On the go – Little Reading Coach

3 Easy Ways Busy Parents Can Help Readers

October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 Leave a comment

The alarm goes off at 5. You shower, get ready, pack lunches, make breakfast, wake the kids up, drive to sit in the drop off line, drive to work and start a jam packed day at the office. After work you run to pick up the kids, fly to football practice then dance class, rush home to throw dinner together, go back out and pick up the kids, come back home, eat dinner, get the kids in bed, try and catch up on social media and go to sleep.

Then wake up the next day and do it all over again.

It’s amazing how much parents are trying to cram into a 24 hour period. So how can parents help their kids with reading in the midst of every day chaos?

Squeeze in reading time. This may sound overwhelming. How can you possibly squeeze 20 minutes of reading in before bed every night? Easy, you don’t have to. Reading can happen anywhere at anytime. While driving to violin lessons, have an audiobook playing in the car. Keep a book in the car and have your child read it. Same thing goes while your making dinner. There are always reading moments, it’s just making sure you’re prepared for them. Keep books around the house so they are within reach.
Stay up to date on what’s happening in the classroom. Technology is amazing these days. Every teacher I know has a website that is jam packed with information. They include assignments, reminders, homework, etc. Dedicate 5 minutes a day (probably around 3-4 pm) to check your child’s English class website. See what the homework is, check out when the next quiz is. Have conversations with your child about specifics from class. For instance, if they have a vocabulary quiz, have them go over the words and definitions with you while you drive, making dinner, etc. (are you seeing a pattern here?).
Stay in touch with your child’s teacher. A lot of my middle school parents would sign up for parent-teacher conferences within minutes to ensure they got a slot. During our discussions, they would mention how they didn’t want to bother me with questions if it wasn’t parent-teacher conference time. Never, ever hesitate to reach out to a teacher with a question. Your goal as a parent is to ensure your child gets an education. If you don’t understand an essay rubric, or why your child scored low on a reading comprehension quiz, reach out to the teacher. The more you understand the more you will be able to help your child.

These three quick and easy ideas do require a little bit of prep work, but they all can be done on a smart phone and on the go.

Touchy-Feely and Sight Words in One Book

February 4, 2017 1 Comment

Having a child can be expensive, so when I see a product that can grow with my daughter I get excited. I’m very picky with choosing books for Molly because I want texts that she can use for years instead of a month or two.

As a new mom, I do a lot of research on how to give my baby a strong start and the most popular suggestion is reading to your child (see previous post for more ideas on this). However, I’ve noticed that as Molly gets older she sometimes needs a little more stimulation, so we have introduced touchy-feely books in our house.

Molly is constantly drawn to bright colors and lights, so I want to read books that are visually appeali thats-not-my ng to her. She is also starting to grab things more, and we are working on introducing her to new textures. Usborne’s That’s Not My collection is perfect for Miss Molly because of the bright colors, cute themes, and touchy-feely pages. These books are perfect for me because they can be used now and also when she is in preschool and kindergarten.

This post is for parents on how to use the That’s Not My collection at home to engage your young reader.

When I purchased my mini consultant kit in January it came with the That’s Not My Dinosaur book, which is adorable for a little boy. As a girly girl myself, I had to get Molly one of these books that was geared towards a baby girl. I was debating between the Princess and Dolly and decided to go with Dolly this time around (I’m planning to get the Princess and Mermaid soon).

The physical construction of these books is incredible. As with many baby books this one is a board book, but it’s extremely lightweight with thicker pages than other baby books. Molly has seen me hold a book and turn pages for a few months now, but this was the first book she wanted/was able to grab by herself. She was able to lift the book on her own and hold the pages with her four-month-old hands. molly-reading-thats-not-my

The pictures are large and use contrasting colors for little eyes to see everything clearly. Each page has different color schemes, which helps keep Molly engaged longer. The touchy-feely components match the main idea of the page. For instance, the page Molly is on says, “That’s not my dolly. Her hat is too soft.” The touch and feel aspect on this page is the doll’s hat.

One of my favorite things about this collection is how they can also be used with early readers. These books are perfect for helping little ones with sight words and learning to read. Each page has a handful of sight words (to see the Dolch list click here) and is made up of simple, concise sentences that are manageable for young readers.

Some suggestions for using That’s Not My with preschool/kindergarten kids:

*Use them frequently. They are small and light enough to throw in a bag to use while you’re out and about, or read one a day as an activity. They are definitely a quick read, which is all you need sometimes.

*Show off! Kids love to show friends and family when they can do something new. Have your child read thats-not-my-monkey the book (or have them help you) to people the child feels comfortable with. This will not only boost their confidence, but also give them the additional practice.

*Relate the theme to daily life. If you’re taking a trip to the zoo, get your child excited by reading books like That’s Not My Monkey or That’s Not My Lion. There are so many different options so this is quite easy to do, especially if you use them seasonally.

These little books are portable, durable, and adorable. I love how they can be used from infancy all the way through kindergarten. For more information visit my store.

Reading Aloud

January 25, 2017 1 Comment

Research shows that reading aloud consistently at all ages helps with word recognition, comprehension, higher order thinking skills, and so much more.

