Talk About Books

Conversations about books you and your child are reading can help develop vocabulary and comprehension skills. You can ask leading questions that allow your child to think more deeply about the story, develop meanings and lessons in the story and relate concepts from the story to experiences or feelings your child has had.

Here are some open ended questions to help start your conversations.

1. What is the most interesting thing you know about the main character of your book?
2. Think about a setting in your book. If you were in the setting, what are some things you might see?
3. Describe an important event from your book and tell why it is important.
4. Who is your favorite character in your book? Why is this character your favorite?
5. What do you think happened just before your story started?
6. If you could give the main character in your book some advice, what would you tell him or her?
7. Is your book more funny or more serious? Why do you think so?
8. What point of view is your book written in? How do you know?
9. Do you like the main character of your book? Why or why not?
10. Think of an important event in your book. How would the story have changed if this event had not happened?
11. If you were in the story, what would your relationship be to the main character?
12. List three facts about this book. Then, list three opinions about it.
13. If you could ask the main character of this book three questions, what would you ask?
14. Think about your book. Then finish this sentence in 3 different ways: I wonder….
15. Thinks of a new title for you your book. Why do you think this is a good title?
16. Do you think this book was well written? Why or why  not?
17. In what ways would this book be different if it were set 100 years in the past?
18. What is the main conflict that the main character in your book must face?
19. What are some important relationships in your book?
20. Think about a supporting character in your book. How would the book be different if that character did not exist?

Sight Word Practice

Sight words are words, like come, does, or who, that don’t follow the rules of spelling or the six syllable types. These words have to be memorized because decoding them is really difficult. Students are taught to memorize sight words as a whole, by sight, so that they can recognize them immediately (within three seconds) and read them without having to use decoding skills.

Put simply, sight words are words that we teach our young readers to know by heart. That way, they don’t have to spend valuable time decoding them.  

Below are lists of sight words beginning with pre-k and ending with second grade (for those that may want a challenge). 

Not only is it beneficial to read these words, but also to be able to write them.

Dolch Sight Words Pre-Kindergarten (40 words)a and away big blue can come down find for funny go help here I in is it jump little look make me my not one play red run said see the three to two up we where yellow you


Dolch Sight Words Kindergarten (52 words)
all am are at ate be black brown but came did do eat four get good have he into like must new no now on our out please pretty ran ride saw say she so soon that there they this too under want was well went what white who will with yes


Dolch Sight Words First Grade (41 words)
after again an any as ask by could every fly from give going had has her him his how just know let  live may of old once open over put round some stop take thank them then think walk were when


Dolch Sight Words Second Grade (46 words) always around because been before best both buy call cold does don’t fast first five found gave goes green its made many off or pull read right sing sit sleep tell their these those upon us use very wash which why wish work would write your

Ideas For Practicing Sight Words

-Write the words on sticky notes. Then have your child write them in sand or rice on a tray.

-Write the words on sticky notes. Then have your child swat each sight word  with a fly swatter as you name it!

-Write sight words on a piece of paper and have your child stamp them with alphabet stamps.

 -Build the word with play dough and write it on the lines below.

-Make a sight word parking lot. Draw tiny parking spots on a piece of poster board, and

 -Practice writing sight words using a dry erase marker on a dry erase board.

 -Where’s the bear? Write the words on paper cups and hide a small bear or other tiny object. Your child guesses where the bear is hiding by naming the word on the cup.

-Word of the Day: tape one or two words written on an index card next to the front door, as EVERYONE in the family leaves or enters the house…..ask them to touch the word and yell it out.

-Jump to Read: write the words your child is practicing in chalk outside, spend five to ten minutes a day jumping from word to word and calling them out.

-Eat the Words: write this weeks' sight words in whipped cream or frosting, eat one word treat a day (after reading it of course).

-Spell Them Out: Use alphabet pasta (dry) to spell out each word (glue them onto a piece of cardstock for future practicing).

-Concentration: Play concentration with matching sets of sight word cards.

-Bath Time: Write words in the bathtub with bath crayons.

-Shaving Cream: Spread shaving cream onto a plastic tray and write the words with your finger

-Tic Tac Toe: Play tic tac toe (using two sight words instead of x and o).

-Magnets: Build sight words each day with letter magnets on the fridge.

-Sight Word Search: Hide two or three sight words around the house (written on a post it).  Have your child find them (each day hide them in a new place).

-Note of the Day: Each day write your child a short note (1-3 sentences).  Include the words they are practicing.   

