Reading in Middle School

1. VPMS Parent Education Night Reading in Middle School

2. “You want me to read outside of school?!”

3. The Importance of Reading • Exercises the Brain • The visual cortex works as the readers eyes track across the page. The brain is making connections between the reader and the topic as this takes place. New information is continually being integrated. • Improves Listening Skills • Being read to helps students develop good listening skills by keying them into the components of language. Through reading they recognize phonemes (the building blocks of language), learn new words to add to their vocabularies, and connect written words to their real world applications. • Practice Makes Perfect • Generally, the more time you are exposed to something and the more time you spend practicing it, the better you’ll become at performing it. Research shows that children who have repeatedly been exposed to books from birth generally exhibit strong reading abilities.

4. The Importance of Reading • Improves Academic Performance • There is a strong correlation between a child’s ability to read and their academic performance. Because so much of our schooling relies on our abilities to read, children must have strong reading skills to succeed and thrive in school. • Just Makes “Cents” • For every year that a person spends reading (either independently or being read aloud to), his/her lifetime earning potential goes up considerably. For a time investment of approximately 87 hours a year (20 minutes a day for 5 days a week), you can increase your child’s ability to support him or herself in the future. • Improves Relationships • Because we are busy, it can be difficult to have “quality” one-on-one time with our children without distractions. Building 20 minutes into each day for reading together can provide this important bonding time. Spending 20 minutes reading independently provides you with quiet, uninterrupted time together engaged in the same activity.

6. The Importance of Reading z

7. Tips for Motivation • Sense of Ownership • Give students a purpose and goal for reading • Establish the “Why” • Choice • Build on Their Interest • Don’t Criticize—Reading is Reading • Social Motivation • Book Club/Blog • Celebrate Achievements • Positive Reinforcement

8. Tips for Motivation • Create a Fun Place to Read • Goals • Start Small if Needed • Build Connections • Choose topics that bridge into their personal lives • Books to Movies • Promote Conversations • Middle schoolers love to talk!

9. Resources for Grade-Level Literature • Saddle Back • A site designed to search for and purchase Hi-Lo books. Hi-Lo is a term used to describe high-interest, low-readability books. Saddleback’s solutions incorporate mature, complex themes at lower reading levels. This combination engages readers by giving them content they want to read while setting them up for success. • Story Share • The Story Shares platform offers a free digital library filled with Relevant Reads: a range of books at different reading levels and interest levels. It also includes features to make reading more accessible to students (such as read-aloud, word look-up), some teacher dashboard/tracking features, and a book-building tool. Our goal is to provide content that is relevant, readable, and engaging for students who read below grade level beyond elementary school. • Lit 2 Go • This is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. Many of the passages also have paired reading strategies. Each audio passage can also be downloaded as a PDF so students can read-along. The website contains an extensive list of full-length classic novels, African-American literature, historical documents and speeches, poetry collections, math and science collections, myths, Gothic/horror, fables, fairytales, and more.

10. Resources for Grade-Level Literature • Open Ebooks • A library containing thousands of popular & award-winning titles that are free for children from in-need communities. These books can be read without checkouts or holds. (I must sign up your child for an account.) • Audio Books Sync • SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. The OVerDrive app (also free) must be installed. This app is available for all IOS, Androids, Kindle, Windows Phones, and Windows and MAC desktops. • St. Louis County and St. Louis Public Library

11. Resources for Grade-Level Literature • News ELA • Provides grade-level current event articles. • Scholastic Book Wizard • Search for grade-level books in any genre. • GoodReads • Search for books that are similar to ones you’ve already read and loved and join in book conversations. This site is a community of book lovers to share the books they’ve read and want to read.

12. Reading Resources • Khan Academy • This is a free, not-for-profit organization that offers online courses, interactive exercises, and resources for students, parents, and teachers. • Bookopolis • This is a free and safe online community for young readers to share their favorite books and discover new ones. • Read Theory • This is an online source of reading activities for all levels! Students can improve their reading ability using this fun, interactive, educational tool.

13. Reading Expectations • Middle School: • 20-30 minutes 5x a week • Grade level appropriate (student’s choice) • 9th Grade: • Book is assigned • Quizzes over assigned reading • Essay if quizzes are failed

14. Questions?