Growing Readers Together

Understanding what we read is the primary goal of all reading! This month we will focus on the comprehension strategy of questioning. Good readers ask themselves questions as they read to help guide their thinking and understanding of the story. They ask questions before they start reading, while they are reading, and even after they have read. These questions, or wonderings, help keep the reader focused on the meaning of what they are reading. Here are some ways that you can help your child learn to ask questions when he reads.

1. Ask your child to tell you what he wonders about the book before he begins reading it. Be sure to share your wonderings, too. You might wonder about the title of the book, the illustration on the cover, what the book will be about, and where the story is taking place. You are modeling for your child how good readers think about the book before they read it.

2. While you are reading with your child, be sure to stop periodically to ask questions and wonder. If the book gets complicated, say, "I'm not sure that I understand this part. I want to go back and read this part again." If the plot gets interesting, say, "I wonder why (the character) did that." Or say, "I wonder what will happen next." Discuss your ideas with your child. You are modeling for your child how good readers think while reading.

3. After you have finished reading, ask your child to tell you what he is still wondering about. Share your wonderings, too. You might say, "I wonder why (the character) decided to do that." Or you might say, "I wonder what (the character) will do now." You are modeling for your child how good readers think about what they have read after they have finished reading.

Good readers sometimes find answers to their questions stated directly in the book. Other times they can infer the answers to their questions by finding clues in the book. At other times, good readers may find answers to their questions from their own knowledge, by talking with others, or by using reference materials. Sometimes, however, good readers read books that leave them wondering.

Reading fluency is the ability to read with accuracy, expression, phrasing, and appropriate rate. Students who are fluent readers are better able to devote their attention to comprehending the text, and gaining meaning from the text is the goal of reading.

This month we will focus on phrasing. Phrasing is the ability to read words in meaningful groups rather than word by word, robotic reading. Below are some prompts you can say to your child to remind them to read in meaningful phrases if their reading is sounding choppy:

• "Put your words together so it sounds like good talking."
• "These words make sense together. Read them together."
• "Can you make it sound like this?" (model how you would like your child to read it)
• "Listen to me read this part. Now read it just like I did."
• "Listen to how I put my words together so they almost touch each other as I read."

This month we have been reviewing contractions. Contractions are shortened versions of written and spoken words, created by the omission of letters/sounds. Below is a quick, easy game to play to help your reader practice contractions:

• Making Contractions: You can call out the two words that form a contraction and have your child write the contraction formed by combining those two words. They can write with sidewalk chalk, fancy markers and paper, dry erase markers, or anything else you can think of! For variation, you can reverse it and you give the contraction and they would write the two words that make up the contraction.
• Here are some examples of contractions: don't (do not), can't (can not), she'll (she will), we'll (we will), they're (they are), should've (should have), would've (would have), we're (we are), you'd (you would), he's (he is), etc.