Great reads from our
BOOK BOXES WE LOVE READING EVERYDAY! Every child has their very own book box in kindergarten. Its where their reading books are kept (a couple at their independent level, some at their instructional level and a few ‘just for fun’ picture books), their poetry folder and a ring of flashcards of our high-frequency words (also known as Popcorn Words). The children have been working hard to become strong, independent readers and our book boxes are a crucial component of their
us: own name, “exit”, “stop”, “McDonald’s” “Cheerios”, etc.). Along with helping your child become a
This avenue of questioning fosters a higher-level of thinking. We want the children thinking in this metacognitive manner. One way
success. Having a stash of books for their very
successful reader, we are also striving to equip
to begin this line of thinking is by asking
own allows the children to take ownership of
him/her with the three skills every good reader
questions that force children to evaluate. For
their reading and have books (much they have
holds. Reflect on your own experiences of
example, which question forces you to think
selected themselves) at their fingertips for
browsing or shopping for a book. The three
more deeply about a book: Did you like that
practicing and implementing reading strategies.
‘good reader’ skills are probably so engrained
book? OR Why did you like that book?
One strategy we have been working on in-
in your mind that you aren’t aware of your
The next few pages are the children’s
depth is how to choose a good book. Every
thought process as you browse the shelves of
evaluations of a single book they pulled from
emergent reader knows there are some books
Barnes and Noble. Here are the three ways
their book box. These evaluations are also
that are easy to read and some that are too
readers find a perfect match for their reading.
used to help foster discussions among the
hard. In class, we have been working to find
(1) Good readers size up the material. They ask
children about what they are reading, along
books that are a “just right” fit. This means
themselves if the content is easy to follow and
with motivate the children to share their books
many of the words are easy to read, but the
if they have a purpose for reading. (2) Good
with one another and read even more!
child will need guidance on a few words and
readers assess the relative difficulty of the text.
the book holds the child’s interest. Matching a
Is it easy to read (like a story) or somewhat
reader with text can be tricky sometimes,
difficult (like a newspaper article) or challenging
especially if the reader is right at the beginning
(like a textbook)? (3) Good readers chart a
stages of reading (meaning he/she knows the
course; deciding if they will read the entire
letters/sounds and can read familiar
piece quickly or bit by bit over time
environmental print - words that are all around
(Richardson, Morgan & Fleener, 2011).
October 2011