watch. Ask them to make predictions. Ask them who is their favorite character or action scene. Ask them to tell you what was the most important part. -Encourage your child to ask questions at school. Kids who ask questions are engaged and will learn more than those who don’t!ask questions

3. Literacy Activities at Home for Intermediate Make Reading Important!  It is important your child reads daily for at least 20-30 minutes. Reading stories increases a child’s vocabulary significantly.  Make sure your child is reading “just right” books silently daily.  Help your child know it’s right for them using the “5 finger rule”. If they read the first page of a chapter book (about 100 words) and they miss 5 or more, it’s too hard for them to read independently. Reading at home should never be a struggle.  Reading books that seem too easy may worry you, but to your child it builds confidence, sight words, and fluency. Not to mention it’s fun!  You can still read together, even when your child gets older. You can both read the book and discuss it like a mini-book club! Also, this is a good way to ensure what your child is reading is age-appropriate!

4. "Why Can't I Skip My Twenty Minutes of Reading Tonight?" Let's figure it out -- mathematically! Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week; Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all! Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week. Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins./week. Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month. Student A reads 400 minutes a month. Student B reads 80 minutes a month. Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year. Student B reads 720 min. in a school year. Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice. By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.

5. -Play “I Spy” or “20 questions”. -Look for words that start with a, then b, then c, etc. as you drive. You can make this harder as they get older by requiring the words to be longer. -Cook together! They have to read the recipes and follow steps. -Make a scrapbook together and write journal entries to go with the pictures. -Listen to books on CD in the car Cook togetherscrapbook Fun ways to sneak in learning at home so that they don’t even know they are learning

6. Comprehension-Help your child understand what they read! Ask questions. Kids need to hear good modeling of reading AND thinking! Questions to Ask Before, During and After Reading Did this story remind you of something that has happened to you? Another story you have read? Before reading a story, talk about what you know about it already. Use post-it notes to write your thoughts or questions about the story. Then stop and discuss if you were correct or incorrect as you read together. As you are reading together, stop and talk about what language from the story created powerful images in your mind. When you finish reading a book, ask your child to summarize the story for you. What’s the gist? Ask your child to tell why he/she liked or didn’t like the book. What would make it better? How would you change it? Comprehension is critical. Seven keys to comprehension are… 1. Making connections 2. Making predictions 3. Questioning 4. Summarizing 5. Visualization 6. Inferring Meaning 7. Checking yourself for meaning

7. Resources and Ideas for helping your child at home!  Set aside a quiet time for homework. Whatever time you decide, make it a daily routine.  Read even on the weekend. If you present to your child that reading is important, then your child will believe it too!  Go to the public library together.  Play games together-Board games, chess, checkers, and even computer games! Try www.portaportal.com madduxreading & madduxmath are the logins. The portaportal has parent links too! www.portaportal.com