Read to Succeed!

I am often asked for suggestions on how parents can best assist their child at home.  Since November is Children’s Book Month, here are some suggestions with improving reading skills. Make previewing a habit. Strong readers often engage in the valuable skill of previewing.  When encountering a new book, rather than plunging right into the first chapter, strong readers spend time familiarizing themselves with the content.  They linger on the back cover, study the picture on the front, and thumb their way through the pages.  This overview reveals the main ideas and purpose of the book, as well as its overall structure.  Thus, previewing increases reading comprehension and is an excellent way to increase a student's comfort level with unfamiliar content.  Parents can help students make previewing a healthy habit by modeling the skill and providing guided exercises in which students practice previewing skills and discuss what they have learned.

Here's how to preview a book:

1.Study the front cover.  What do the title and the artwork on the cover indicate?  Is there an author or an editor?

2.Read the back cover.  What is the main idea or the general plot?  What have reviewers said?

3.Read the inside cover flap.  What additional details does it share?  Can you make a prediction about what will happen based on what it says?

4.Is there a short biography of the author?  What is the author's expertise and experience?

5.Find the copyright date.  When was the book written?  How might that affect the content?

6.Survey the table of contents.  What is the structure of the book?

7.Determine which chapters look the most interesting or important.

8.Are there any charts, graphs, pictures, or glossaries that give important clues?

9.Is there an introduction or preface?  What does it highlight?

Taking the time to preview a book in this way will familiarize the reader with the content and improve overall comprehension.

November is a wonderful time to focus on being thankful. Students often engage in classroom activities dealing around the theme of thankfulness during November.  It is important for all of us to express our thanks to those people who have made a difference in the lives of our children and family. I would like to personally thank each and every Valley View family and staff member for providing an outstanding and enriching environment for our students as well as your continued support of our educational programs

At Thanksgiving, the table is resplendent with turkey and trimmings, people smile at each other across the table, and family bonds are made stronger. In the United States, Thanksgiving Day has a flavor all its own, and we’re not just talking about cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie!  We give thanks for the many blessings we receive during the year, but we also commemorate a historic event.  We have turkeys to eat and Pilgrims to recreate in our plays.  We remember and honor the Indians who helped the Pilgrims survive.  And we mark the foundation of a society in which citizens elect leaders democratically and make laws based on the ideals of fair play and freedom.                                                                                                                                                  *Adapted from Cut & Paste; Vol. 3, No.9

“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

 ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

With Thanks,

Mrs. Carla Walker