Vibrant Vocabulary--Royal Ways to Help Your Students Become Word Nerds

A big warm welcome to Jennifer from Stories and Songs in Second who is guest blogging today with some fun ways to help your students with:   Hear Ye!  Hear Ye! Calling all teachers from far and wide, to and fro, hither and yon! Are you tired of  using the same old worksheets and four-corner graphic organizers to teach your students word meaning?  Are you looking for ways to transform your daily vocabulary lessons into one of the most engaging, productive, and interactive parts of your instructional day? Then kindly join me for today's royal edition of Adventures in Literacy Land, and listen well, my friends!  It is I, Jennifer from Stories and Songs in Second, here to share some royal and  "oh so fancy" ideas gleaned from a resource that has rejuvenated my own instructional practice!    

  Know that I was absolutely thrilled when my request to guest blog here was accepted, and thank Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars profusely for guiding me through the process!  I just celebrated my one-year "blogiversary" in mid-November, and am both grateful for and humbled by the kindness and generosity this community has shown me.  Their friendship and inspiration have made me a better educator and a better person.   It is with great honor and respect now that I invite you to step inside the castle  with me now to enjoy.....  

  Reading, spelling, writing, and vocabulary work were always my favorite subjects in elementary and high school.  The rhythm, rhyme, figurative language, descriptive phrases, and the ability to paint pictures with words always fascinated and enchanted me.  My nose was often in a book, or my pen was always being put to paper--writing in my journal, drafting a short story, or composing a poem.  My love of all things literacy-related continues today in my classroom, and I am always looking for new methods, strategies, activities, or techniques to capture the attention and interest of my young students.  

In addition to sharing favorite read alouds from my beloved collection of picture books, I also like to incorporate music into much of my teaching and am not one to sit down at my desk too often.  I am known to dance, chant, move, and groove as needed to keep my class focused and engaged.  I also have a cupboard full of creative props, puppets, and costumes that I bring out and use as needed. In order to do justice to the content of this post and make this thematic study of BIG words and their IMPORTANT MEANINGS come alive for my second graders, I had to dig deep into my royal treasure box!    

  A regal tiara, silver scepter, movie star sunglasses, megaphone, microphone, and cheerleader pom-poms are just a few of the royal tools and tricks of the trade I rounded up!  Alas though, I did not come up with velvet cape or a horse-drawn carriage.....or a dashing prince.  But I digress..... What follows now is a pictorial description of how the planning for and the actual teaching of  vocabulary lessons in the Royal Kingdom of Room #2 this year has unfolded....  

  This book and the simple, effective, and easy-to-implement ideas inside of it has been a "game-changer" for me.   After two years of rotating between the same Daily 5 Working with Words activities in Kindergarten and first grade, my second graders were in desperate need of something different this fall.  When I stumbled upon Word Nerds by Brenda J. Overturf, Leslie H. Montgomery, and Margot Holmes Smith at my local bookstore, I was at first taken in by the happy, gesturing children on the front cover.  The second thing that intrigued me was the rhymed title, and the fact that it described me.  I am a WORD NERD through and through!  I LOVE VOCABULARY! Whenever one of my students uses a huge "ten dollar word," either in conversation or in their writing, I "kiss their brain."  I am also forever spouting a list of alternatives for words we encounter in our daily reading.  Needless to say, I scooped it up off the shelf, bought it, and sat down to read it right when I got home.    

