ExploreR3 2013 | Page 9

9 Digging into Reading Former Cuivre Park Elementary Librarian Lori Horner, now a district Technology Integration Teacher, and Boone and Lincoln Elementary Librarian Nichole Bryant reached beyond the school year, and in some instances district boundaries, to promote literacy. The two librarians received more than $7,000 through a Library Services and Technology grant to open a district library for eight weeks out of the summer speci?cally targeting underserved kindergarten to 5th grade students in seven local daycares and Pike and Lincoln County foster and adoptive children. Through the grant, the R-III District picked up kids from Asbury Methodist Daycare, Growing Tree Preschool, First Step Preschool, Teeter Totter Learning Center, Academy Too, First Baptist Extended Daycare and Smart Start Learning Center. Approximately 120 school aged kids visited the library to participate in the four week programs in June and July at Boone Elementary School. For four hours each week, children from local daycares dug into extensive literacy programs centering on the theme “Dig into Summer Reading.” Each four week program included family nights to give children the opportunity to share their experiences with parents and other family members. Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer (White, 1906; Heyns, 1978; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al, 2004). • Don’t limit summer reading to books. Magazines and funny pages in the newspaper are good options for kids. • Allow your child to choose books for summer reading. The excitement of visiting a local library and book store is often the encouragement a child needs to gain interest in reading. • Make connections with reading. Reading together with your child helps to encourage connections with the text. Select books that relate to something you will be doing. For instance, if you plan to go camping, find a camping book to share with your child. • Read aloud with your reader. Reading aloud with your child, no matter their age, helps to build vocabulary and promotes fluency and reading with expression at any age. • Be sure that your child is reading books at a comfortable level. Listen to your child read and be sure he is reading smoothly and with expression. Use the 5 finger rule for selecting books: 4 or 5 mistakes out of about 50 words probably means the text is too challenging. • Do some reading yourself. When your child What can you do? sees you reading, whether it is the newspaper, a magazine, or directions to put together a barbecue grill, he learns that reading can be important and useful. Your Smile Is Important! V.A. MENNEMEYER, DDS, MS • Braces For All Ages • We Accept CareCredit® • No Referral Necessary • Invisalign 91 TROY SQUARE, SUITE 203 TROY, MO 63379 ® • Complimentary Exams! • Affordable Payment Plans (636) 528-2141 www.mennemeyerorthodontics.com Close to Home