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Helping Your Child Set Reading Goals

Posted by on April 9, 2013 Leave a Comment

I never knew he was interested in hobbits or wizards or shires, but this winter my son has set out to read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

a photo of the Lord of the Rings

This comes as welcome news to the mother of a son who, for the majority of his fifth grade year, has not enjoyed reading.

Let me rephrase: I could not bribe him to pick up a book for less than $10.

The problem?

Perhaps it was finding something that interested him.

Perhaps it was that the pull of grass and baseballs always win over paper and ink.

Or perhaps it is something else altogether.

Whatever the reason, I’ve found that he is motivated by an involved mom who helps him set reasonable, attainable goals.

So last month we started using THIS GOAL SHEET (free printable for you!!) and it has transformed his motivation and determination to read and finish these books.

No, we’re not perfect, and no, he’s not close to being done (have you seen those books??), but I’m encouraged to have found something that, at least for now, has kept the pages turning.

Try it and let me know if it helps at your house!

What have you done to motivate your “wish-I-don’t-have-to” readers?

{photo credit}

Filed Under: Comprehension Strategies, FREE Charts, goal-setting, Teaching Reading | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Teaching Your vs. You’re + FREEBIE!

Posted by on June 22, 2012 2 Comments

Oh Friends.

The teacher within screams silently at the sight of this (actual) instagram photo!

Your vs. You’re: the battle wages on.

Teaching your children to understand the difference between these two words is not only a matter of proper usage and correct grammar, it’s important because it reflects on them in the same way that poor spelling and sloppy penmanship spell doom for job and college applicants.

A few tips as you work with your budding writers and future job-seekers:

  • You’re is a contraction. Remind your child that the apostrophe in you’re indicates both a missing letter (‘a’) and the coming-together of two words. As a test, ask your children to read their sentence and see if the word they wrote down could be substituted by “you are.”  If so, it must be you’re. Additionally, this form will generally precede an adjective (you’re silly), a verb (you’re running), or an article (a, an, the).
  • Your shows possession. Help your child to see that using this version of the word tells the reader whose item you’re referencing. Was it his dog? …No, it was your dog. It explains ownership and almost always precedes a noun.

Attached is a FREE worksheet for you and your children!

Either click and drag this worksheet to your desktop to print, or CLICK HERE for the pdf. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Checking for Understanding, Comprehension Strategies, Teaching Grammar, Teaching Literary/English Terms, Teaching Reading, Teaching Spelling | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Analyzing Stories Together + a FREEBIE

Posted by on May 30, 2012 3 Comments

When I was a “real” teacher I would do chapter work with my students to help them really soak up the nuances in stories. As a mom I try to do the same thing. We’re nearing the end of our family’s current chapter book, The Twenty-One Balloons, and discussing the details has really helped our kids to think about the characters and setting; it has also aided them in making some educated predictions.

  • Today I’m offering a FREE DOWNLOADABLE for you to print off and use together.
  • Print a copy for each of your chapters and keep them in a binder, or use them only when you know you’ll be tackling some confusing text.
  • Encourage your kids to draw with detail and use their best spelling.
  • Have fun together and please pass this worksheet on to another mom!
  • Click and drag the image below to your desktop OR click this .pdf file.

How do you work with story details with your family?

Filed Under: Comprehension Strategies, Discussion Ideas, Drawing Activities, Teaching Reading | Tagged: Tagged With: , , ,

Word Choice: Much or Many?

Posted by on April 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

For whatever reason (call it brain lapse or failure to think-before-speaking) one of our kids struggles to understand the appropriate times to use the words “much” and “many”. The two words are consistently confused, and apparently hearing them spoken aloud doesn’t “sound wrong” or prompt reflection for this child.

What to do?

We correct with grace, we remind with kindness, but neither approach seems to be making a dent in this word choice issue.

So instead, I’ve resulted to threats.

(I’m kidding…kind of…)

I’ve threatened to make a worksheet, and I finally have. Fresh copies will be waiting for all three children this evening; we’ll make it part of family time and try to make it fun.

