Reading

"Why Can't I Skip My Twenty Minutes of Reading Tonight?"

Let's figure it out -- mathematically!

Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week.
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!

Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 min./week.
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes.

Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.

Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year.
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year.
Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.

By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these same
reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school
days Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.
One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened
considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think
Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?

Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school....and in life?

EARS Reading

E xpression: Read naturally and with enthusiasm. Raise and lower your voice at appropriate times, like you’re having a conversation. Avoid a monotone sound and stress specific words for meaning.

A ccuracy: Try to read all words correctly. Self-correct if you make an error. If you are making many errors on a page, you might want to practice your fluency on an easier book.

R ate: Read at an appropriate pace for good comprehension for both yourself and your listeners.

S moothness: Read in phrases, following the punctuation.

Comprehension Strategies Toolbox

1. Make connections - test-to-self, text-to-text, test-to-world

2. Ask questions – Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

3. Visualize – Create mental images

4. Make inferences – Draw conclusions using text and picture clues

5. Make predictions – What will happen next?

6. Reread text - to clarify understanding

7. Summarize - in your own words