  One hundred and forty-seven pages later, I might have even kissed the cover, and then cried a little bit.  I was hooked.  I had found my kindred spirits.  The three teacher-authors, who work at a school with a low socioeconomic population and a high percentage of at-risk children just like I mine, had found a way to reach and teach them the magic and power found in words.They had found a way to foster confidence in children who didn't have any.  They still used the tried-and-true methods of close readings and four-corner graphic organizers, but they also introduced an activity called Crystal Ball Words where students look deeply into the prefix, suffix, and root of a word to predict its meaning. They use "themed cycles" of words, instead of lists generated by a basal series, that are based on either a non-fiction text they are reading for a subject area like Science or Social Studies, or a picture book they are studying for Language Arts.    Synonym and antonym charts for each of the words listed in the "themed cycle" are created by the students, written on index cards and put in plastic lanyards.  A weekly "Block Party" is  held, where the teacher calls out the vocabulary word and the child wearing that word on his lanyard needs to invite the children wearing his or her related synonyms or antonyms to the party. Test reviews are called celebrations, and often take the form of a game show like Jeopardy, Deal or No Deal, with students writing the questions and each vocabulary word for the teacher to ask. Sometimes students write a song about their word and sing it American Idol style into a microphone. Sometimes students do the limbo while answering vocabulary questions and then enjoy Hawaiian Punch at a class Luau Party afterwards.  Often times, students will act out their words in a Charades-style game. While these activities are just a few of the ideas shared in this resource, Chapter 5 is entitled "Active Vocabulary Practice and is full of innovative, creative, and kinesthetic ways to help children develop the "velcro" they need to understand words and get their meaning to "stick to their brain."     Word Nerds also includes a wealth of different formative and summative assessment ideas, planning charts, rubrics, and trade books that can be easily adapted and used in the elementary classroom. Working smarter not harder is something I have learned slowly over my 23-year-career, and I appreciate being able to just pull what I need from the appendix and adapt it as needed.  As I started to map out my own implementation plan, I decided to use Fancy Nancy picture, easy reader, and chapter books as my mentor texts because of their rich, royal, and "tres tres chic" supply of synonyms and antonyms.  I also appreciate the glossary that is included at the back of each story!  They make it easy to create both word and definition cards to use as a before-reading reference in my pocket chart, or to use as a matching review game at a literacy station.   

Despite her love for all things pink, feathery, sequined, and "girly," the boys in my group adore Fancy Nancy's  humor, frequent clumsiness, and her long, arduous laments about how the rest of her family is just so "plain" instead of "extraordinary."  My entire group also loves the Razzle Dazzle candies I pass out before we meet the new words in every story!  I use them to remind my students how the language we use to express ourselves when we speak, read, and write should be just like the sweet treats in their mouths--fizzy, juicy, flavorful, fabulous, and fun!

  I also developed this List of Top Ten Royal Vocabulary Rules based on important precepts outlined in Word Nerds to launch or introduce my unit.    Please humor my use of alliteration.  It just spills out of me, and I cannot help myself.  I also decided to emphasize how exploring new words and understanding their meaning is just like unwrapping a present by packaging the words from our first story, Fancy Nancy Sees Stars, as well as the Royal Vocabulary Rules in gift bags.  This task of removing the tissue paper and ribbon to "dig deep" inside the bag to  unearth the word cards really helped my group grasp how there are often lots of layers or multiple meanings to words that have to be discovered or unearthed!  

 

 

 

 

Each morning,  my class gathers in our group time area to review these 10 V's OF VOCABULARY and go over directions for their partner or small group work choices.  I keep these definition cards on 

a large ring near our "Thinking Chart," and call student volunteers to come up and read them to their peers.  After each rule is read, the entire group shouts out, "Let's make our words fancy!  Just like Nancy!"

Once we've gone through our rule review and warm-up, student pairs or cooperative groups break off to enjoy a variety of practice activities that are easy for me to prep, and designed to expand and extend their knowledge of the words we are studying.  I use little gift bags tied with tags to designate the work areas around our classroom, designate royal helpers to distribute the materials needed for each one from my supply shelves (clipboards, highlighters, Crayola markers, finger trackers, Post-It notes, fun Flair pens, sentence strips, chart paper),  assign children to their Word Nerd Work Stations for the day, and then sit back on my royal throne to eat bon bons!

Okay.....so I don't actually eat bon bons or sit on a throne during this time, but I do maintain a "I am just going to walk around our royal kingdom in my tiara and watch, listen, wave royally, help if needed, and shower children with praise and compliments" demeanor!

