Helping My Child Read and Write

                                                                   

You are your child’s first and most important teacher. When you help your

child learn to read, write, and think critically, you are opening the door to the

rich world of learning.

For your child, learning to read can begin with listening to you reading stories

and newspaper articles aloud. Before long, your child will show interest in

reading stories and other materials on his or her own. It is very important to

talk about the ideas in a book or magazine, to ask questions that encourage

your child to think, and to let your child talk to you about his or her responses

to what has been read.

Your child can learn how to read and write more easily with your help. With

regular practice, he or she will develop fluency in both reading and writing. At

the same time, your child will also learn to think critically about the stories or

informational materials that he or she reads.

Families can incorporate literacy activities anywhere – developing literacy is

not just what children do while at school. It is important that you look for

opportunities for your child to learn wherever you are and whenever you can.

Literacy is part of every day in some way, no matter what you are doing or

where you are. Literacy skills are used in all kinds of situations – for example,

when reading food labels, when talking with other children on the soccer

field, when discussing a movie with the family, or when writing lists to be

posted on the refrigerator.

It’s important for you to encourage your child and to show that you have

confidence in him or her. Avoid comparing your child’s performance with

that of other children. Remember that learning to read and write does not

take place all at once. Also, learning to read and write is not always easy, and

children need to know that everyone learns at different rates. Children learn

to read and write over time with lots of practice and with support from parents

and teachers.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Coordinator

Discovery School

FRIENDSHIP IN THE PRESCHOOL YEARS

                                                              

At age three or four years, your child might be very skilled at interacting with peers, especially if they have siblings close to their own age. But even if they had little experience getting along with other children, that doesn’t automatically, place them at a disadvantage. A child who is a beginner with peers can catch on quickly, while some old hands might need to unlearn behaviors (such as toy snatching) that worked in a previous setting, but not anymore.

In addition to his past experiences, a child’s temperament plays a big role in how easily he gets along with other people. A moderately active, outgoing, cheerful child often has a relatively easy time. A child with high energy and strong impulses often has more negative early relationships until he develops some measure of self-control. A cautious child might spend lots of time observing from a distance, until he’s more comfortable in a given setting. Even then, he might choose to have one or two friends, rather than several. It takes parents who know their children well, and teachers who can work with a range of different children, to make the preschool experience positive for every child.

Friends are vital to early childhood children’s healthy development. Research has found that children who lack friends can suffer from emotional and mental difficulties later in life. Friendships provide children with more than just fun playmates. Friendships help children develop emotionally and morally. In interacting with friends, children learn a lot of social skills, such as how to communicate, cooperate, and solve problems. They practice controlling their emotions and responding to the emotions of others. They develop the ability to think through and negotiate different situations that arise in their relationships. Having friends even affects children’s school performance. Children tend to have better attitudes about school and learning when they have friends to share it with.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Coordinator

The Importance of MAP Testing

                                                                                   

Why take standardized tests?

Standardized tests are nationally normed. This means that thousands of students take the test and are ranked based on their performance on this test. When your child takes the test, the results indicate where your child is in relation to the thousands of students who were in the norm group. If your child is in the 85th percentile, this means that your child scored higher than 84% of the students in the norm group. This score gives the parents an accurate picture of where their child is in relation to other children of the same age and grade group.
Standardized tests can also be used to track student growth. The MAP test utilizes a RIT score. When your child takes the test in the fall, he receives a RIT score. The goal then is to improve the RIT score by 5 points when taking the test in the spring. Parents who keep the achievement test scores and compare them from test to test will see a legitimate record of student progress.

The MAP results share specifically which concepts in each subject area were mastered and shows the level of mastery. This allows the parent and the teacher to focus specifically on areas of weakness.
How should I have my child prepare for this test?

You should not have your child study for this test. This test is not a part of the child’s grades and should simply be used to indicate where the child is academically at a given point in time. Spending time in preparation may skew the results and prevent the parent and the school from seeing an accurate picture of the child’s academic progress. The student who over-studies in the fall but does not put forth the same effort in the spring may appear to lose ground by scoring lower on the second test. The most accurate picture of where your child ranks against the norm group is taken when the child does not study for the test. The best way to prepare your child for the test is to monitor their schoolwork year round and ensure that they are reaching out for help when their understanding is not certain.
You should also ensure that your child get a good night’s rest. The night(s) prior to taking the MAP test should be pleasant evenings for the child. They should eat a healthy meal, enjoy their evening, and go to bed early. It is essential that a student be fully rested in order to perform at a maximum level when taking the test. Students should eat a healthy breakfast on the day of the test. When taking the test, the student should take a minimum of a fifteen minute break between sections of the test.