-Catch: Use a sharpie to write each word from your child's current set on different parts of a beach ball.  Toss the ball back and forth, yelling out the words that face up each time.

-Roll the Die: Create a set of die (large size) with a word on each face.  Roll and read.

-Memory: create pairs of sight words and play memory.

-Sight Word Detective: look for focus words in your favorite story each night.

Hello!

Hi CES Friends.

I miss you and miss school. I hope you are all doing well and staying busy.  Now that your teachers have posted their learning suggestions and ideas, I will begin adding literacy ideas here.  Much of the focus so far has been on online learning, so I will try to add literacy games and practice that is more traditional and hands on.

I would love to hear from you and promise to write back to you if you send me a note or letter. 

My address is:
Mrs. Kirouac
17 West Millbury Rd.
Sutton, MA 01590

Please take care of yourselves and your parent and pets!
Love,
Mrs.Kirouac

Book Donations

Do you have any level 1 readers that your child has "outgrown?" I would love to take them off your hands to add to my lending library. Sadly, these early readers tend to fall apart after a number of uses and it gets expensive to replace them yearly. I would love your hand me downs!

Leveled Reading Books

The last day to "swap" books from my library will be May 28. If your child still has books in their folder and is not planning to swap them anymore, please send them back asap. Thank you!

Kindergarteners..Vroom, vroom! Is your motor running??

What is my child talking about when she says she should read with her motor running??

When we practice blending words, we connect and elongate the sounds.  This helps our students hear the whole word together and not just the individual sounds. I practice this with my students by having them touch their throat as they speak to feel the vibration, or their motor running.  We talk about keeping that motor running as we blend the sounds in words.  If we leave our motor running, we say the whole word.  If we forget and turn our motor off, we just say the sounds individually. 

You can practice this at home by having your child "hold their motor" and blend words.

  

For example:
cat would sound like caaaaaat,
 instead of  c (pause) a (pause) t

Reaching for Level J

CES is building talented readers and we could not do it without your support at home.  It is clear, from the monthly reading calendars, that you are all working very hard with us to help your child reach and exceed their reading goals. First grade end of year reading level is level J. Most of our students have reached or are close to reaching this level already, with over 7 weeks of school still to go! Here are some more ideas to keep the progress going:

Ask your child

• Tell why (title of book) is a good title for this story.  Use parts of the book to support your answer.
• Does this story teach a lesson?  If so, what lesson does (name of character) learn?  Use details from the story to support your answer.
• What did you notice about the layout of the text (headings, subheadings, illustrations, labels)?  How did these help you understand the text?

Build vocabulary

• What are some new words you learned from this book?  How can you use these words in your everyday life?
• Which words were difficult for you to sound out?  Practice breaking these words apart as you read them on the pages.  (For example: misplacing - mis/plac/ing).

Connect with the world

• Have your child write about about a time that reminds him/her of a similar event that happened in the book.
• How has your mind changed about the topic after reading this book? Or what do you still believe, now that you know more about this topic?

Keep reading every night!  . The lists below are sample level J and K books:

Sample Level J Books
TITLE	AUTHOR	FICTION / NONFICTION
The Boy Who Cried Wolf	Littledale, Freya	Fiction
The Magic Fish	Rylant, Cynthia	Fiction
The Snowy Day	Ezra Jack Keats	Fiction
The Teeny Tiny Woman	Seuling, Barbara	Fiction
Too Much Noise	McGovern, Ann	Fiction
Dig Dig Digging	Mayo, Margaret	Nonfiction
The Gingerbread Man	Aylesworth, Jim	Fiction
Play Ball!	York, Vanessa	Nonfiction
Volcanoes	Alexander, Karen	Nonfiction
Dance! Dance! Dance!	Sarah Mitchell	Nonfiction
Tigers	Kate Riggs	Nonfiction
Sample Level K Books
Title	Author	FICTION / NONFICTION
The Apple Pie Tree	Zoe Hall	Nonfiction
The Blind Mice and the Elephant	Backstein, Karen	Fiction
Bony-Legs	Cole, Joanna	Fiction
The Frog Prince	Tarcov, Edith H.	Fiction
A House Spider's Life	Himmelman, John	Nonfiction
Jack and the Beanstalk	Weisner, David	Fiction
When I First Came to This Land	Ziefert, Harriet	Nonfiction
Endangered Animals	McNulty, Faith	Nonfiction
Ibis:  A True Whale Story	Himmelman, John	Nonfiction