TMS Reading Development
How can you help at home?
- Vocabulary – If your child asks you for help with the meaning of a word, encourage her or him to use context clues (words before and after the word) to help determine the meaning, but if that doesn’t work, please tell them the meaning of the word.
- Fluency – Encourage your child to listen to books on CD, mp3, or iPod as a pleasure activity that s/he can do while working around the house or riding in the car. If reading aloud fluently is a concern for your child have her or him select a page from a novel s/he is reading and practice reading aloud the same page for one minute a day until the page can be read without errors and with good expression.
- Reading – Encourage your child to read for 20-30 minutes a day. Model the importance of reading at home by taking time to sit down with a magazine or book yourself.
- Comprehension –Have a conversation about the plot, characters and messages (themes/central ideas) of television shows or movies you watch together. How did the events of the show affect and/or change the characters? What was the character’s motivation? Did it make sense? Tell your child what you think and what about the show made you think that way.
- www.Scholastic.com/Parents is a new website with a wealth of information about reading and books. It includes daily learning tips and guides to raising a reader of all ages.
- www.overdrive.com is a website where you can download and borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free using your library card.
- The TMS website (www.tolland.k12.ct.us) includes a quicklink to the school’s library where you can search the catalog and find many booklists geared toward different interests.