Nurturing Your Children’s Literacy Skills

1. Nurturing Your Children’s Literacy Skills Michele Hochhauser P-12 ELA Chairperson Hewlett-Woodmere Schools

2. Identifying the essential skills of a highly successful reader. • Phonemic awareness • Decoding • Fluency • Vocabulary • Literal comprehension • Deep meaning comprehension

3. Within the Text Solving Words Monitoring & Correcting Searching for and Using information Summarizing Maintaining fluency Adjusting Beyond the Text Predicting Making Connections Synthesizing Inferring Concluding About the Text Analyzing Structure and Craft Critiquing Strategies for Understanding Text

4. How can parents support their children’s early literacy? • Remember: the lap is the best app • Build a love of reading • Reduce stress • Read to your child • Let your child read to you • Share reading of difficult text • Discuss the big ideas presented in a text • Celebrate success

5. How can parents continue to support their children’s reading (even when they don’t want your help)? Reading to your child vs. reading with your child Read the same book as your child • Talk, interact, write, text… • Make reading agreements • Have a discussion once you reach the end of an agreed upon section/chapter • Encourage your child to use post its • Continue to make reading part of your routines

6. Important Behaviors to Notice and Support • Levels M – Z • Longer stretches of text • More difficult vocabulary, ideas, and language structures • More complex ideas and topics • A greater range of genres • Children can use texts as references • Children can search for and find information in texts • Children can interpret texts from a variety of perspective • Children can read critically • Children can understand subtleties of plot and humor • Children can reflect on their personal response in relation to how others see the text • Many characters are involved in more complex and expanded plots

8. Within the Text

9. Beyond the Text - Fiction

10. Beyond the Text - Nonfiction

11. About the Text - Fiction

12. About the Text Nonfiction

13. Reading is thinking… • All thoughtful discussion supports reading • Practice the thinking skills with movies, TV shows and real experiences • Build inferential thinking with clues/ games/riddles • Encourage your child to think critically (humor/irony) • Highlight the usefulness of following directions • Use academic and technical language when appropriate • Nurture your children’s curiosity

14. General Information about the NYS ELA Exam • Tuesday, April 5-Thursday April 7 (3 days) • Changes • Untimed test • Less test items Grades 3-4 comparison to last year Book 1 (Day 1)- Last Year 5 Passages : This Year 4 Passages Last Year 30 MC Questions: This Year 24 MC Questions Book 2 (Day 2)- Last Year 3 Short Response: This Year 2 Short Responses Book 3 (Day 3)- No Changes Grades 5-8 comparison to last year Book 1 (Day 1)- Last Year 6 Passages : This Year 5 Passages Last Year 42 MC Questions: This Year 35 MC Questions Book 2 (Day 2)- Last Year 3 Short Response: This Year 2 Short Responses Book 3 (Day 3)- No Changes • Useful links • http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/ei/2016/changes2016grades3-8ela-math-tests.pdf - testing memo • https://www.engageny.org/resource/released-2015-3-8-ela-and-mathematics-state-test-questions- released test items

15. Sample MC Questions from the NYS ELA Exam- Grade 3 Which statement best describes a lesson learned from this story? A Secrets can often be entertaining. B Secrets are not very useful. C Rewards should not be taken for granted. D Rewards can be more trouble than they are worth. Based on paragraphs 2 and 7, a “paleontologist” is a person who mainly A digs deep in the ground B studies ancient animal bones C leads a big team D finds complete animal skeletons Read this sentence from paragraph 7. -He added, “You know, Ben, if you’re tired of searching, you can always help someone else on the crew.”What does this show about Dave? A He is concerned that Ben may be feeling unhappy. B He hopes that Ben will work harder than he has been. C He needs Ben to work with some of the others in the group. D He is worried that Ben will become careless with the tools

16. Sample MC Questions from the NYS ELA Exam- Grade 4 The details about the setting are important to the story because they A explain why the Overtons arrive so quickly B explain why the bat is able to enter the house C show why the family is looking for excitement D show why Betsy sees the bat before anyone else The phrase “couldn’t get a word in edgewise” in paragraph 10 shows that A Andrew was taking a long time to finish talking B Andrew’s family doubted what he was saying C Andrew’s family did not know he had joined them D Andrew was not given the opportunity to talk How does the information in paragraphs 4 and 5 support a main idea of the article? Aby explaining how to prepare for mountain biking B by giving details about the difficulty of mountain biking C by showing how mountain biking can be painful D by describing what muscles are used in mountain biking

17. Sample MC Questions from the NYS ELA Exam- Grade 5 Which detail best reflects the main goal of the Haughton Mars Project? A “Now I have some idea of what it’s like to be on the Red Planet.” (paragraph 1) B “That means people can work there only during the summer months . . .” (paragraph 5) C “Others test how well their robot rovers collect rock and soil samples.” (paragraph 6) D “Recent robot missions there found possible signs of frozen water.”(paragraph 10) How does paragraph 14 relate to paragraph 4? A Paragraph 14 explains the effect of the event in paragraph 4. B Paragraph 14 gives a solution to the problem introduced in paragraph 4. C Paragraph 14 provides further details that summarize the event in paragraph 4. D Paragraph 14 provides further details that contrast the information in paragraph 4. Which sentence from the story best shows how Seema feels about going to America without Raju? A “I stood near the acacia tree growing at the edge of an abandoned lot and watched Raju’s back as the dust rising from his shoes covered my white blouse and my beige pinafore.” (paragraph 2) B “Raju was my cousin, and I wanted to tell him that everything would be fine—but how could I?” (paragraph 3) C “Why had Kaka and Kaki told Uma and Raju, and why had Pappa told me?” (paragraph 21) D “Raju and I went to school together and were in the same class.” (paragraph 22)

18. Sample Short Response Questions • Why does the author ask questions throughout “The Aurora Borealis”? Use two details from the article to support your response. (Grade 3) • Why does the author use the word “swaggered” to describe Eli in paragraph 22? Use two details from the story to support your response. (Grade 3) • In “Excerpt from Hattie Big Sky,” what do paragraphs 18 and 19 show about Hattie? Use two details from the story to support your response. (Grade 4) • How do both ’Cesca and the American girl feel about the gondola? Use two details from the story to support your response. (Grade 5)

19. Sample Extended Response – Grade 3 • Eli and his mother visit different places in the story. What places do they visit? Why are these places important to the story? Use details from the story to support your response. In your response, be sure to • • tell the places Eli and his mother visit in the story • • explain why these places are important • • use details from the story to support your response

20. Sample Extended Response – Grade 4 • In “Excerpt from Hattie Big Sky” and “Excerpt from If Wishes Were Horses,” both Hattie and Aunt Nell accept challenges that benefit them in some way. What challenges do Hattie and Aunt Nell accept? How do the stories show the benefits of accepting these challenges? Use details from both stories to support your response. In your response, be sure to • • describe the challenges that Hattie and Aunt Nell accept • • explain the benefits of accepting these challenges in both stories • • use details from both stories to support your response

21. Sample Extended Response – Grade 5 • In both “’Cesca’s Reward” and “Roy’s Secret,” the main characters learn lessons. What do ’Cesca and Roy learn from the adults in the stories? How do ’Cesca and Roy show that they have learned these lessons? Use details from both stories to support your response. In your response, be sure to • • explain what ’Cesca and Roy learn from the adults in the stories • • describe how ’Cesca and Roy show that they have learned these lessons • • use details from both stories to support your response

22. Questions/ Comments • mhochhauser@hwps.net