Again, we would like to request that children practice reading sight and high-
frequency words at home (see list attached to January newsletter).
Please continue to read with your children every day. Discuss the story
characters, setting, plot and resolution. Talk about how the illustrations
support the text. Close the book and have your child retell the story in
his/her own words. Discuss whether the book is fiction or nonfiction, poetry,
folktale or fable, etc. Ask your child how he/she would change the story if
he/she were the author.
If children come to words they don't know, assist them in sounding out the
word; using the pictures as clues; look for patterns in the text that might
help with the unfamiliar word; read the rest of the sentence and see if it
makes sense; look for sight words.
It's great fun and very beneficial for children to believe that they are
authors and illustrators and to practice their craft at home! Provide your
child with paper, writing utensils, tape, stapler, glue, etc., to create
their own literary works. You'll be amazed at how far they've come with their
drawings and their writing.