Each station has lists of our current vocabulary words and definitions that I've copied and laminated, as well as all of the supplies the students will need to be successful Word Nerds.  A short description of each one follows.  Please note that it took a LOT of whole-group modeling and practice for each of these activities before my crew was able to work independently during a 20-30 minute time frame.  My students take their three-ring binder that is pre-loaded with Handwriting Without Tears paper to their daily station, and then use it as a lap desk if they choose to sit on the floor and work.

Worn Out Words--Students generate alternatives for words that are overused in their writing and use chart paper or dry erase boards to generate lists of new ones.  For example, a pair of my students came up with this short list of words to use in place of "big"--huge, mammoth, gigantic. 

Fancy Schmancy Words--Students choose books of interest to them, either non-fiction or fiction, from our classroom library, and use finger flashlights to scan the pages to find interesting or new words inside of them!  They then write their favorite words on Post-Its and add them to our Wall of Words to share with the entire class later.  Dictionaries are also available at this station for students to look up word meanings.

Snazzy Jazzy Synonyms--Students wear star-shaped sunglasses and use bright flourescent-color

sentence strips to write synonyms for our featured words of the week.

Awesome Antonyms--Students sit across from each other knee-to-knee, and gently toss a small Koosh ball or bean bag back-and-forth while calling out an antonym for each word of the week.  For example, the first child says "Alfresco means outside."   The second child then responds "The antonym for alfresco is inside!"

Picture Perfect Words--Students choose a word or two from our list to illustrate for our

Art Gallery of Great Words display!  This then serves as a reference place for the whole class to have a visual clue for each word.  I usually cut white construction paper in half for this station, and the students use their own art supply boxes.  You could also have your students work collaborative to create a colorful Picture Perfect mural on large chart paper!

Picture Perfect Words--Students choose a word or two from our list to illustrate for our

Art Gallery of Great Words display!  This then serves as a reference place for the whole class to have a visual clue for each word.  I usually cut white construction paper in half for this station, and the students use their own art supply boxes.  You could also have your students work collaboratively to create a colorful Picture Perfect mural on large chart paper!  Imagine the possibilities, and encourage them to use the brightest crayons in their boxes!

Lights! Camera! Action! Words--Students act out, sing, chant, rap, cheer, or dance to their words.

They can clap, tap, or snap the syllables as they say each word out loud.  They can make up a jingle to help them remember the word meanings  like "I am a constellation!  I am a shiny sky sensation!"

They can play a game of Charades, where they act out each word for their partner or group to guess and state the meaning.  Because this particular set of activities can get L-O-U-D, I recommend that you play it as a whole group in order to maintain decorum and avoid chaos in your royal kingdom!

Razzle Dazzle Related Words--Students work together to brainstorm a list of other words that relate to the topic or theme of the word study.

Wonder Words--Students "read the room" with a partner--book titles, anchor charts, our Word Wall, labels, etc.-- and write down four favorite words.  They then either "turn and talk" to their neighbor about their words, and state the reason they like each one.  After that, they must "show what they know" by writing "superhero sentences" for each word.

What are "superhero sentences" you ask?  Why, they are sentences that are NOT full of  plain, unassuming, everyday, run-of-the-mill newspaper reporter Clark Kent words!  They are sentences full of vivid, visual, voracious, vast, very fun, vocal, vibrant, vivacious, and effervescent can-leap-tall-buildings-in-a-single-bound Superman words!  They are sentences that include great detail and infused with figurative language that leaps off of the page and literally sparkles!  They are sentences that are full of....

 

If you'd like to take your students for a magical ride in my royal vocabulary carriage, I will have this FREE starter kit uploaded to my store very soon! It will include the word power cards, anchor charts, and posters described in this post.

 Click 

{HERE} 

or on the picture below to grab your copy!

In closing, I'd like to share one more piece of information that is connected to my personal vs. professional life.  It served as the thematic inspiration for this post, and is "tres tres" good news that I just simply must share!  Thank you in advance for indulging me!

