Thank you to Summer Thompson and Jayne Lynch for hosting a workshop for parents prior to the JK - 2 concert. For those who missed their presentation, here is a bit of what they went over.
Supporting Your Child in Reading
- What develops literacy?
- Talking to each other.
- Listening to each other
- Reading or being read to.
- Writing.
- Learning new vocabulary.
- Experiences build background knowledge.
“Children who are “well-read-to” (at least five times a week), when asked to tell a story, used more literary language than unread to children, and they used more sophisticated syntactic forms, longer phrases, and relative clauses. They were also better able to understand the oral and written language of others – an important foundation for the comprehension skills that will develop in the coming years.” Wolf, M. (2007). Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. New York: Harper Perennial.
Some tips:
- Read to your child everyday. If you child is reading, still read to them and have them read to you. The main goal is to have them feel confident.
- Take them to the library and let them choose books that interest them. Online reading is just as good as reading on paper. Listen to audio books in the car.
- When choosing books, use the 5-finger rule. If you open the page and see 5 words you don't know, then this book is too challenging. Reading a just right level helps to boost their reading skills.
- Rereading books is helpful! It builds fluency and confidence. Fluency is important for comprehension.
- Stop and ask questions. The types of questions matter.
Explicit questions: These are directly from the book (who, what, when, where). For example, who is Charlotte? (in the book Charlotte's Web)
Implicit questions: Making connections and inferring or reasoning questions. For example, why would Charlotte's web save Wilbur's life?
- Make reading a habit. When we make a routine for our children and ourselves, it is more likely to happen.
If you are looking for a website that recommends great books for children to read, the International Literacy Association gives children choices and teacher choices.
Supporting Your Child in Math
Counting with objects provide children a rich opportunities to:
- practice oral counting
- develop efficient counting strategies
- group objects in strategic ways
- record numbers
- represent their thinking
If you Google "the teaching channel Lakeridge Elementary kindergarten", you will find a helpful video about counting collections. Watch it with your child >>