Welcome to The Reading Connection Miriam Dutcher, M Ed St. Anne's Catholic School Bristol,Virginia

READ - READ - READ Special Info for... TEACHERS - STUDENTS - PARENTS

FOR TEACHERS...

Lesson Plans
Practical Teaching Ideas selected from NCTE publications or submitted directly by teachers can be found at NCTE.org/teach
Literature - Reading - Writing - Technology - Vocabulary - ESL

Carol Hurst.com, a children's literature site, lists popular children's books, activities, and lesson plans. It also also Mails you a monthly newsletter with additional ideas.

TEACHER LESSON PLANS and classroom activities are provided at scholastic.com. Just click on Teacher Resources.

Word Central, sponsored by Meriam Webster , is a site for teachers and kids. It provides lesson plans and much more. Allowing kids to create their own rhymes, and find out just how much fun words can be.

Interesting Sites
The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading, ciera.org.
This site can be a very valuable resource for teachers and parents who are interested in the "whats, whys and wherefors" of early reading. Resource book reviews are featured, along with presentations of CIERA tech reports and those of CIERA affiliated organizations. Many of these can be downloaded and viewed in their complete form.

Recent tech reports include:
Examining Book Reading in Early Childhood Classrooms and Parents and Teachers Talk About Literary Success.

Recent book reviewed:
Teaching Every Child to Read: Frequently Asked Questions

The Children's Literature Guide, is appropriate and extremely helpful for teachers at all grade levels. Parents can also be guided in book selections for their children. It is an excellent reference tool which gathers and categorizes authors, illustrators, stories and provides internet resources related to children's literature. In some instances this might be an appropriate site for intermediate, and upper grade level children. Vocabulary games and puzzles, literature references, etc. can be reached through links. One of its greatest assets is its links to other related sites.

Book Lists
1. Every three months the Book Adventure website features a new list of recommended reading, based on titles suggested by the International Reading Association, IRA. Their choices for the summer can be found by accessing their website, scrolling down, then clicking on Rex and Bailey Recommends. Grade level selections are presented.

2. The following book lists can be viewed on the NY Public Library Recommended Reading site: ( These first two list books in categories.) 100 Favorite Children's Books; 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know ( Grade Level Book suggestions); Summer Reading Programs

3. The International Reading Association prepares three annual booklists. They are: Children's Choices, Teachers' Choices and Young Adults' Choices. They can be viewed on the Association's Web site. Each describes approximately 30 new trade books published for various age groups and reading levels.

This & That
Vacation time reading is not just in books . . .

Using a road map of your trip, trace the route you plan to travel, and and circle the names of towns and landmarks you will pass. Your child can plot your progress by crossing off each landmark or city as you pass it.

Have your child collect postcards and take photographs while vacationing. When you return, make a scrapbook. Younger children can help label each each picture; older children may want to add a sentence or two of explanation for each page.

Visit restaurants. Play "Can You Find?" Can you find chocolate ice cream? Can you find a hamburger? Can you find your favorite soda? Can you find each item you want to eat?

FOR STUDENTS...

Activities

Games and Activities be found at Book Adventure.org. When there click on Kids Zone and let the fun begin!

Games and Activities, Make cards and send by e-mail. Crayola.com can show you the way.

Celebrate Maurice Sendak's birthday. Read Where the Wild Things are, Draw a WILD THING!

Book Lists
1. Every three months the Book Adventure website features a new list of recommended reading, based on titles suggested by the International Reading Association, IRA. Their choices for the summer can be found by accessing their website, scrolling down, then clicking on Rex and Bailey Recommends. Grade level selections are presented.

2. The following book lists can be viewed on the NY Public Library Recommended Reading site: ( These first two list books in categories.) 100 Favorite Children's Books; 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know ( Grade Level Book suggestions); Summer Reading Programs

3. The International Reading Association prepares three annual booklists. They are: Children's Choices, Teachers' Choices and Young Adults' Choices. They can be viewed on the Association's Web site. Each describes approximately 30 new trade books published for various age groups and reading levels.

Fun Sites... For Kids, by Kids.

Berit's Best Sites for Children
Book Adventure - The title tells it all. Click on the "Just for Fun" section or find just the right book by reading book reviews by kids your age. Go to its KIDS ZONE and you'll find games and activities to build skills and have fun at the same time.

Cool Stuff!

A Summer Learning Calendar Includes hands-on activities and links to keep you busy all summer long. Sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers.
Note : Younger children will probably need adullt help with this one, but looks like ideas for rainy days. It is designed to teach children about Art and help them with music, plays and pictures. It can be downloaded.

Visit some Book Places and do some Fun Stuff on the RIF Reading Planet.

Like games and contests? Want to keep up on the latest kids news? Want to take a ride on"The Magic Schoolbus? Visit the KIDS ZONE at Scholastic.com

Interesting Sites for Kids

Are you fascinated by DINOSAURS? Scientists are continuing to discover more factual information to dispel the myths, rumors, and legends of dinosaur life.

Check out the following BOOKS and WEB SITES.

