Reading/Language Arts/Writing
Reading Is Important! Creative ways to encourage students to read
The following tips are taken from: http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/
- Students will:
- Summarize the story using transition words
- Identify characters, setting, problem, and solution
- Identify and describe the setting using specific details
- Determine the cause and effect of the character’s emotions and how they changed over time
- Discuss and write how a character in the story is like a character in another story and use details to support
- Discuss and write how they resemble or differ from a character in the story and use details to support
- Relate how a character or situation reminds them of someone they know, an event they’ve witnessed, or something they’ve heard and provide examples to support
- Express the author’s message/theme
- Compare/contrast the themes, setting and plots of stories
- Select specific words or quotes from book or story as support when responding to a prompt
- Explain why they like/dislike a book or story and support with details
- Provide justification in the form of textual evidence for each response made
- Determine main idea and key details of a text
- Create a graphic organizer that demonstrates expository text structure (sequence, description, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution, question/answer)
- Make a list of important facts, events, or questions and prioritize according to different criteria
Reading Is Important! Creative ways to encourage students to read
The following tips are taken from: http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/
- Research on reading generally agrees that the most critical aspect of reading is how a child feels about reading. Positive reinforcement from parents and teachers helps. Children need to know that adults in their lives care about reading.
- Research also agrees that in most cases, forcing a child to read will yield no positive results. Most children should not be REQUIRED to read each day, especially if it's forced reading for pleasure. Some families find that having a reading time when the whole family reads works. Even if the child is reluctant, he knows that the time is reserved for reading. Let him choose to read light material, if nothing else.
- A book allowance is a good idea. In addition to whatever other allowance a child may receive, provide an allowance for books. Even if the allowance allows for the purchase of one paperback book or magazine a week, you've helped encourage reading.
- Subscriptions to a magazine or magazines for your child or student are a good idea. There's a certain amount of excitement in "ownership" and a for many students it's very exciting to receive mail.
- Model reading. Children who see their parents reading, often become readers and come to accept that reading is a matter-of-fact activity.
- If your child is willing, whatever his or her age, don't be afraid to read aloud. Reading to children is one of the best ways to encourage interest in reading.
- Establish a place in the child's room for his or her books. A feeling of ownership, again, is important.
- Schedule regular family visits to the library-- Introduce your child to the librarian. Librarians are anxious to help children look for interesting reading material.
- By all means recommend books to your child. Tell the child how difficult the books are (or are not) and let the child decide if he or she wants to read them.
- If your child starts a book and doesn't want to finish it -- ok. Hasn't that happened to you? Some advice I've heard recommends that you abandon books that don't "grab" you in the first 60 pages... because life is too short. My threshold is lower than 60 pages.
- If your child decides to read something to YOU...be patient and let him or her read to you.
- Praise your child for his or her reading when appropriate. For example, praise the child when a long or difficult book is completed.
- When a topic of interest develops which involves the whole family--an upcoming trip or vacation, for example--bring home some books on the topic to share with the family.
- Discuss with your child any book he or she is reading for a class at school. Read the book yourself.
- When you and your child are working on something together have him or her read the directions. Many models and construction kits turn out better when a child reads the instructions aloud.
- Discuss ideas in books your child reads. For that matter, where appropriate, discuss ideas in books you read. For that matter, read the books your children read.
- Display good books somewhere in your home. Let children know that books have an important place in the home. And don't limit the books to a few essentials...have a generous selection of a wide variety of books.