While I’ve not heard many other parents expressing a need for help with these two words, I thought I’d share my worksheet with you anyway. A natural extension activity would be to flip the page over after completing it and have your kids think of their own sentences!

Have “many” fun and make “much” memories together doing it!  :)  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF or drag the jpg below onto your desktop to print.

Does your child struggle with his or her English? Please leave a comment…perhaps it will produce a worksheet we can share together!

Filed Under: Checking for Understanding, Comprehension Strategies, Teaching Literary/English Terms | Tagged: Tagged With: , , ,

Unscrambled!!

Posted by on January 31, 2012 Leave a Comment

With our kids only just hitting mid-elemenary school, there haven’t been an abundance of opportunities to help them with homework as of yet. But last night our moment arrived: my son asked me to help him unscramble some sentences.

Sounds like fun, I thought. And it was!…until we got stuck on nearly every a few of them.

After verbally trying to work through the confusion together, we decided we needed another way. We needed to see the words and physically move them around so they made sense.

Here’s what we came up with (excuse the poor photos–the battery on our regular camera died!):

1. Write each word on a separate post-it note

2. Work together to physically move the words around until they make sense.

3. Write down your sentence!

Even if your child doesn’t come home with this homework assignment, it’s a great activity for your young readers and writers to order sentences. Why not think of a few of your own to try? OR, download my FREE practice page!

FREE DOWNLOAD!

For PDF of unscrambled activity:

 

Filed Under: Comprehension Strategies, Homework Helps, Sight Words, Teaching Responsibility, Teaching Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , ,

Teaching & Giving with iMovie

Posted by on January 15, 2012 Leave a Comment

Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. And as much as I would have loved to whisk him away somewhere or skip town together, this just wasn’t the year for doing it. Instead, he elected to spend a quiet day at home watching endless football games before enjoying dinner out as a family.

One of the highlights of the day, however, was a gift that our kids put together with a little help from me: a movie for dad that combined video tributes with still photos and meaningful songs. I think even our children were misty after seeing our lives on the screen, lifted up with songs that croon of love and lifetimes.

If you’re looking for something meaningful to do for someone you love (Valentine’s Day is a month away!) ~or~ if you need a fresh way for your kids to show you what they’ve learned in school, movie making is an option that deserves a second look.

Here’s how we did it:

  1. Using my new Sony Bloggie (no, I’m not getting paid to recommend them!), we videotaped each member of the family speaking a tribute to dad. I asked each child different questions that would help them share specific memories; for example: “Share a small moment that was meaningful between you and daddy”, “What’s the funniest story your dad’s ever told you?”, “What’s the most fun you’ve ever had outside with daddy?”
  2. After videotaping eachother, we uploaded the video and dropped it right in to iMovie. MAGIC!  The kids took it over from there and added still photos from my iPhoto collection, specifically looking for pictures of daddy.
  3. Last came transitions and music.
  4. And honestly, with the exception of a couple of snags, our kids did it all!
So how can you Unofficial Homeschoolers use it? You can use it to check for understanding!
  • Have your child recap your latest history unit: videotape him acting out the main points, google search images that support the story, and add sound effects to enhance it all.
  • Videotape your child doing a new math problem, explaining each step. Add still slides in between as visual reminders. (#1: Look for a common denominator…#2: calculate your new fraction by multiplying the numerator…etc.)
  • Film a science experiment. Stop frequently to record predictions and take measurements. Add those predictions as still slides that your child puts into words.
  • Record her playing her instrument, using still slides to announce the song title and composer. Google search an image for the composer and add that to a slide as well.

Best of all, incorporating technology and giving your child the green light to create will inject the mundane with a bright flash of fun. They’ll be begging to show you what they know…and how much they love you.

How can you imagine yourself using movie-making in your home or schooling?

Filed Under: Checking for Understanding, Comprehension Strategies, Creativitiy, Gift Ideas for Kids, Music/Music Practice, Teaching History, Teaching Math, Teaching Science/Biology | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Kid Blogging + Literacy?

