November Newsletter With Reading Tips

• It's boring. Don't despair if your children have this response to reading that is assigned at school. You can expose them to another kind of reading at home that is related to their interests. 
• I don't have the time. Kids are busy. School, friends, sports, homework, television, and chores all compete for their time. Some children need your help in rearranging their schedules to make time for reading.
• It's too hard. For some children, reading is a slow, difficult process. If your child is having a hard time reading, talk with their or her reading teacher. Ask about how you can find interesting books and materials written at a level that matches your child’s reading ability.

• It's not important. Often children don't appreciate how reading can be purposeful, or relevant to their lives. Parents can take it upon themselves to find reading materials on subjects that do matter to their kids.
• It's no fun. For some children, especially those who have difficulty reading, books cause anxiety. Even for children with strong reading skills, pressure from schools and home that emphasize reading for performance can make reading seem like a chore. Our advice: take the pressure off reading so that your children can enjoy it.

Tips That Do Work!

• Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do his nightly reading assignments.
• As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, pat, hat.
• When your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point out words she has missed and help her to read the word correctly.
• After your child has stopped to correct a word he has read, have him go back and reread the entire sentence from the beginning to make sure he understands what the sentence is saying.
• Ask your child to tell you in her own words what happened in a story.
• To check your child's understanding of what he is reading, occasionally pause and ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story.
• Ask your child why she thinks a character acted in a certain way and ask your child to support her answer with information from the story.
• Before getting to the end of a story, ask your child what he thinks will happen next and why.

• Nagging. Avoid lecturing about the value of reading, and hounding a child who is not reading. Your child will only resent it.
• Bribing. While there's nothing wrong with rewarding your child's reading efforts, you don't want your youngster to expect a prize after finishing every book. Whenever possible, offer another book or magazine (your child's choice) along with words of praise. You can give other meaningful rewards on occasion, but offer them less and less frequently. In time, your child will experience reading as its own reward.
• Judging your child's performance.  Separate school performance from reading for pleasure. Helping your child enjoy reading is a worthwhile goal in itself. 
• Criticizing your child's choices. Reading almost anything is better than reading nothing. Although you may feel your child is choosing books that are too easy or that treat subjects too lightly, hide your disappointment. Reading at any level is valuable practice, and successful reading helps build confidence as well as reading skills. If your differences are simply a matter of personal taste, respect your child's right to his or her own preferences.
• Setting unrealistic goals. Look for small signs of progress rather than dramatic changes in your child's reading habits. Don't expect a reluctant reader to finish a book overnight. 
• Making a big deal about reading. Don't turn reading into a campaign. Under pressure, children may read only to please their parents rather than themselves, or they may turn around and refuse to read altogether.                     

  Mrs. Schulthes Web Site 

Have you checked out Mrs. Schulthes’ web site?  Just follow these steps to find reading tips as well as links to reading and math sites!1.    Go to the R.O.W.V.A. web site

2.    Click on either Central or East

3.    Look for MRS. SCHULTHES  Click on it J