Beginning in late January 2015, my daughter will be performing 

onstage at the 

Emerald City Theater in ......

Know that I cannot wait to applaud her performance as she helps bring skits, songs, and dances about one of my favorite books characters to life!  It honestly makes my teacher and Drama Mama heart swell with pride!  

As I have always told her, I will remind you of the same advice now.  Reach for the stars.  Do what is best for yourself and your students.  Trust your instincts.  Teach them creatively.  Feed their imagination.  Celebrate their shining moments, and .....

~Jennifer

Thankful For Reading Resources

 

Hi everyone! Who's Thanksgiving break has started? I was polling my page fans on The Reading Tutor/OG yesterday, and couldn't believe how many of you get the whole week off! Lucky! I always got Thursday and Friday off and that was it. However many days you get, I'm sure it is well deserved.

I have another question. Who loves finding online teacher resources? Here's a round up of five great resources to bookmark or share with a work colleague. I have to thank my fellow teacher bloggers for helping me with this one. It was so funny how they came up with the same ones I was thinking of when I polled them for ideas. You may not have seen some of these, so you'll definitely want to give them a try while you're on Thanksgiving break. Unless you're one of those people shopping on Black Friday, Yikes! Those crowds can be pretty fierce for some holiday deals.

1. Newsela-This site is a collection of high interest non-fiction articles for grades 3-12. This can be one of your go-to sites if you're searching for close reading passages. You can create an account, and assign articles to your students to read. One nice feature is you can change the reading level to suit the needs of your students. Then assign questions on the article to monitor their comprehension. This is one of the best online reading tools for differentiating your reading instruction.
2. Read To Me-LV- This site is a lot like Storyline. Famous actors and actresses read picture books aloud for your students or child to follow along. Any opportunity a child has to hear more a proficient reader other than their own teacher or parent read to them is a good thing.
3. Into The Book- I love this site when I introduce comprehension strategies. The videos show real students trying the strategy out and modeling it for your class. Into The Book supports you and your students. You can print out mini-posters and lesson plans for each comprehension strategy.
4. FCRR- The Florida Center For Reading Research has a search engine for all areas of literacy. Once you enter what you're looking for by skill, strategy and grade level, you'll find incredibly useful lesson plans and ready to print student materials. I always recommend this one to teachers, who really don't have a lot of money to spend on classroom materials, but need quality lessons.
5. Starfall- For all you early childhood educators out there, Starfall is a goldmine. Do you have your families use it? I find to be a nice alternative if you can't afford the ABCmouse.com subscription at home. You'll find plenty of early childhood literacy skills and much of it is narrated or has audio components. The cheerful graphics always appeal to younger readers.

Now you have 5 resources that truly span grades Pre-K to 12! Are there any you'd like to add? Please comment below. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. See you back here in December!

10 Ways to Motivate Your Readers

What do you think of when you hear the word, "Project"? Maybe art supplies (or the lack of them), creativity, or perhaps, "There goes my relaxation time!" Well, I have students who are incredibly excited to share their enthusiasm for reading whenever it's time to make a project, and today, we'll explore ways to motivate, celebrate, and increase reading with your students through projects and other motivational techniques.

Teaching Cause and Effect

Hi! It's Bex here from Reading and Writing Redhead to talk a little about cause and effect. I don't know about you but my students always find cause and effect challenging - especially when I ask them to think in reverse-given an effect, what is a cause that could have led to it.

Cause and effect is a type of analytic thinking that is so important for students to understand. It helps them understand why things happen the way that they do. Did you ever think about how many people grow up and take on careers in which they spend tons of time thinking about cause and effect? Some of the most obvious are detectives, doctors, psychologists, but what about electricians who try to figure out why the fuse keeps blowing, meteorologists who are determining why it is raining so much, entrepreneurs trying to figure out why their product is not selling, or how about us teachers trying to figure out why Susie is struggling with reading fluency when she has all her phonics skills down pat?!