Posted by on July 22, 2011 2 Comments

How can blogs help your kids with writing and demonstrating comprehension?

Tonight after reading our devotions in Don’t Mess With Moses, Marty Nystrom’s poem about Moses parting the Red Sea ended with the question: “How’d he do that? Look in Exodus 14:15-22.”

I passed our Bible to my son who opened to the passage and read it; we discussed the story together and then ended with a few selections from The Awesome Book of Bible Answers.

Then, as though possessed by angelic forces, this child asked if he could take the Bible and read through it. Entirely.

After I picked myself up off the floor, I shot a surprised look over the rim of my glasses and sputtered, “Honey, if you read the entire Bible I’ll pay you $100.”

At which point I was shot a surprised look over the tops of small heads by my husband. “Let me clarify that offer a little,” he added. “If you start reading and write what you learned after each chapter, we’ll pay you the $100.”

>>ENTER: Kids’ Blogs.<<

Kids’ Blogs is a wonderful, sneaky way to get your kids writing. We registered each of our kids on this website about a year ago as a way to encourage them to practice typing and work on their writing. It’s free and it’s totally secure–a must-have for any child online.

I told our son [and daughter, who by then wanted in on the deal] that he could blog after each evening’s reading as an easy way to record his thoughts. It will allow them to familiarize themselves with spell-check, typing, composition, coming up with a title, and most importantly, demonstrating what they learned from the Bible that day.

For his dad and me, it’s an easy way to check for understanding and determine whether or not real reading is taking place.

Imagine the treasure we’ll have if he really completes this feat–pages and pages of his thoughts on God’s Word forever saved for us to look back on and revisit.

Why not let your kids try blogging this summer?

Have you considered allowing your kids to blog in a secure, safe setting? Why or why not?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Bible Time, Blogging, Character Training, Checking for Understanding, Comprehension Strategies, Family Devotions, Teaching Literary/English Terms, Teaching Reading, Teaching Scripture | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , ,

7 Ways to Make Learning to Read More Fun!

Posted by on June 28, 2011 2 Comments

As I told you a few weeks ago, I’ve been working with our youngest on his reading this summer. We’re using the Bob Book Set I found at Costco and are so excited to see how quickly he’s catching on! If you’re looking for an easy program to begin at your house, I recommend trying this as an easy way to get your feet wet.

One of the features I appreciate is the parent/teacher guide book that was included in the series. Inside are stickers of all the sight words introduced in the series, along with a list of helpful ideas for mom & dad! I thought I’d adapt them and share 7 with you today. My thanks to Lynn Maslen Kertell for the original list of 9 Hints; she deserves the credit for the following as well!

1. Play with magnetic letters, draw letters in sand, shape letters from pipe cleaners. Make the alphabet and reading a part of your everyday life.

2. Read words and identify letters in your environment–spell the STOP sign, talk about the letters in the OPEN sign, read the name of your grocery or hardware store.

3. Encourage your child to scribble, draw, and write letters. Write large letters for him to trace with a crayon or marker.

4. When using flash cards, make your sessions a game, not a test! Nurture his love of learning by noticing the positive and working as a team.

5. Hand sight word cards around your house and send your child on a “sight word hunt.”

6. Send your child on a “word treasure hunt.” Give him one or two sight words and have him look through magazines to find the word as many times as possible. [how about an M&M or frozen blueberry for each find?]

7. For fun, use sight word cards and pictures cut from magazines to create sentences. Keep extra 3×5 cards handy in case you want to add more words.

Q4U: What are some other fun ways to help your child learn to read—and enjoy it?


Filed Under: Comprehension Strategies, Games, Idea Lists, Library, Sight Words, Teaching Letters & Numbers, Teaching Reading | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , ,

BOB Books = Success!

