All fourth graders are required to read 20 minutes every night including
weekends. They will choose an Accelerated Reader book within their reading
range for this purpose. Parents need to sign the red assignment notebook to
indicate that the student has read. Students must complete a minimum number
of books every quarter - both fiction books and non-fiction books.
Accelerated Reading quiz scores will be part of each student's reading
grade.
Accelerated Reader requirements for the second quarter:
Each student must read at least 5 books on their own and at their
level. Two books must be non-fiction (true/fact books) and two books must be
fiction (not true/story) chapter books and one book is their choice. Passing
grades on comprehension quizzes are scores of 70% or higher for fiction and
60% for non-fiction to meet the requirement. At the end of the grading
period, the top five scores will be part of each student's reading grade.
Due dates are given below:
Book #1 - Due by Tuesday, November 10 - passing non-fiction quiz
Book #2 - Due by Tuesday, November 24 - passing fiction quiz
Book #3 - Due by Tuesday, December 8 - passing non-fiction quiz
Book #4 - Due by Tuesday, December 22 - passing fiction quiz
Book #5 - Due by Tuesday, January 19 - passing choice book
An AR Award will be given out at the end of each quarter for students that
read over and above the 5 book requirement - at least one extra passing
fiction book quiz and at least one extra passing non-fiction book quiz on
their level.
All fourth graders have scheduled library time every Tuesday. They may
also use the library during other selected times throughout the week. AR
tests may be taken during morning bellwork time, language arts class time,
recess, library time or at the end of the day.
Encourage your child to become a good reader. Three building blocks for
good reading are fluency (the ability to read text accurately and quickly),
understanding vocabulary, and text comprehension, which is the reason we read!
Strategies to practice fluency:
Read text aloud with your child.
Read the text aloud with expression and with close attention to punctuation.
Then have your child read the text aloud copying your modeling.
Have your child listen to a book on tape while following along in the book.
Your child can then replay the tape and read along with the reader on tape.
Strategies to practice vocabulary building:
Encourage your child to use the dictionary, thesaurus, and glossary.
Write down unkown words in a text on sticky notes. Try to find clues within
the text that might help determine the word's meaning. Then look the word up
in a dictionary to find out if the meaning is correct.
Strategies to improve comprehension:
Have the reader ask themeslves questions about what they just read.
Summarize what the text was about.
Clarifying words or ideas that were not well understood.
Predict what might happen next in the story, or what information will come
next.
Reading is a skill that must be practiced. It is a valuable tool for
learning, as well as entertainment and pleasure throughout life. The best
way to improve reading is to READ, READ, READ!