Understanding cause and effect  is a lifelong tool. Students will not only need to understand it in school, but they need to be able to recognize it so they can understand what is happening in their personal life and the world at large-to understand actions and consequences and to describe what is going on in deep detail.

Are you looking for some ways to teach cause and effect with your students? I rounded up some ideas from around the web for us. Take a look and please also comment and let us know how you like to work on this in your classroom!

• You can create a cause and effect chain link with your students. Cut out construction paper strips and have students write a cause from a book they read on one color of construction paper and an effect on another color, then join them together to for a chain. Students can connect a series of events from a story or book they read or something they wrote themselves.

• Some great ideas for teaching cause and effect involve manipulatives where students can move around causes and effects so they match up. Check out the great ideas and a freebie to use with the fabulously funny Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type over at the Applicious Teacher here. 

• If you like to do crafts with your kids you might like a cause and effect project like this one for Diary of a Spider at the blog Tattling to the Teacher. Students would need to illustrate 4 causes and effects that relate to story events and then glue them onto the spider craft. Check that out here.

• I have a freebie you might like, too. It is a simple match up activity and you can grab it by clicking here or on the image. 

                                                            .

• Anchor charts are really useful for students when they are trying to figure out new concepts. There are all kind of terrific anchor charts for cause and effect you could check out for ideas.

• This one has some great information and you could use it as a model for one you do with your own class. one It's origin on the web is unclear.

                                                   

• Here is another one with mystery origins - it is an anchor chart using Angry Birds to help illustrate cause and effect. I think this could be very successful! Or what about Minecraft?  My students are obsessed with it and I think could talk to me in great detail about cause and effect in the game.

                                                 

• And finally there are some terrific videos out there that can be springboards for lessons on many  so many concepts. I found a video from Pixar called For the Birds  that would be great for teaching cause and effect. Take a look!

                                        

Fluency Rubric

Hello Literacy Land friends! 

Last month I stopped by to share some information that I learned at a Smekens Education workshop.  The post was all about the power that punctuation has on fluency. Today I wanted to share just a few more fluency tips that I received and tried out!

Smekens suggested that fluency be taught intentionally.  Students cannot work towards something that they don't understand.  One way to help this understanding is though a fluency rubric.  The rubric is to be created with/by the students and over time.  You can check out the other suggestions that they have for this rubric by clicking HERE.

I really wanted to build some lessons around the idea of this rubric.  My thought was that if I built this foundation and the expectation, then students would work towards it throughout the rest of the year.  Here is what I decided to do:

Day 1: Introduce the rubric and the term fluency; read "Wolf"
Day 2: Introduce the power of punctuation on fluency with the book "The Monster At The End of This Book"
Day 3: Introduce phrasing using "Wolf" and a concrete ribbon lesson
Day 4: Practice phrasing (swoops) and rhythm through poetry

The following terms are used on Smekens fluency rubric: "robot reader," "skateboard reader," and "robot reader on a skateboard."  I liked these terms because I think my first graders can relate to them.  They are more concrete than just a smiley face or sad face.

So on day 1I decided to jump right in and explain the three parts to our rubric.  Then....we did not add anything else.  Instead, I just read to them.  I read "Wolf."

If you have not read this book, it is perfect when introducing fluency.  The wolf is learning to read.  As the story goes on, students get a pretty good understanding of what it means to read with fluency because the wolf goes through these different stages.  After listening to the story, my students were able to quickly add to our rubric.  They told me that a robot reader may read too slow or too fast but that a skateboard reader is not going too fast or slow.  Along with this, they added that robots are choppy and boring, while skateboards are smooth and interesting. (Yes!!!)

As each day progressed, we added to this rubric. 

After reading this text on day 2, students were able to tell me that skateboard readers sound like the character and change their voice by using punctuation.  Robot readers do not.

