n3 INTERMEDIAIE Ec

onnettfionFebruary 2017

Moore Public SchoolsTitle I Reading

Write with 100 lettersTo celebrate the t00th day of

school, try these fun lamily writ-ing challenges usingjust 100 let-ters. Your youngster will have tochoose her words carefully as

she practices persuasive, descrip-rive, and explanatory writing.

PeEuade buyersAsk your child to name any

household item (slippers, T!mop). On sheets of paper, eachperson writes a lO0-letter classi-fied ad to persuade others to buy theitem. "For sale: My mom's used slippersthat still feel cuddly and warm in thewinter! Pink with yellow trim. They justgot washed, too." Vote for the best ad.

Then, the winner chooses the next itemto "sell."

Describe the 3ccneLet your youngster clip photos from

the newspaper. leaving off the captions.Place one picture where everyone can

see it. Then, write 100-letter captionsdescribing the image. l[ a picture showsa group o[ people walking, your childmight $Tite, "The Carver family fromIdaho trekked hundreds of rniles thisweek to make their way here for the

VFW post bingo toumament." Share

your captions wirh each other

Giw in3tructionrHave your youngster start by writing a

-how lo" title on a sheet o[ paper. Exarr-ple: "How to wash a car" Pass the paperclockwise. Everyone writes a step for theroral 1oo-letter set of direciions, count-ing as they go before passing it on.

I. Fill a bucket with soapy water Take

it outside. (f8)2. Spray car with hose. (16)

l. Soak sponge in soapy water. (22)4. Scrub. Rinse. (I0)5. Repeat if needed. (I4)

Decide together if the instructionswork. Were any steps forgotten? 0

Historical fiction brings history to life [or your child.Here are suggeslions to take his reading funher.

Find fa€$. As your youngster reads a story set in thepast, have him jot down interesting details that he thinks may be

true. For instance, if he's reading a tale set during the UndergroundRailroad, he might list 'Ended in Canada" and "lt was not really a railroad."

lnvctigate. When your child finishes the book, he could put on his detective cap

and read encyclopedia entries, nonfiction book, or anicles to uncover the truthbehind those details. He'll leam that the Underground Railroad had many routes

that led nonh to free states and Canada, and it even had some routes to Mexico. S

I Leaping Becuty antlAher Aln;imal Fairy Tales

(Gregory Maguire)Your youngster will enjoyreading fairy ule favorites

with a twist! SleepingBeauty is anything but aprincess-she's a [rog.

Humans are replaced with animals ineight tales, including "Cinder-Elephant,""Rumplesnakeskin," and "Goldiefoxand the Three Chickers."

I Espenrqa Rising (Pam Munoz Uan)During rhe Creat Depression. Esper-

anza and her mother must leave ElRancho de las Rosas.

their Mexicanhomestead. Oncesettled at a Califor-

- nia camp, theyrealize how difler-

ent their lives will become. Can theyovercome their challenges? (Also avail-able in Spanish.)

I Attywry*: *A Story About Me *i hlfi Fmtnotes, 27 Exaggerations, anil7 Plate ol Spaghati (Anhur Salm)Twelve-year-old Max wants to be cool,so he tums himself into the daringMad Max. Funny misadventures helpMax undcntand that his risk-takingbehavior i"snl all it's cracked up to be.Now he must decide who he really is.

a How to Mdhe a Movie in 70 Errryt essons (Roben BloJield)

Lighs, camera, action! This book leads

hopeful ftlmmakers through plotting,wriring, edidng, and recording theirmasterpieces. Each rction focuses ona diflerent pan of the movie-making process. Your childmay be delighted to lmow*rat a big Hollpvood

t 20 r 6 Fesorces lor EdLrnlo6. a d visim ol ccH mrco.aled

!

BookPicks

Rcading Conncction TNTERMEDTATE EDrTroN February 2017 o Page 2

Keep on reading aloudDid you know that hearing you read aloud can

increase your child's vocabulary fluency, and read-ing comprehension? Use these rips.

Aim high. Most kids understand books writtentwo or more levels above what they can read ontheir own. So try choosing read-aloud booksthat are harder than what your youngster nor-mally picks. He'll be able to follow the plot orthe nonfiction information more easily if youread than if he reads it himself. Idea Ask yourchilds teacher or a librarian for recommenda-tions that will suit your youngster.

Think out loud. lI an authors word choices are interestingto you, say so. l[you have an "aha!" moment while reading a

Detouru| slurpd,chomped- each of these

verbs is a potential replacement for themore common verb dte. Do this activitytogether, and your youngster will gobbleup a fun lesson on choosing vivid verkwhen she writes.

1. Have your child say a

simple sentence with a

plain verb. She could

mystery, share ir withyour youngster. You'llshow him that it's funto talk about whatyou're reading-and it buildsunderstanding.

Read more thanfiction. Look for every-

day opportunities to readaloud. You might read a

quote on a tea bag, a funnyblog post. or the recipe

,vou're making together. Orread your child a short story or rnagazine article. He will pickup new words and phrases from a variety o[ materials.

Note: Remember that you don't have to be an expert readerto read to your youngster He will enjoy the togeth€r time andlearn from your reading no matter what! $

say, "The shark atethe sandwich."

2. You repeat thesentence andreplace the verbwith a more descriptive one. "The sharkdevoured the sandwich."

3. Then. its your younSsters lum again."The shark chomped the sandwich."

Keep taking tums until you run outo[ verbs. Let your child look up the orig-inal word in a thesaurus and see i[ thereare any synonyms (words with similarmeanings) she missed.

The player who made the last suc-cessful change think of a new sentenceto start the next round. lJ

Read, draw and learnMy daughter Simone loves to draw-and that

copied the Chinese characters from her textbook' drewa pic-

tic" technique when she studies other subjecs, too l

save me an idea that would help her with studyinB l sug-

Eested that she pretend to be an illustrator for the sections she

ias reading in her Chinex texrbook. To do that, she would

have to carefully consider what *re text said and then represent

ir with a Dicture.Simone liked the idea. so as she studied vocabulary' she

tuie to *atch the *ord, and labeled it in English as well'--'fr,o*it g ttt" *^ going to be drawing the material helped Simone think about-

arrd re-.nib"r-the"rr.*"*ords the *"s leaminE Now she Plans to use this "artis-

him start by recording himself talkingabout his day Perhaps he'll tell a funnystory about something that happened inthe cafeteria.

Next, you record your response. [[your son mumbled, you could say, "l'mso interested in your story, but I couldn'tunderstand the part about the lunchline. Can you record it again so I canIaugh, too?" Continue your audio

conversations on a dailybasis-and listen forimprovement in hisspeakingl Note: lf you'restill concemed aboutyour child's speech,ulk to his teacher. $

'My child mumbles"

@People an' alivays sayingthey cdnl undtrsland my son

because he mumbles. How can I help himworh on this?

@Firsr. does he understand whatmumbling is? Play a game where youtake tums speaking clearly (the otherperson can understand you) or mumble(the sounds are jumbled together). Callout "Clearl" or "Mumble!"

Then, try keeping an audio joumalwith your child to lethim practice speakingclearly. Use a smart-phone, a computer,or another recordingdevice. and have

To prcvide busy parenB Mlh pracrical warsro promote 6eir childRni rEading, writing,

and language skills.

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