BOOKS

- Allosaurus! The Life and Death of Big Al by Steven Cole (Informational book)
- A Cartoon History of the Earth, Volume 3:The Day of the Dinosaurs by Jacque Bailey.(Comic book information)
- Dinosaurs Forever by William Wise. (Poetry)
- The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley. (Picture book biography)
- Dinosaurs With Feathers: The Ancestors of Modern Birds by Caroline Arnold. (Informational book)
- Outside and Inside Dinosaurs by Sandra Markle. (Informational book)
- The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek by Evelyn Sibley. (Novel)
- What Did Dinosaurs Eat? by Elizabeth MacLeod. (Informational book)

WEB SITES

- www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/dino and www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/triceratops/
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History sites; the second features a Triceratops exhibit.
- www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/ Interactive child friendly site offering basic information about dinosaurs and extinction.
- www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/museum/k-12.html Educational resources of the University of California-Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology.
- www.fmnh.org/sue/default.html Dedicated to dinosaur Sue, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex yet discovered.



FOR PARENTS...

Helping Your Child

10 Top Tips for making summer reading time for beginning readers.

Many young readers lose some of their reading ability during summer vacation because they neglect to practice the reading strategies and skills they've learned in school. Here are some ideas to maintain and actually improve their reading ability over the summer.

1. Read to your child every day. Make reading time a relaxed and enjoyable family event. Choose books with your child's interest in mind.

2. Make lists for everything. You and your child can make lists of groceries to buy, items to pack for vacation, books to get at the library, and chores to be done. Refer to lists often, and ask your child to check off items as they are purchased, packed ot accomplished.

3. Share your reading. When you find an interesting newspaper article, comic strip, or selection from a book, read it aloud to your child, sharing information and enjoyment of reading.

4. Keep a word bank. On strips of paper or note cards, write words your child has trouble reading or words of special interest. Find fun ways to practice them from time to time. Creating silly sentences with two or three of them at a time, or playing a game such as "I'm thinking of a word that begins like ______, ends like ______or rhymes with ______, can you find it?"

5. Get excited about children's magazines and read them together. Read the articles, work the puzzles, and play the games together. A good sampling of these can be found in the library. Subscriptions make great gifts.

6. Tape record your child's reading. First tape a "cold" reading . Then have the child practice the passsage and read it again. He or she will be delighted to hear the improvement. Poems are great for this type of practice.

7. Use television to explained vocabulary and experiences. To make it a positive experience, watch with your child. Discuss the events, settings, and characters in the program, and predict what will happen next.

8. Write stories or letters that your child dictates to you. Sit together so your child can see you write, and help him or her read the work. You can help older youngsters write on their own.

9. Encourage reading for pleasure. Watch for summer reading programs at the public library. Be sure to praise your child for reading, and be a role model by reading yourself.

10. Encourage reading for meaning. Invite your child to ask questions if he or she doesn't understand something. Children comprehend more when they think about what they read, and they learn to reread things that don't make sense. Encouraging reflecting and predicting also helps keep the reader focused and aids comprehension.

HAPPY SUMMER READING

Interesting Sites
The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading, ciera.org.

This site can be a very valuable resource for teachers and parents who are interested in the "whats, whys and wherefors" of early reading. Resource book reviews are featured, along with presentations of CIERA tech reports and those of CIERA affiliated organizations. Many of these can be downloaded and viewed in their complete form.

Recent tech reports include:
Examining Book Reading in Early Childhood Classrooms and Parents and Teachers Talk About Literary Success.

Recent book reviewed:
Teaching Every Child to Read: Frequently Asked Questions

The Children's Literature Guide, is appropriate and extremely helpful for teachers at all grade levels. Parents can also be guided in book selections for their children. It is an excellent reference tool which gathers and categorizes authors, illustrators, stories and provides internet resources related to children's literature. In some instances this might be an appropriate site for intermediate, and upper grade level children. Vocabulary games and puzzles, literature references, etc. can be reached through links. One of its greatest assets is its links to other related sites.

Book Lists
1. Every three months the Book Adventure website features a new list of recommended reading, based on titles suggested by the International Reading Association, IRA. Their choices for the summer can be found by accessing their website, scrolling down, then clicking on Rex and Bailey Recommends. Grade level selections are presented.

2. The following book lists can be viewed on the NY Public Library Recommended Reading site: ( These first two list books in categories.) 100 Favorite Children's Books; 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know ( Grade Level Book suggestions); Summer Reading Programs

3. The International Reading Association prepares three annual booklists. They are: Children's Choices, Teachers' Choices and Young Adults' Choices. They can be viewed on the Association's Web site. Each describes approximately 30 new trade books published for various age groups and reading levels.

This & That
Vacation time reading is not just in books . . .

Using a road map of your trip, trace the route you plan to travel, and and circle the names of towns and landmarks you will pass. Your child can plot your progress by crossing off each landmark or city as you pass it.

Have your child collect postcards and take photographs while vacationing. When you return, make a scrapbook. Younger children can help label each each picture; older children may want to add a sentence or two of explanation for each page.

Visit restaurants. Play "Can You Find?" Can you find chocolate ice cream? Can you find a hamburger? Can you find your favorite soda? Can you find each item you want to eat?