Enjoy,
Ms. Nora Sierra
Early Childhood Coordinator

The Importance of Parent-Teacher Conferences

                                                          

Parent-teacher conferences are an opportunity to establish better communication between parents and teachers. Since children are different at home and in school, parent-teacher conferences enable both the parent and the teacher to gain a better understanding of the child, enabling them to be more effective in helping him or her. A teacher, for example, may be very surprised to learn that what she thought was a humorous way of dealing with a child actually makes the child feel belittled. A parent may learn that the teacher feels the child is not giving school his best effort. During a parent-teacher conference, a teacher may learn that the child is distracted because the family is going through a difficult time. Many parents are also pleasantly surprised during parent-teacher conferences to hear how much better behaved their child is in school than at home.

Before the conference 

Preparing for the conference can make the experience more rewarding. Ask your child if he has concerns or anything that he would like you to communicate to his teacher. Depending on the child's age, discuss whether or not family problems should be mentioned. If you are concerned about your child's work, keep copies of material that illustrate your concerns. If only one parent of a two-parent household can attend the conference, it is helpful to take notes or bring a tape recorder to share the findings with the absent partner. In order to gain information about your child's behavior and progress, you might prepare some questions. Here are some possible examples:

Early Childhood 

·         Does he share and take turns?

·         Does he focus during large-group activities? Small-group activities?

·         Is he self-directed in choosing activities during free time or does he need your help?

·         What are his favorite activities?

·         Is he willing to take risks?

·         Is he able to settle conflicts verbally?

·         Does he prefer working alone or with other children?

·         Is he a leader or follower or combination?

Importance of Rhyming in Kindergarten

What is rhyming?
Yes, I’m sure all of you already know that rhyming words sound the same at the end!  :)  It’s a phonemic awareness skill, meaning that it’s all about manipulating oral language.  Rhyming is just a part of phonemic awareness . . . of working with language, sounds within language, and playing with language.

Why is teaching rhyming important?

Oh, teaching rhyming is important for so many reasons!  To begin with, a multitude of research has shown a correlation between rhyming mastery and eventual reading preparedness.  Now, if your child isn’t a rhyming machine right now, please don’t freak out!  This doesn’t mean she’s going to be a below-average reader when she’s older.  It just means that you can incorporate more rhyming activities into your day.  I’ll be touching on that later on this week, so keep an eye out.

On top of that, rhyming helps kids improve their oral language skills overall.  It helps them to playfully manipulate their language, which gives them a kind of “permission” to manipulate language in other ways.  Children have more ownership over their language when they’re encouraged to change it and play with how they speak.

As previously mentioned, rhyming is an aspect of phonemic awareness (awareness of how to listen to, identify, and change around the sounds in spoken language).  Phonemic awareness lays the groundwork for written language.  Rhyming is a precursor to learning how to read and write.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora

Strategies for Teaching Writing in Kindergarten

 

Kindergarten students enter the school year with varying levels of ability, especially when it comes to writing. As a kindergarten teacher, I’ve seen a range of writing, from scribbling to writing sentences. The key is to begin with where they are. We all know that kindergartners are full of thoughts and ideas. They just don’t know how to express what they’re thinking in writing.

After students are comfortable with the writing process, I begin to introduce them to the mechanics of writing simple sentences. When teaching students about writing, I explain to them that writing is like telling a story on paper. I begin by showing them what their thoughts look like. For example, I have them share an idea while I write it on the chart. In the beginning I emphasize the content of the writing rather than grammatical correctness.

At the beginning of the school year, I introduce my students to writing simple sentences. I like to begin the sentence and have my students finish it. Some starters I use are "I am," "I like," "I can," and "I want." After several weeks of using sentence starters, many of my students are confident and ready to begin writing their own sentences.

Once my students have mastered writing simple sentences, I encourage them to add a little sparkle to their work. For example, if a student writes “I like dogs,” have them explain what types of dogs they like. Continue by guiding them through the creation of a new sentence. For example: “I like brown dogs with curly hair.”

I also like to use this expanding sentence activity when teaching my students to add descriptive words. I model this activity with my students several times to help them understand and master the concept.

