Enhance Comprehension with Directed Listening Thinking Activity

How do you get students involved in your read-alouds? A simple solution comes out in the DLTA (Directed Listening and Thinking Activity). Students remain involved as you read aloud and gain important comprehension strategies all at the same time! As I begin the school year, I spend much of my time working with all student groups on various comprehension skills and strategies.

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National Young Readers Day

Many of you may know that this week is National Young Readers Week.  And today is National Young Readers Day!

 So, to celebrate, I am highlighting one of my favorite times of the day ~ bedtime!

Each night I spend time with my children reading various books before bedtime.  This has always been a special time for us as we spend quality time together and foster a love for reading.

Now that my son is 10, I don't spend as much time reading to him, but he reads to himself every night before he goes to bed.  When he was younger, we read Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman many evenings.

It was fun to read the short sentences and laugh at the silly dogs in the book.  We always liked when the girl dog asked the boy dog if he liked her hat.  How funny is that?!

Now that my daughter is at a great age to pick out and enjoy books ~ 3, we read a great variety of books.  She especially loves to read Clifford the Big Red Dog books.  Right now her favorite is Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit.

She loves to see what Clifford is going to do in the books and laughs at what he does as he goes on his visit to his mother.  I love the message of Clifford's books, that no matter who you are, you are perfect!

Of course, we spend time reading in our beds as we snuggle in close together.  It is our special time together that no one can take away!  And a comfortable bed is a must!  A new company, Casper Mattresses, contacted me to write about bedtime stories and write a little bit about their mattresses.  I wish I would have known about them when I bought my new latex mattress.  It is super comfy but was super expensive!  Casper mattresses are a mix of latex and memory foam that conforms to your body for a good night's sleep.  It is shipped directly to your door for free!

Here's to a happy National Young Readers Day!  Enjoy it and read on!

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Loving Literacy Blog Hop Stop #19

Welcome to...

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and our little group of reading specialists, coaches and teacher bloggers wanted to share our love of literacy with you, or readers.  Our own love of reading has made us passionate about helping students of all ages learn to to read and to love reading!  We hope you have fun as you hop through our blogs to learn more about each of us and grab a few freebies along the way!

As a young child, my parents read to my brothers and me every day and night.  My favorite book as a child was Winnie the Pooh Meets Gopher.  My mom says I memorized the book, and when my parents were putting an addition onto the house, I quoted the book.

"Danger of a cave in"

"Could take months"

The men working on the house thought it was quite funny.

As I became a reader, I remember reading and never wanting to put books down.  I read Charlotte's Web with the teacher and then three more times.  I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was in second grade and again in fourth grade.  Now I work to instill that same love of reading in my own children by reading to the every chance I get, which is always every night before bed!

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but never imagined I would be a reading specialist.  I went to a private school in Louisiana, and there were no reading specialists.  When I started my job as a long term sub, the teacher I was subbing for returned for a short while.  While he was in what felt like my classroom, I was able to work in the Reading Center with an amazing reading specialist.  She made it look so easy and fun that I knew I would not be in the classroom forever!  For the past three years I have been living my dream of being a reading specialist.  It is the most rewarding job I have ever done, and it is more fun than I ever imagined it to be!  A parent of a former student told me the other day that she can tell that I am doing what I love because I always have a smile on my face.  It is hard to not have a smile on my face when I see students learning to read every single day!

When I was a classroom teacher, I loved to stop and take breaks with books.  Many times the students or I would get to that point where we needed to do something to make it through the rest of the day.  If we were having one of those particularly "bad" days,  I would take out my favorite book to read aloud Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day  by Judith Viorst.



I am sure that many of you have heard or seen this book before, but my kids loved when I read it them because they realized that our days weren't always THAT bad!  Alexander has one of those days where nothing seems to go right:  He has to ride in the middle during carpool.  His teacher doesn't like his "art" picture.  He doesn't get the shoes he wants.  The entire time he says he is moving to Australia.  What fun and kids can relate!

For my freebie, I have included a unit for the book with before, during, after, and writing activities you can use with your students.  These can be used in small group reading or as a read aloud.

Click {here} to head over to my TPT store and grab your copy!
This unit is free through this weekend and will be converted to a paid item in my store when the hop is over.  It is now a paid product in my store. 

Please follow my blog for many more freebies and fun reading ideas.

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Book Talk Thursday ~ Read Aloud Week

Did you know that this week is Read Aloud to Your Child Week in Virginia?  Every year our school has a challenge for parents to read aloud to their children each night during the week.  So, this week I am highlighting a fun book that can be read together for Book Talk Thursday!

