Dear parents and families of JXC scholars,
Here at Jacksonville Classical, we are working every day to build strong readers. What can families do at home to help ensure our scholars develop into strong readers?
Most importantly, parents can take specific steps to encourage students to read a lot. The only way to get better at anything is to practice, and this is true for reading as well. Kids are most likely to read a lot if they have books they are interested in, and have time and space to read.
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Make sure students have access to plenty of books. The public library is a great place for this. You can even get a digital library card and check out digital books without ever setting foot in a physical library building. https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/ The branches are also offering curbside pickup.
- Help kids find books they enjoy. Sometimes, a reluctant reader just hasn’t found the right book yet.
- Make a regular time and place for reading. It’s easy even for kids (and adults!) who like to read to find reading crowded out of their day by busy schedules, videos, video games, and online distractions. Protect reading time.
- Audiobooks are good too. In order to build strong skills with written language, kids need strong oral language, listening comprehension, and vocabulary, which audiobooks can help with. They can also be a great option for busy families. Try turning on an audiobook while cooking dinner or doing chores. Jacksonville Public Library has lots of audiobooks for check out.
- If your child has developed a habit of regular reading, encourage her to challenge herself by reading a more difficult book, an older/classic book, or a new genre.
- Have conversations about books with your child. Here are some suggestions from Scholastic to get you started:
- If you could be friends with any character in the book, who would it be and why?
- What was the most exciting part of the book?
- What surprised you most about the story? Why was it surprising?
- Is there anything in this story that is similar to something that has happened in your life? What was it and how is it similar?
- What would you do in a situation similar to that faced by a character in the story?
- What part of the story made you think it would end the way it did?
- How would you change the book's ending if you could rewrite it?
- How is this book like one you read in the past? Discuss how they are alike and different. (Note: This could be a book by the same author, but doesn't have to be.)
All the best,
Jennifer Mills
Literacy Coach
