Mrs. Holland's Reading Class

ØRead with your child every day.  Curl up in bed together at night for an hour of reading before going to sleep.  It's good for their brain and it relaxes them too.

ØEncourage your child to read to you.

ØEncourage your child to bring books home from school.

ØMake predictions about what will happen next.

ØAfter reading the story, discuss what happened.

ØHave your child look at the pictures, if there are any, for clues.

ØCheck the first letter, say the sound, and make a guess. What about ending sounds?

ØAsk the child to see if the “guess” makes sense, looks right and sounds right.

ØRe-read and make another attempt.

ØIf your child tries and still struggles after 5 seconds – tell him/her the word.

• ØReading should always be fun!  We would never learn to read if there was no joy in it.

• Read lower level books at home sometimes.  It is not necessary to read at the top reading level at all times.  When adults read for pleasure, they rarely read above 5th grade level.

• A reader is like an athlete... the more you practice, the better you get.

• Praise your child's efforts.  "Mistakes" are the building blocks of learning.

•  Enjoy reading and writing with your child.  It makes memories that will last a lifetime!