Miss.

Schleders Second Grade Classroom Newsletter

Dear Parents, Families, and Guardians: In class this week, students have been focusing on reading aloud during reading time. We have been reading books aloud during story circle time and pairs of students have been practicing reading short stories to each other. When students get the chance to read aloud they learn better pronunciation and verbal communication skills. If you are not already reading aloud with your child at home, now is a great time to start incorporating reading into your childs life at home. In this newsletter you will find information about what types of books to choose for your second grader, activities to make reading aloud at home fun, and beneficial reasons why you should read aloud with your child.

5 Reasons to Read Childrens Literature Aloud at Home

1. Reading aloud with your child teaches them to associate reading as a positive and fun subject. 2. Reading aloud helps your child with language development and helps them learn how to pronounce of words they may not be familiar with. 3. Reading aloud with your child introduces them to different book genes and styles. 4. Reading books aloud with your child helps to build and expand their vocabulary. 5. Reading aloud at home is a great way to bond with your child that empathizes one on one communication with them.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Phone: (989) 445-6289 ext. 213 E-mail: MissSchleder@gmail.com Miss Schleder Washington Elementary School 505 Main Street Saginaw, MI Room # 124

The book You Read to me, Ill read to you: Very Short Scary Tales is a great book to read aloud together youre your child. Different types of creatures appear throughout the story. After reading the book with your child create a list of all the creatures that you can remember from the story without looking in the book. Next talk with your child about which creature you each thought was the scariest and why. Finally, both you and your child can draw a picture of the creature you thought was the scariest; include details from the story in your drawling. If you cannot find this book, try using any story that features non-human characters.

The book The Dairy of a Spider tells about the daily life of small spider using dairy form. Spider has two best friends named worm and fly. After reading the book aloud with your child create a venn-diagram comparing and contrasting how the three friends were alike and different. Think about what these three characters ate, did for fun, and how they spent time with their families. If you cannot find this book, any book containing at least three characters will work.

http://researchers.in.th/blog/sudjai/1497 Choose Books for Your Child (Grades 1-2) http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/choosebooks-for-your-child-12 Not sure what types of books to choose for your second grade reader? This website will tell you about what reading level and book genres are developmental appropriate for your second grade reader and it also has links to great book lists.

As parents, guardians, and family members, you play an important role in the success of your childs learning. I would like to take this opportunity to communicate with you on all aspects of your childs education, not just when your child is experiencing problems. Here are some ways that you can become more involved in your childs school life. Read the newsletters that are sent home with your child to become aware and up to date with what your child is currently learning. Contact me or send a note in with your child if you would like to volunteer to help the class with a certain activity.

Promote Reading at Home http://www.newsforparents.org/expert_promote_readin g_at_home.html Your child spends more time at home than in school so it is important to try and promote reading books aloud at home. This website gives tips for parents on how to incorporate reading into your home life. Reading Activities for Kids http://school.familyeducation.com/reading/familylearning/38301.html If your child does not find reading fun they may not read at home. This website provides activities and ideas to making reading aloud at home something fun to do together.

By working together and communicating effectively, we can give your child the best opportunity to succeed in school.

Promoting Communication with Students Families

As a future teacher candidate it is important to consider planning how to communicate with the families of your students. Parents, families, and legal guardians should be involved and aware of what is going on in their childs classroom. One way to effectively communicate with families is to send home a class newsletter informing them about what learning is taking place in the classroom, what will be coming up in the future, and how they can help to make sure their child succeeds at school.