The discussion about phrasing on day 3 is a tad bit trickier because I think it is sometimes hard for their little ears to hear how we group words as speakers and readers.  I try to make it as concrete as possible by using index cards, ribbons, and lots of movement.  You can read my full post about these activities at Curious Firsties. 
On day 4 we actually put the phrasing into action using phrasing swoops with a poem.

This helped all the lessons come together for them and they were able to add even more to the rubric about rhythm and phrasing.

As the lessons came to close (although we will focus on fluency all year long), I realized that they had actually learned a lot about how fluency should sound and not sound.  They loved the texts that we read and were very engaged.  But most importantly, my first graders came to understand that they would all be robot readers and skateboard readers this year.  I told them that as learners we can't be skateboard readers all the time.  Reading can be challenging and when it is we sometimes become robot readers.  I know I would fall into that part of the rubric if I was reading a medical journal.  But I went on to explain that as we read that challenging text more often, we become skateboard readers.

It is the cycle of learning and we are all on it.

Have you tried using a fluency rubric in your classroom?  If so, where there any lessons or books that you found to be helpful?

Non-Negotiables for Reading with Emergent Readers

Hi, I’m Cathy Collier and my blog is The W.I.S.E Owl (Where Instruction Supports Excellence) at www.cathycollier.com. I have become the crazy OWL lady. When I went back in the classroom after a 2 year “sabbatical” as a reading specialist, I couldn’t have a BEE classroom because the lady across the hall was already the BEE lady. So…I wanted something no one else was using. So when I decided to decorate my classroom in OWLS I was told I was crazy. Yes, I am personally responsible for OWLS in your classroom. (hehe)

I am also kinda a control freak when it comes to teaching reading to kindergartners. I have a passion for emergent readers and writers and truly believe kindergarten is more important than ever. There are a couple of non-negotiables in teaching reading.

Non-Negotiable #1 – Guided Reading Instruction EVERY Day
That’s what I mean…EVERY day! Students not only need lots of exposure to lots of text, but they need it consistently. The hour of guided reading and literacy centers is a given. The centers are set up to create independent learners, so that my guided reading groups are pulled every day. Starting with predictable texts in Level A, students are forming good reading behaviors from the beginning.

Speaking of Good Reading Habits…

Non-Negotiable #2 – Fix-It Strategies

When I was teaching at a previous school we adopted school-wide fix-it strategies. This is valuable. Every student in the school hears the same words for the same skill. When they leave kindergarten the first grade teacher doesn’t have to reinvent the “fix-it” wheel…they can expand on what they already know. An area reading specialist created the Reading Toolbox of fix-it strategies. I love this. I had a toolbox with physical things to represent the strategies.  

My school adopted more specific fix-it strategies…not themed. Teachers have the posters on their wall and they were sent home on bookmarks for the parents. I made desktop fix-it strategies that are taped to my reading table. As the students get stuck on a word, I can point to the strategy to remind them how they can fix it. It is far more powerful for students to learn to fix the interruption in their reading rather than rely on a teacher or parent to help them. 

Non-Negotiable #3 Independent Reading at the Guided Reading Table

After instruction and a book walk, students must be afforded the opportunity to read the entire text in an uninterrupted format. This is not Round Robin reading. Round Robin has its own special soap box in my mind. Reading the entire text is important for fluency, comprehension, and practice with reading strategies. I ask the student to my immediate right to begin reading. When student #1 finishes the cover and title page, I direct student #2 to begin. When student #2 finished the cover and title page, I direct student #3 to begin, and so on. The routine in my classroom is to read the book over and over until I tell them to stop. This is typically when the last child reads the book 2 times. The students read in a soft tone a bit higher than a whisper. As the students read at their own pace, they are reading for understanding. I listen to each child read a page or two before moving to the next student. The predictable text makes it easy to hear mistakes (even if you are not focused on that student). You can quickly turn your attention to that child and help the child make corrections for the mistake. (The perfect opportunity to use the desk mats for fix-it strategies.) To give a visual cue for your students, I am sharing my Reading Fix-It Set.  You can access it by clicking the image below.