I decided to experiment with this idea during my third year of teaching when I was a literacy support teacher for sixth and seventh grade. I was working with students who were below proficient on standardized tests, who struggled with reading, and who didn’t like or want to read. I chose my books carefully (Divergent in 6^th and Double Identity in 7^th) and started my read aloud. I would read for five minutes at the beginning of every class and we would have a quick discussion based on a question.

To this day, this was the best thing I have ever done as a teacher. It was amazing to see how well my students responded to this activity every day. The fact that I made reading aloud part of my classroom routine was not only good classroom management, but also allowed kids time to appreciate and develop a love of reading. Unfortunately, my supervisor at the time did not agree with my use of class time, and at the end of the year I was non-renewed because I wasn’t a “good fit”. Even now almost three years later, I still wouldn’t change how I spent those first five minutes of my class.

Today’s post is about incorporating reading aloud into daily classroom and home life, so this is meant for both parents and teachers. Sometimes reading aloud isn’t just the adult reading to the child, but can be the child reading to the adult, or a child reading to another child.

Teachers

Class read aloud. For the last few years I have incorporated a read aloud during the first few minutes of my classes. They should be between 5-7 minutes (depending if you have a block schedule or not) and each session should end in some sort of a discussion to check for understanding. This can be done at all grade levels (yes, even high school). Some things to remember for a class read aloud:
1. Make sure the book is appropriate for the class. The text should be equivalent to the grade level or a little higher. Since the book is being read aloud along with a discussion after every reading, you can challenge students with a more complex text.
2. The book is engaging! It’s hard to carve out class time in general, let alone every day, so you want to make it worth the time. Choose a text that will have students excited to read, and that you enjoy.
3. Be consistent with the time. When I taught in a block schedule I would read for seven minutes then post a question for kids to respond to for about a minute, then we would discuss answers for two minutes. When I taught in a 40- minute class, I cut my reading time down to five minutes and response sharing down to one minute. It’s so important to keep the consistency because students will get used to the timing. However, some days when my timer goes off my students beg for a few more minutes. It’s so hard to say no when this happens, and almost every time I give in, although I warn them they may have additional work, but they never seem to mind. As a teacher, use your judgment. Some days you can read for a few more minutes, others it’s just not possible, but you want to keep the “usual” reading time as consistent as possible. **Save time on student sharing by using technology tools like Padlet, Google classroom, Random Name Picker, etc.**
4. Recap! Always make sure you recap the last reading before moving on to a new section. This is a great pre-reading strategy to help students prepare for the next reading, and it also catches up any kids who missed a reading.
5. Be excited! I think one of the reasons why my read aloud times were so
  successful was because I was legitimately excited for them myself, and my kids knew it.
Small group read aloud. For upper elementary, middle school, and high school lots of lessons involve analyzing a text as a small group. This is a great opportunity for students to read aloud to one another. Most of the time, the set up of this activity involves students reading, highlighting, and discussing a text and answering questions, so all you would need to do is have students incorporate reading the text aloud. Depending on the groups, I either let students determine who reads what sections (everyone has to read something) or I instruct them to read one paragraph or one page each.
Partner read aloud. This is often a concept seen in elementary classrooms because of the many benefits, but it can be used in all grades. Students are able to hear and see reading habits of a peer. The teacher can choose partners based on reading level, high student and low student, so students can learn from one another. The teacher can also give the option for students to choose a partner, allowing them to work with someone they are comfortable with, which is half the battle with some students.

Parents. Reading aloud is a great way to help your child with reading skills and develops a love of reading.

Pick a time to read. Most families are super busy all day and don’t have a chance to really sit down until bedtime, which is what makes it the most popular time for family reading. Whatever time works for your family, keep it consistent. Some nights it will change or not happen at all, but for the most part keep the time consistent.
Pick a spot. Along with the time consistency, you want to dedicate a special reading place. It could be your bed, the child’s bed, or a special chair.
Involve the whole family. Kids learn so much just by watching their parents, so it’s good to have the whole family involved in reading. The goal is to get everyone involved in the read aloud in some way, even if it’s just listening along. I’ve been reading aloud to Molly since she was born, and we make it a point to read every night before we put her to sleep. I’m normally the one that reads to her because my husband isn’t a big book reader, but he will read articles and blogs. He knows how important reading is to me, so he participates by choosing the books and listening on the floor.
On the go reading. Sometimes reading at home just isn’t possible, and that’s okay. Growing up I spent most of my time in the car traveling from one activity to another. This is still true for many parents today, so it can be challenging to get some read aloud time in. However, it is possible. Option 1: Read in the car. My mom actually had my sister read aloud to her while she would drive. It was a great way for my sister to practice reading aloud because my mom could help her with decoding and reading comprehension. My sister would stop and ask questions periodically and the two of them would discuss the reading. It did take them a while to finish the book, but those car ride sessions still allowed them to practice great read aloud strategies. Option 2:Read at the event. Parents are always waiting for one activity to end and another to begin, so use this down time to read with your child. The great part about technology today is that so many books and articles are available digitally, so you always have a text at your fingertips. You could also leave a bag of books in your car for situations like this. This would be best for younger children because they rely on pictures to comprehend the stories, and many digital books are tiny so the visual is hard to see.