 

Writing is a skill that requires daily practice. Each day my students begin their morning by writing in their journals. Students are free to write about a topic of their choice. Journal writing is a great way for your students to practice articulating their thoughts. Journals encourage students to retell or create their own stories as well as to practice fine motor skills and letter formation. Journals can also help teacher’s measure progress and find out more about their students' interests.

 

Enjoy,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Coordinator

 

10 Reading Readiness Skills for Kindergarten Kids

Today's parents are often shocked when they come to school for orientation and see what's on the docket when it comes to reading. What happened to a full day of crayons? What happened to unlimited time in the sand box?

Without a doubt, the skills taught in kindergarten today look more like the skills taught in first grade a decade or two ago, especially when it comes to reading.  But fret not, because these high reading expectations for young students are accompanied by very strategic teaching methods, and a meticulous progression of skills that build upon one another. Your child can meet the reading goals set by his teacher, especially if he's on track when he first enters kindergarten. So, is he?

While every teacher and school has their own set of “prerequisites,” there's a set of general reading expectations that most teachers share, when it comes to kids entering kindergarten. Before entering kindergarten, a student well prepared for reading should be able to:

1.    Read her name

2.    Recite the alphabet

3.    Recognize some or all of the letters in the alphabet

4.    Correspond some or all letters with their correct sound

5.    Make rhymes

6.    Hold a book right side up with the spine on the left, front cover showing

7.    Recognize that the progression of text is left to right, top to bottom

8.    Echo simple text that is read to them

9.    Recognize that text holds meaning

10. Re-tell a favorite story

If your child is not quite steady in all of these areas, don't panic! Every child enters kindergarten at a different level and teachers expect a huge variation in the skills each student brings. They're trained to optimize success for each individual, no matter what. According to Lesley M. Morrow, Ph.D. and Distinguished Professor of Literacy at Rutgers University in New Jersey, one of the main reasons kindergarten reading is taught in small groups, is so teachers can easily cater to different levels of reading readiness. More advanced readers can be taught in a way that limits boredom, and more beginning readers at a pace that minimizes frustration.

6+1 WRITING TRAITS IN KINDERGARTEN

Young children can and do write. They want to show others what they know. Children

move through three states of scribbling for writing according to Clay (1975). In the first stage

they scribble for pleasure. In the second stage children acquire the knowledge that written

symbols convey meaning and they believe adults can read their writing. The third stage includes

mock letters and beginning letter sounds. The children describe their messages by what they

hope they have written.

Along with writing, children draw. Drawing is one of the primary ways children

communicate. There are also stages of drawing. These stages include: scribbling, preschematic,

schematic, gang, pseudo- naturalistic and the period of decision (Lowenfeld 1987) Kindergarten

students are typically in the preschematic or schematic stage. The preschematic stage is

characterized by symbols constantly changing. The schematic stage is characterized by objects

sitting on a baseline and child’s active knowledge of the subject. The amount and quality of

detail also progresses from a minimal stage to increasing attention to more specificity working its

way towards greater elaboration and patterning (Carroll 2003).

According to Karnowski (1986) young writers use drawing to explain their writing and

they use it as a prewriting strategy. Drawing helps children plan and organize the written text.

Often students will draw first in order to get their thoughts on paper. After the thoughts are

drawn the children can use their picture to remember their story and write it down. Vygotsky

(1978) stated that children’s drawings capitalize on the narrative impulse that emerges in their

earliest drawings, on their tendency to create story drawings and on the talk that surrounds and

supplements the drawing events.

There is a correlation between children’s drawing levels and writing readiness because

both are grounded in making shapes, lines and symbolic representation (Carroll 2003). As

writing progresses, so does children’s reading readiness. Children learn to read and write most

easily when they encounter texts that they themselves have authored (Sidelnick, Svoboda 2000 p

175) Teachers must capitalize on this knowledge to help create great readers and writers.

Teachers of these young students must remember several guidelines when allowing

students to write. Teachers need to know what their students understand about communication

and writing upon entering school. With this knowledge teachers can help foster writing in their

class. Teachers need to redefine their idea of writing. Writing in the early years takes many

forms and all must be valued and encouraged if a teacher wants to see growth in all their

children. Teachers must also understand that children use everything they know about

communication in oral language, art, music and drama to make sense of the writing process. The

children use familiar communication systems to add depth and meaning to their newly acquired

skill of writing (Karnowski 1986).

Children will make progress with their drawing and writing if they are provided with

time, materials, information, and freedom to invent meaningful language (Hayes 1990).

