“Acquiring Reading Strategies: What Parents Can Do to Boost Student Success”
Free toddlers activity & kids learning guide parenting article

(ARA) - With students’ achievements now firmly tied to high-stakes testing, it is more important than ever for parents to help motivate their children to read, not just during the summer break but all year long.

Reading strategies allow kids to understand their textbooks, complete homework and even follow test directions properly.

By understanding the individual reading strategies a child needs to learn, and becoming an active participant in acquiring these skills, parents can help pave the way for ongoing academic success.

Research shows "the importance of the role parents play in providing children with early language and literacy experiences that foster reading development ."(Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy at ED Pubs).

National standards are a good place to start in understanding the skills each child needs to acquire at a given age. The International Reading Association (IRA) Web site lists the standards for English language arts developed by both the IRA and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Visit the Web site at www.reading.org and type the keywords “language arts standards” into the search box.

Parents can also use free resources, such as those found on Curriculum Associates’ Web site (www.curriculumassociates.com) to view detailed reading skills as described in Curriculum Associates’ program STARS (Strategies to Achieve Reading Success) and to download sample activities.

Also, request that your school use a reading assessment in the beginning of the year and communicate the assessment results to you. Traditionally at-risk students have been tested in reading by a diagnostician.

Today a three-step approach within the classroom is possible -- and recommended -- empowering the teacher to differentiate instruction for ALL students:

1. Assess to identify the strategies students have mastered, and those needing to be reinforced.

2. Tailor instruction to teach or strengthen strategies based on students’ individual needs.

3. Re-assess to measure progress and plan the next instructional steps. This method guides students through their trouble spots and is effective in producing successful readers.

An example of this approach was used in Sky Ranch Elementary School in Oklahoma City, OK. Teachers used the three-step process with 69 students in grade five.

The students not only gained an average of two grade levels in one school year, but the school also had a 90 percent passing rate on the state’s PASS (Priority Academic Student Skills) test, earning it the rank of second highest among 20 district elementary schools.

Kids love doing activities with their parents, so you can help them improve their reading skills at home by visiting the library and joining them in reading or discussing the books they choose. Since different types of text are read in different ways, encourage your children to read a variety of genres: biographies, folk tales, poems, articles and so on.

Knowing what words mean does not necessarily lead to actual comprehension of the text, so keep in mind 14 key strategies for reading comprehension:

* Finding the main idea

* Recalling facts and details

* Understanding sequence

* Recognizing cause and effect

* Comparing and contrasting

* Making predictions

* Finding the meaning of words through context

* Drawing conclusions and making inferences

* Distinguishing between fact and opinion

* Identifying author’s purpose

* Interpreting figurative language

* Reading pictures (grades 1-2)

* Distinguishing between real and make-believe (grades 3-4)

* Summarizing (grades 4-8)

"Research indicates that effective or expert readers are strategic. This means that they have purposes for their reading and adjust their reading to each purpose and for each reading task.

Strategic readers use a variety of strategies and skills as they construct meaning."(Paris, S.G., Wasik, B.A. & Turner, J. C. (1991). The development of strategic readers. In R. Barr, M.L.Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 609-640). New York: Longman).

Help your child practice these strategies by asking them questions. For example, to help them find the main idea of a piece, ask them “What was the poem/story mostly about?”

Or, to have your child examine cause and effect, ask “What happened and why?” You can also have your child retell the story in terms of chronological events or as a summary.

When you’re asking reading comprehension questions, use short reading passages as your material so that your child can concentrate on the strategy rather than the text or unfamiliar words.

As kids use the strategies, explain why their answers are correct or incorrect so that they get a better understanding of what they are doing.

You can also help children improve their strategy skills through “think alouds.” That simply means you verbally walk through the process that you used to arrive at the answer.

For example, to model prediction, you could say, “I think this book will be about a frog who has dinner because the title is ‘Froggy Eats Out.’” When your child seems comfortable with the process, have them do their own think alouds.

By understanding what is required of young readers and how to help, you’ll arm yourself with the information needed to enable kids to overcome learning pitfalls and gain confidence and success.

Courtesy of ARA Content

This free toddlers activity and Parent Child Development guide site has articles about positive home school parenting skills, social skills training for child, positive parenting tips for school books and lesson plans, study guides, test guides, how to read, maths for kids, learn history, encyclopedias reference books for teachers how to learn addition, learn subtraction, learn to spell, learn to read, school bullies & home schooling tips for Parent Child learning skills resources.

What toddlers activity or child discipline
parent resources are you looking for?
Try a local search of our site for your answers

	Web www.free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com

================================================================
DISCLAIMER: The free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site resources on this site are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. There is no guarantee of validity of accuracy. Any perceived slight of specific people or organizations is unintentional. This free toddlers activity and discipline guide site resources website and its creators are not responsible for the content of any sites linked to.

The free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site resources contents are solely the opinion of the authors and should not be considered as a form of advice, direction and/or recommendation of any kind. If expert advice or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought. The author and the Publisher assume no responsibility or liability and specifically disclaim any warranty, express or implied for any products or services mentioned, or any techniques or practices described. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Neither the author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials.

This free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site content description: This free toddlers activity and kids learning guide site has articles about math for kids, science experiment for kid, with positive parenting tips, free early childhood literacy, learning history & geography, child education articles about parent teacher communication, parent tips for kids starting school, including free child development school and learning problems parenting resources

This free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site article links include Parent Magazine, Child Development, toddler discipline, discipline for kids, articles on how to use positive parenting resources to discipline child and use your good parenting skills, providing you with inspiring parenting & childhood famous quotes, parenting toddler time out techniques, early childhood child behavior problem parenting tips with free behavior chart. This free toddlers activity and kids learning guide site has articles about math for kids, science experiment for kid, with positive parenting tips, free early childhood literacy, learning history & geography, child education articles about parent teacher communication, parent tips for kids starting school, including free child development school and learning problems parenting resources
================================================================