Non-Negotiable #4 Independent Reading is not just recommended. It’s necessary. 
Students must be given the time to practice reading. We wouldn’t expect to become a prima ballerina, professional athlete or concert violinist without practice, so we cannot expect students to become prolific readers without practice. Having the time scheduled is just the start. Students need to be encouraged to read when they finish early. 

Students in my class have a bag of books that are leveled texts. These books are given at the guided reading table and they have gotten instruction on these books. They also have 2 areas in my classroom for self-selected books. The first area is the leveled library in the room. These books were collected over the years and have single copies of books. Students know their reading level and they are allowed to take any book from that level or the levels before it. 

The second area is the classroom library. They can choose from themed books. Most can’t be read independently, but can be discovered and investigated independently. These books are not put in their bag, but in their individual boxes. Let them read to a “buddy” (stuffed animal) or a friend. Teach good routines for reading to a friend. Set norms for taking turns and providing feedback. Kindergartners can do anything when expectations are demonstrated and allowed to be practiced. Sending home guided reading books is another debate. Some schools allow it, some don’t. Regardless, make sure you don’t do running records on a book that has been practiced for days and taken home for homework (but that’s a post for another day).

Thank you for inviting me to post.  I LOVE talking about reading.

Cathy

Reading Aloud with Children

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Well, at least for youngsters who love to read!

Hello, everyone!  It's Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars with good reasons to read with young children daily and encourage parents to do the same!

Studies show that reading aloud to children, especially young children, has a great impact on reading development.  Children who are read to for at least 20 minutes each day actually have been shown to perform higher in kindergarten classrooms than those who don't get that reading time.

I remember learning all of this when getting my Masters, which was something I had never really thought about.  I thought my mom just read to us because she enjoyed it, much like I do now.  The graphic below gives a perfect picture of how reading helps children's vocabulary grow so much.  Which student is going to have the best advantage as reader?

This is true of students who have been read to as well.  Their vocabulary is much higher than those students who have not been read to.

There are many other benefits to reading with your own children (or grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbors, or even younger siblings).

1.  It helps them learn new vocabulary.  My daughter loves to read the same books over and over and over and over.  We have read the book Freight Train by Donald Crews a million times.  From this book, she has learned her colors and cars on a train.  She can even recite the words in the book.  Such a simple book with a simple message!

2  It teaches directionality.  When you read with a young child, they watch your every move!  They seem to know which page you are on, no matter what.  I have started to point to the words as I read books with my two-year old, and she follows along with me.  Now when she "reads" a book on her own, she looks at the words in a left to right fashion.

3.  Reading aloud aids in comprehension.  Now that my son is in the fifth grade, I still read aloud to him.  Right now we are in the midst of the Harry Potter series.  Since there are no pictures, he has to visualize everything in the book for himself.  When he watched the movie six weeks after finishing the first book, he actually noticed the differences.  It shows me how much he was paying attention to the contents of the book!

4.  Children can ask questions, lots of them!  By nature, children are curious.  So, when reading aloud to them, they can stop and ask questions about what is happening in the book, on their own terms.  In school, the teacher doesn't always stop for questions because there may not be enough time.  While reading the Harry Potter books, my son doesn't always ask the questions right at the moment we are reading.  He asks in the car, in the grocery store, at dinner, and any old time.  Many times he is predicting and wants the answer, but I always tell him that we will have to keep reading!

I have always read aloud to my two kids, since before they were born.  Yes, I was that mom!  My parents read aloud to each of us every single night for as long as I can remember.  As I became a Mom, I realized the importance of reading with my children for at least 20 minutes each day.  And it has worked beautifully!

My son reading to my daughter

Reading with your children, or any children you know, creates readers.  They learn at an early age that reading can be fun and exciting.  They understand that it takes you to places you can only imagine.  They BECOME readers!

Reading aloud doesn't always have to happen at the same time, just make it happen every day!  And what a better time to start than right now!

So, what books do you like to read aloud?