Children need to be immersed in a literacy focused environment in order to foster their writing

skills.

Children in an environment that fosters writing should be given different occasions to

write. These opportunities will provide students with extending their writing knowledge.

Children should at times use a sketchbook/journal where they can freely write and draw what

they want to. They also should attempt drawing by diction. It requires another level of

processing skills. A third type of drawing is drawing by request. A topic is given to the children

and they must write or draw about it. All of these help children to become great writers.

Great writers use certain qualities when they write. These qualities have become known

as traits. 6 Trait writing is a “hot button” topic in schools throughout the world.

 

What is 6 Trait Writing?

6 Trait Writing began in 1983 when a school in Oregon wanted to assess student writing as well as teach writing. They wanted an instrument that would provide accurate, reliable

feedback to students and teachers that would help guide instruction. In order to understand what

10

good writing was a group of teachers read hundreds of papers written by students. They agreed

upon six qualities that demonstrate great writing. The qualities, now known as traits are,

· Ideas (details, development, focus)

· Organization (internal structure)

· Voice (tone, style, purpose, and audience)

· Word choice (precise language and phrasing)

· Sentence fluency (correctness, rhythm, and cadence)

· Conventions (mechanical correctness)

· And another has now been added. . .presentation (handwriting, formatting, layout)

These traits became the foundation for the descriptive criteria used to define qualities of

good writing at different levels of achievement. Rubrics were created to assess the writing done

by students.

 

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

 

How can I help my child learn to read

Reading books aloud is one of the best ways you can help your child learn to read. This can be fun for you, too. The more excitement you show when you read a book, the more your child will enjoy it. The most important thing to remember is to let your child set her own pace and have fun at whatever she is doing. Do the following when reading to your child:

·         Run your finger under the words as you read to show your child that the print carries the story.

·         Use funny voices and animal noises. Do not be afraid to ham it up! This will help your child get excited about the story.

·         Stop to look at the pictures; ask your child to name things she sees in the pictures. Talk about how the pictures relate to the story.

·         Invite your child to join in whenever there is a repeated phrase in the text.

·         Show your child how events in the book are similar to events in your child's life.

·         If your child asks a question, stop and answer it. The book may help your child express her thoughts and solve her own problems.

·         Keep reading to your child even after she learns to read. A child can listen and understand more difficult stories than she can read on her own.

Listening to your child read aloud

Once your child begins to read, have him read out loud. This can help build your child's confidence in his ability to read and help him enjoy learning new skills. Take turns reading with your child to model more advanced reading skills.

If your child asks for help with a word, give it right away so that he does not lose the meaning of the story. Do not force your child to sound out the word. On the other hand, if your child wants to sound out a word, do not stop him.

If your child substitutes one word for another while reading, see if it makes sense. If your child uses the word "dog" instead of "pup," for example, the meaning is the same. Do not stop the reading to correct him. If your child uses a word that makes no sense (such as "road" for "read"), ask him to read the sentence again because you are not sure you understand what has just been read. Recognize your child's energy limits. Stop each session at or before the earliest signs of fatigue or frustration.

Most of all, make sure you give your child lots of praise! You are your child's first, and most important, teacher. The praise and support you give your child as he learns to read will help him enjoy reading and learning even more.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Mathematics in the Preschool Years

Pre-Number Concepts

Early development of number concepts is critical in developing positive attitudes about mathematics at an early age. Special methods and activities will assist children to develop early numeracy skills. These methods will need to include the use of motivating and engaging concrete materials that children can manipulate. Young children need to experience a lot of 'doing' and 'saying' before written numerals will make sense to them.

As early as 2 years of age, many children will parrot the words 'one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'five' etc. However, rarely do they understand that the number refers to an item or a set of items. At this stage, children do not have 'number conservation' or 'number correspondence'.

What are these concepts and how can you help?

Engaging children with a variety of measurement concepts is a great beginning. For instance, children enjoy telling us that they are 'bigger' than their sister or brother or 'taller' than the lamp or that they are 'higher' than the dishwasher. Young children will also think that they have 'more' in their cup simply because their cup is taller. This type of language needs to be promoted and children need parental guidance to help with the misconceptions of these concepts through experimentation. The bathtub is a great starting point, using a variety of plastic cylinders/cups and containers. At this age, perception is the child's guide, they do not have any other strategies to guide them in determining which has more or less, is heavier or lighter etc. A parent or day care provider can provide great learning experiences to assist young children’s' misconceptions through play.

