MONDAY MOTIVATION
What a weekend! I spent time with old classmates, enjoying fond memories, and celebrating 150 years of excellence at Johnson C. Smith University - Homecoming 2017. It is important to create balance and enjoy life.
Although Monday is almost over, here we go!
10 STEPS TO READING SUCCESS – STEP 4 – BUILD STAMINA
As it relates to reading, stamina is the ability to focus, persist and, read silently for extended periods of time.
“Since it's an important part of setting up learners to succeed, students who have mastered persistence are able to work through challenges, deal constructively with failures and adversity, and achieve the goals they have set for themselves.”
Norene Wiesen
When we endeavor to:
increase our physical fitness
create works of art
learn to play an instrument
play a sport
do whatever our heart desires
It takes:
Time – increase the amount of time spent on the task
Persistence – never give up
Consistency – over and over
We can all agree that, the more children engage in reading activities for longer periods of time, the better readers they become. Remember, we are cultivating competent, confident readers.
Help your child set reading goals, pick one of the charts (or create your own) and get started!
Here a few pointers:
Have your child read silently, read to someone, and listen to reading. Some combination of the three should make up the reading time.
Choose "just right" books. If your child is at a stage of being able to read alone, select books that can be read independently. This means almost every word can be decoded. If your child will be reading with you, choose books that are lively, challenging and, engaging. Whether the child is reading independently or with someone, comprehension is the key. Readers must be able to understand what they read.
Celebrate your child’s progress as they meet their reading goals and time periods.
Finally, In the words of the renowned writer, Walter Dean Meyers,
“When I began to read, I began to exist.”
Next week’s blog will focus on:
STEP 5 – VISIT THE LIBRARY/BOOKSTORE
In honor of the children,
Kathy Carter
The Literacy Whisperer
