Happy March! A new month means new beginnings. This month the whole school will participate in One School, One Book. What will the book be? We have to wait to find out. Every March the Monroe El staff and families will read the same book. We are fortunate to share our love of reading together. More information will be coming home soon about this.
As parents, it can be difficult to find ways to read with or talk to your child about what s/he is reading now that they are in the ‘upper grades’. One School, One Book is a wonderful opportunity to do this. The progression of independence and ability seems to blossom at this age. It may be harder to find opportunities to read with your child. This is an opportunity for you to be involved with your child's reading. There are a few different ways you can. Read along with them, allow them to read to you, or take turns reading a page to each other are some suggestions. After reading, you may discuss the events that happened, new vocabulary words, make predictions about what might happen next, share specific character traits of the characters, or talk about the message/theme of the story. At this age, we look for students to provide evidence from the text to support their thinking. These are opportunities to have your child explain their thinking to you during or after they are reading. Asking questions such as: What makes you think that? How do you know? will further the discussion. Having these discussions will enrich your child’s understanding of the book and allow you to spend some time together while confirming the importance of reading. Be on the lookout for further information about Monroe El’s One School, One book!
Have fun and happy reading!
Michelle VanDerheyden