Classification is a pre-number concept that children need lots of experimentation and communication with. We classify on a regular basis without even considering what we're actually doing. We look in indexes that are alphabetized or numerically arranged, we purchase groceries in areas of food groups, we classify to sort laundry, we sort our silverware before putting it away. Children can benefit from a variety of classification activities which will also support early numeracy concepts.

Classification Activities

-Use blocks to engaged young children to repeat the patterns.....blue, green, orange etc. 
-Ask young children to sort the silverware or the laundry based on color. 
-Use shapes to encourage children to determine what comes next----triangle, square, circle, triangle, etc. 
-Ask children to think of everything they can write with, ride on, that swims, that flies etc. 
-Ask children how many items in the living room are square or round or heavy etc.
-Ask them to tell you how many things are made of wood, plastic, metal etc.
-Extend classification activities to include more than one attribute (heavy and small, or square and smooth etc.)

Before Children Count

Children need to 'match sets' before they will understand 'number conservation' and that counting is actually referring to sets of items. Children are guided by their perceptions and will think that there are more grapefruits than lemons in a pile due to the actual size of the piles. You will need to do one to one matching activities with young children to help them develop conservation of number. The child will move one lemon and you can move the grapefruit. Repeat the process so that the child can see the number of fruits is the same. These experiences will need to be repeated often in a concrete manner which enables the child to manipulate the items and become engaged in the process.

More Pre-Number Activities:

Draw a number of circles (faces) and put down a number of buttons for eyes. Ask the child if there are enough eyes for the faces and how they can find out. Repeat this activity for mouths, noses etc. Speak in terms of more than and less than or as many as and how can we find out.

Use stickers to make patterns on a page or classify them by attributes. Arrange a row of a set number of stickers, arrange a second row with more spaces between the stickers, ask the child if there are the same number of stickers or more or less. Ask how they can find out - DON'T COUNT! Match the stickers one to one.

Arrange items on a tray (toothbrush, comb, spoon etc.) ask the child to look away, rearrange the items to see if they realize the number of items is still the same or if they think it's different.

You will have given young children a great start to Mathematics if you perform the above activity suggestions before introducing them to numbers. It's often difficult to find commercial activities to support classification, one to one matching, number conservation, conservation, as many as/more than/the same as etc. and you will probably need to rely on typical toys and household items. These concepts underlie the important mathematical concepts that children will eventually become involved in when they begin school.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Lower Elementary Coordinator

THE IMPORTANCE OF READING TO YOUR CHILD

 

One of the best and least expensive gifts that a parent can bestow upon their child is the gift of reading. Reading to your preschool child not only helps lead to success in kindergarten but throughout your child's entire life. In fact, according to the Association of Ohio School, "The single most important thing that influences primary grade reading achievement is having someone read to a child on a regular basis."

Being a good parent requires consistency, support and the ability to set forth a good example for the child to follow (among many other things). Set an example for your child by reading everyday. From a 1998 study by the American Guidance Service, Inc.: "Children who see their parents reading tend to be better readers themselves."

Read to your child at least fifteen minutes each day. It doesn't matter what you read. Chances are good that if you are interested in something, your child will be too. Read the sports page, a gardening magazine, comic strips or even poetry. It is not important so much that your child comprehends what is being read as much as it is for your child to see that you are enjoying the act of reading. If your child observes you not only reading it, but enjoying it, they will likely begin to imitate the act themselves. You may catch them "reading" to their toys or friends. They may even pick up a book or magazine and make up a great story that they "read" to you out loud. Encourage this type of activity in your child. Your child is learning to read in this way, even if they do not yet recognize the words.

Here are some tips to make reading enjoyable for your child:

* Create a quiet, comfortable space with pillows, a favorite blanket and soft lighting.

*Make reading a special time to cuddle and connect with your child.

*Occasionally substitute your child's name for the lead character's name.

*Use funny voices for each character.

*Take trips to the library to pick out books that you'll read together.

*Write a story together and read it often.

*Read advertisements, billboards, license plates, street signs, etc. These activities provide opportunities to share reading skills with your child.

*Act out stories as if they were a play.

*Read a favorite story into a tape recorder so that your child may listen to it often.

*Send letters to your child through the mail or let him/her "read" the junk mail.

As parents, it is our duty to help our children develop a love for reading that will lead to a strong foundation for later success in life. It is so simple, so important and such a wonderful gift to share.

Thanks,

Ms. Nora

Lower Elementary Coordinator