Nichole Schleder TE 301 Childrens Literature Wednesday 4:30 1/26/2011

Promoting Communication Reflection When I began creating the communicating with home newsletter I wasnt sure how beneficial this assignment would be. Since I chose to create my newsletter for a second grade class, I figured that the parents of my students would already know how important it is to read with them at home. I was surprised to learn how wrong my assumption was. Many parents of students do not receive the type of education that potential teacher candidates do. Even if they attend college, they may not have taken any classes that deal with topics of childrens development and how children learn. Since teacher candidates are trained in student development and learning it is important that they share information with their students families so that the student has the best potential to learn and grow. When researching how reading aloud impacts children I found results that I didnt expect. I thought that just having the students read to themselves was important since as adults we mostly read silently to ourselves. However children in second grade are still developing their vocabulary and do not always know how to pronounce the new words that they encounter. When an adult reads aloud with a child their pronunciation skills grow too. Students can increase the speed at which they read when they read aloud with a parent or family member. After I finished this assignment I was excited about all the new information I learned, so I brought my newsletter to my work. All the managers at my work have children who are six to eight years old, which fit my newsletter grade level perfectly. This is where I found out that not all parents realize, without teacher input, how important certain learning skills are. One manager I shared my newsletter with said her sons second grade teacher sent home a similar newsletter at the beginning of this school year. My manager told me she stopped reading aloud with her child when he turned five, she was not aware that she needed to read aloud with him any longer. She

said she was glad that she sons teacher sent home that information because she had no idea that reading aloud to her son once he entered grade school would still benefit him. She has since begun reading aloud with her son at home and his reading speed has increased. This interaction with my manager helped me reflect upon how important the information that a teacher knows about student learning really is. As teacher candidates we need to think about how we will communicate with parents of our students. We have a knowledge base that many of these parents will not have and we should share what we know about student learning. However, a teacher needs to present this information in a way that is inviting and deferential so that the parents of our students are not offended when we try to share our information with them.

Works Cited "Choose Books for Your Child (Grades 1-2)." Scholastic, Helping Children Around the World to Read and Learn | Scholastic.com. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/choose-books-for-your-child-12>. Cover Image of Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin. Digital image. Harper Collins Children. Web. 31 March. 2011. <http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/harperchildrensImages/isbn/large/7/9780060001 537.jpg> Cover Image of You Read to Me, Ill Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman. Michael Emberley. Web. 31 March. 2011. <http://www.michaelemberley.com/you-read-to-me-ill-read-to-you-very-short-scarystories-to-read-together/> Image of Books SI Charter Community School. Web. 01 April 2011. <http://statenislandcommunitycharterschool.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/siccs-book-fairhelps-build-classroom-libraries/> Image of Chalkboard Abraar School Library. Web. 02 April 2011. < http://j2ware.com/teacherscorner2.php> Koralek, Derry. "Reading Aloud with Children of All Ages." Reading Is Fundamental. Young Children. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200303/readingaloud.pdf>. Lopes, Marilyn. "News For Parents.org - Promote Reading at Home." News For Parents .org Parenting News and Information. 2005. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.newsforparents.org/expert_promote_reading_at_home.html>. "Reading Activities for Kids." School Resources & Educational Help By Grade & Subject For

Parents - FamilyEducation.com. Family Education.com. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://school.familyeducation.com/reading/family-learning/38301.html>. Reading Aloud to Kids: The 12 Benefits of Reading Books Out Loud to Children of All Ages." Healthy Family - Health and Wealth, Home Safety, Health, Relationship, Growing Family. 2009. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/02/07/reading-aloud-to-kids-the-12-benefits-ofreading-books-out-loud-to-children-of-all-ages.htm>. Trelease, Jim. "Read-Aloud Handbook." Jim Trelease's Home Page. 2006. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch1.html>.

Works Consulted: "Literacy Begins at Home: A Letter for Parents | Literacy Connections." Teaching Literacy Skills and a Love of Reading | Literacy Connections. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.literacyconnections.com/LiteracyBeginsAtHome.php>. Rippel, Marie. "Five Great Reasons to Read Aloud to Your Child - Reading." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art21546.asp>. Cronin, Doreen. Diary of a Spider. Illus. Harry Bliss. New York: Harper Collins, 2005. Print. Hoberman, Mary Ann. Illus. Michael Emberley. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together. New York: Little, Brown and, 2007. Print. Rollins, Debbie. "The Power and Practice of Reflection." Professional Development: A Cornerstone Strategy for Change 3.1 (2006). Public Schools of North Carolina. Web. 01 Apr. 20211. <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/profdev/newsletter/2006/200602.pdf>.