"Mom, do you think the goblins stole the flag?" my daughter said one night as we read the (kazillionth) book in the Rainbow Magic Fairies series. (Or thereabouts.) If you haven't read these books, let me explain something quickly-- the goblins ALWAYS, in every book, are the bad guys. I tried to act surprised, "Hmm, I don't know. What do you think? What clues made you think it might be the … [Read more...]
What Learning Benefits Happens When Kids Listen to Lunii Storyteller?
Disclosure: I worked in partnership with Lunii to bring you this information. Lunii, My Fabulous Storyteller, is SO much fun for kids -- it's an interactive, screenless storytelling toy that narrates audio stories which kids have created themselves. Not only does this develop a child's imagination, it builds their vocabulary and builds important pre-reading strategies as well. Use this … [Read more...]
Reading and Writing Activities for Wordless Picture Books
Have you read wordless picture books with your children or students? Believe it or not, there are many activities you can do to develop your child's thinking, reading, writing, and emotional intelligence skills using these wordless picture books. In celebration of the new books, I Got It! by David Weisner and Aquarium by Cynthia Alonso, I thought I'd share ways for you to use wordless picture … [Read more...]
How Reading Easy Books Benefits Your Child
This weekend, my daughter read three books. In about two hours. No, she's not a speed reader, she just read books that were really, really easy for her. And, I totally endorsed it. In fact, I want you to try it with your kids as well. Reading too easy books is a great strategy to get your kids back into the habit of reading again. But, that's not all. There are specific reasons why reading easy … [Read more...]
Determining Importance in Nonfiction Text
With Common Core's emphasis of reading nonfiction text, the comprehension strategy of determining importance is absolutely essential for readers. Determining importance means that the reader can distinguish the important information from text so they can decipher the main ideas and key details if reading expository (nonfiction) texts and the gist of the story when reading narrative (fiction) … [Read more...]
Problems with Reading, When To Worry
Sometimes our children experience problems with reading because there is a bigger learning or vision issue. Here are the red flags and signs to watch for to decide if you need further evaluation, and a bit about my own story. Denial Doesn't Work (Darn It!) When JJ had her first seizure at age 3, the neurologist told us it was most likely a one-time thing. That's exactly what I wanted to hear so … [Read more...]
Pressure to Read – What To Do If Your Child is Behind in Reading
Are you worried that your child is behind in reading? You thought everything was fine and then the teacher tells you it's not fine? And, that if you don't do something . . . he will repeat the grade, he will require summer school, he will be in serious trouble . . . ? This happened to Nichole in my Book Love launch group. We hung out on Google + last Friday night to chat about a recent … [Read more...]
Reading Comprehension Strategies (part 2)
Good readers use specific strategies; strategies that kids can learn and that you can teach your kids. Help your kids become better readers, readers who comprehend what they are reading, when you read with them - from beginning readers to more advanced readers. Yesterday, we discussed knowing if you do or do not comprehend what you're reading -- the first and most important strategy. Go here to … [Read more...]
Help Your Child Improve Reading Comprehension
Are your kids comprehending what they read? Because if they aren't, you need to know how you an help your child improve his reading comprehension. And you need to know how to help them at home. Especially over the summer. Some kids don't stop when they're confused, they just keep going! (Aaah!) I had 5th graders who were proficient at faking it. Since I always let my students choose their own … [Read more...]
8 Reasons to Let Your Kids Read Comic Books
Do you consider comics credible reading? Do you see comics as only for reluctant readers? I strongly believe that comics and graphic novels count as credible reading materials and aren't just for reluctant readers. It started with my middle-school language-arts teacher mom who owned hundreds of comic books for her classroom; comics like Archie, Spiderman, Tintin, and classics. My mom … [Read more...]
Non-Fiction Comprehension Strategies
Encourage your children to select both fiction and non-fiction text to read this summer. Text = book, magazine, cereal box, guide, map, graphic novel, encyclopedia, Internet, and so on. Read my specific non-fiction book recommendations from the first part of 2011. But, non-fiction reading is harder for most children than reading fiction simply due to lack of practice. Keep that in mind when … [Read more...]
Thinking Strategies in Reading Comprehension
Kids need to be taught what good readers do. Believe it or not, it's not intuitive. This means we must teach kids reading comprehension strategies. One of the best things you can teach a child is to think about their thinking, or to be metacognitive, and to purposefully use strategies when reading. (P.S. Check out this amazing lesson on metacognition from Diane Dahl!) I graduated from a … [Read more...]