I love the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You books.  Zack and I used to read them all the time when he was first learning to read.  A while back, I found the hardcover books at Kroger for $5 each!  I snagged some up to have a set for the Reading Center.  I use them to help with fluency practice by pairing the students, so they can read the stories together.

The other night we had our Family Reading Night where families come to read books together and take Accelerated Reader tests.  We have great snacks and great fun.  The kids really like to use the ipads to take their tests too!

I always find the best books while there because our wonderful librarian picks out books perfect for whatever holiday season.  This time I found You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together!  Oh my!  Where have I been?  I must get a set of these for myself!!!

Anyway, the bottom line is that this book is so much fun to read! Tomorrow on the announcements, the librarian and I are going to read it aloud to the school.  I can't wait!

The book is full of great stories that children will enjoy.  None of them are scary at all, but they are a lot of fun.  There is one story called "Trick or Treat" where the children chronicle their adventures while out trick-or-treating.  Another story, "The Mouse and the Ghost" has the two creatures telling each other that they are scared of each other.  So cute and fun!

Since children really have to listen to each other and pay attention, this book is great for fluency practice.  But it is also great for reading AND listening comprehension.  The students have to attend to the story as their partner is reading the book.  I have created this simple summarizing graphic organizer to use with the students as they read the stories.  Students can each choose their own story to summarize.  Click {here} or on the picture below to grab your freebie,which you can use with this book or any nonfiction book!

How often do read aloud to a child?  I read aloud to both of my children every night!  You can check out my blog post about why I do that by clicking {here}!

What are some of your favorite books to read aloud to your children or students?

For now, I am heading off to read aloud with my children!

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Why I Read Aloud to My Kids ~ A Lot!

Studies show that reading aloud to children, especially young children, has a great impact on reading development.  Children who are read to for at least 20 minutes each day actually have been shown to perform higher in kindergarten classrooms than those who don't get that reading time.

I remember learning all of this when getting my Masters, which was something I had never really thought about.  I thought my mom just read to us because she enjoyed it, much like I do now.  The graphic below gives a perfect picture of how reading helps children's vocabulary grow so much.  Which student is going to have the best advantage as reader?

This is true of students who have been read to as well.  Their vocabulary is much higher than those students who have not been read to.

There are many other benefits to reading with your own children (or grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbors, or even younger siblings).

1.  It helps them learn new vocabulary.  Ginny Beth loves to read the same books over and over and over and over.  We have read the book Freight Train by Donald Crews a million times.  From this book, she has learned her colors and cars on a train.  She can even recite the words in the book.  Such a simple book with a simple message!

2  It teaches directionality.  When you read with a young child, they watch your every move!  They seem to know which page you are on, no matter what.  I have started to point to the words as I read books with my two-year old, and she follows along with me.  Now when she "reads" a book on her own, she looks at the words in a left to right fashion.

3.  Reading aloud aids in comprehension.  Now that Zack is going into the fourth grade, I still read aloud to him.  Right now we are in the midst of the Harry Potter series.  Since there are no pictures, he has to visualize everything in the book for himself.  When he watched the movie six weeks after finishing the first book, he actually noticed the differences.  It shows me how much he was paying attention to the contents of the book!

4.  Children can ask questions, lots of them!  By nature, children are curious.  So, when reading aloud to them, they can stop and ask questions about what is happening in the book, on their own terms.  In school, the teacher doesn't always stop for questions because there may not be enough time.  While reading the Harry Potter books, Zack doesn't always ask the questions right at the moment we are reading.  He asks in the car, in the grocery store, at dinner, and any old time.  Many times he is predicting and wants the answer, but I always tell him that we will have to keep reading!

I have always read aloud to my two kids, since before they were born.  Yes, I was that mom!  My parents read aloud to each of us every single night for as long as I can remember.  As I became a Mom, I realized the importance of reading with my children for at least 20 minutes each day.  And it has worked beautifully!

Zack reading to Ginny Beth

When Zack was little, I told my husband that if he had a reading issue, it will not be because of something I did not do, and I knew that reading aloud to him was important for his reading development.  Our reading time together has become a nightly tradition, and one that Zack looks forward to each night.  He will actually be ready for bed at least 20 minutes earlier than he has to go to bed, just so he can get some good reading and cuddle time in.

I am so saddened to hear the stories of my students who have never been read to.  It breaks my heart because I know that they have not had that special time when learning takes them to new places.

Reading aloud doesn't always have to happen at the same time, just make it happen!

So, what books do you like to read aloud?

Don't forget to link up with Book Talk Thursday and tell us some of your favorite books!  They don't have to be read alouds!

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