Posted by on May 26, 2011 1 Comment

Assuming life doesn’t shift too greatly in the foreseeable future, this year marks the last that I’ll spend at home full-time with my youngest son. September signals the start of kindergarten and the beginning of a chapter that has arrived in just ten years; the blink of an eye–and yet, unbelievably, nearly a third of my entire life.

To help my son build on the letters and sounds we’ve been working on this year, I pounced on a steal of a deal at Costco a few weeks ago: a set of BOB books focusing on kindergarten sight words. My youngest and I have been working through these books at an easy pace, learning the new words that are emphasized in each new story and working at fluency together.

If any of you “official” homeschoolers have used these books, I’m sure you’ll attest to the pure JOY that radiates from the broad smiles and sweet faces of kids who finally get it. Completing a book on their own is a moment of personal triumph! My little one couldn’t wait for dad to get home so he could sit down and show off his new skills; in fact, he toted the same book to grandma’s after church on Sunday!

This set comes with a parent guide, a set of stickers, flashcards that use pictures and words to reinforce sight words, 20 books, and a door hanger for the proud reader.

So whether you’re “unofficial” like me and are simply looking for something to scaffold learning during the summer, or you’re “officially” in the trenches homeschooling your tribe, these books will make the perfect, practical addition to your family library. For around $10 you can send your little one into autumn with a firm grasp on letters, sounds, and sight words.

Now that’s priceless!

 

Tell me your story of using BOB books. Have your kids enjoyed them? Do you have any interesting strategies to share?

Filed Under: Comprehension Strategies, Sight Words, Teaching Reading | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , ,

White Boards+Blooms

Posted by on May 11, 2011 Leave a Comment

When I was in college, feverishly working to graduate in four years and keep my loans down to the price of a small palace, I decided on an education major. Dr. Wessman, my intro professor, hammered home the basics of theory and practice, cutting our teeth on names that I, sadly, can now barely recall.

One concept that did manage to cement itself was Bloom’s Taxonomy, a ladder-like way of conceptualizing a student’s [or your child's] depth of understanding. The higher up the “ladder” you climb, the more difficult and abstract the questions become, demanding greater critical thinking and evaluation skills.

We have found these questions to be really handy to have on hand—or at least to have a few tucked away in the brain for family discussions. You can see a great list of examples HERE. One way that we employ this technique is by using whiteboards while we read stories or do family devotions.  For example:

While Reading or After Reading Books:

  • Stop at a critical turning point in the story. Ask your kids to make a prediction about the next events or the culmination of the story. Have them draw this in picture form on their white board and then explain it.
  • To occupy little ones during chapter books, ask them to draw a picture of the main character based on the description given by the author. Have them point out key distinguishing characteristics of this character.
  • As a character struggles with important choices, ask your kids, “What would you do?” Have them do their best to write a sentence on their boards and then explain their choice. This opens up a natural teaching opportunity for you, especially if the choices invite you to explain your morals.
  • Refer to THIS LINK again for other question starters.

While doing Family Devotions:

  • Ask your child to draw the landscape described in the Bible Story. Are you wandering in the desert? Laying palms at the feet of Jesus as he approaches Jerusalem? At the parting of the Red Sea? Give praise for extra details.
  • Have your kids imagine they are spectators to the story. What would they be feeling? Is this a scary time? Exciting? Uncertain? Have them draw their own face to represent the emotion conveyed in the story.
  • Divide your white board into 4 quadrants. Ask your child to focus on the main character and draw or write 4 other stories or words that can be attributed to that character. For example, if you’re reading about Moses, you might draw a picture of the burning bush, Moses as a baby in the basket, parting the Red Sea, etc. If you’re reading about Jesus and have older kids, using words to describe his character can also be powerful: loving, Savior, servant, rabbi, etc.
  • Again, refer here for further question starters and allow your kids to draw or express answers in words.

What creative ways do you use to help your kids dig deeper into their reading?

[photo credit]

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Filed Under: Bible Time, Checking for Understanding, Communication, Comprehension Strategies, Discussion Ideas, Teaching Reading, Using Whiteboards | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , ,
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