BUNNELL UNIVERSITY FIRST GRADE
READING AT HOME
This booklet contains information and research about our reading at home program called:
Starbooks Cafe Book Club
If you ever have a question or concern,
please email Mrs. Bunnell at:
Today a reader, tomorrow a leader!!
READ
Every Day
______
Lead a Better
LIFE
What is Starbooks Cafe Book Club?
READING is the most important subject in school. In order to master most of the other subjects, your child needs to become a proficient reader. Across the globe, those children who read the most read the best.
Starbooks Cafe is Bunnell University’s reading club that will not only connect learning at school to learning at home but also ensure that your child will visit “reading” on a daily basis. Most people do things over and over again that they enjoy. The goal of the book club is to build a pleasant (stress-free) habit of reading at home and school.
But what about the practice and development of a work ethic that homework builds in children? My answer is that the problem with this thinking is that homework becomes a way to practice being a worker. I want our reading at home program to help your young scholar practice being a thinker and find fascination in learning and talking about that learning.
Ideas and thinking are highly valued at Bunnell University. I promise to read extensively as a professional and share some of my learning throughout the year with your family. We will also have Family Starbooks Days at school where you will learn other tips and strategies on how to read with your child at home.
* “Students who read widely and frequently are higher achievers than students who read rarely and narrowly.” (Scholastic)
Why are we reading at home and NOT doing weekly homework packets?
According to a recent University of Michigan study, daily homework for six-to-eight-year-olds increased on the average from about 8 minutes in 1981 to 22 minutes by 2003. A review of research by Duke University found that for elementary school students, “the average correlation between time spent on homework and achievement . . . hovered around zero.”
Bunnell University values the routine of reading so much more than the routine of homework. Families can still have a nightly routine, time, and workspace, etc., but now it’s for reading. I promise effective use of class time on rigorous and meaningful learning activities. The research is clear that more pages of homework (or a packet) doesn’t necessarily equal rigor.
So there is no assigning homework for homework’s sake. Emphasis will be on reading, reflecting, higher-order thinking, and eventually responding in writing to the reading because this is the latest research and there will be no arguments, tears, or frustrations for you or your child.
How will Starbooks help my child?
Your child will improve in the following five areas:
* Comprehension – “I understand what I read.”
* Accuracy – “I can read the words.”
* Fluency – “I can read smoothly, with expression.”
* Expand Vocabulary – “I know, find, and use interesting words.”
* Motivation & Pleasure – “I just love to read. Here’s my favorite text.”
Monthly Reading Menus
Each month your young scholar will have a new Reading Menu in their blue Starbooks Cafe folder. The changes in text choices each month will reflect the new learning that has occurred in school. It is your child’s choice from the menu what is read. You will have to assist them in naming the choices at first, but the more interested they are in the text, the more valuable the reading. It is O.K. if your child chooses some of the same texts each night. Repeated readings have mounds of positive research to support the usefulness of this approach. It is also O.K. to suggest something new and to help your child or read together with them.
How do we get started at home with Starbooks Cafe Book Club?
During the first week of school, I will be explaining the procedures for the book club to the class. We will also be making items for our Start-Up Kit that comes home on Monday, July 13, 2014. During that week, you will begin the club at home.
First of all, there will be many variations on how to begin. Don’t think there is one and only one way to start. It is helpful to pick a reading time that is good for everyone in your household. This time may even have to change throughout the week based on family activities or obligations. The important point is that there is an established time EACH AND EVERY DAY!!!
Next, choose a reading place with your young scholar. It is important that everyone is comfortable so they can enjoy the book. Try different spots in the house until one feels just right.
When you are reading, one person can read or you both may read together. Or you may want to take turns with your child. Allow your child to choose the text from the Reading Menu. After the reading is done, your child must write the title of the books read in their Reading Log.
FAMILIES AND STARBOOKS CAFE BOOK CLUB
Guest Readers:
I will read aloud at least two texts each and every day with your child as part of our thinking curriculum. I will model, think out loud, and talk about what it is like to be a reader. It is my goal to also have one member of your family read aloud a book of your choice during the school year. Once a week, Bunnell University will have a Guest Reader! When your child sees you or a family member read, he/she will be inspired to read as well.
Family Starbooks Days:
There will be four days throughout the school year where family members are invited to our classroom for beneficial reading activities and fun related to our school-to-home reading. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend!!
* Time will be determined soon - so stay tuned
1. Friday, August 21, 2015
2. Friday, November 20, 2015
3. Friday, December 18, 2015
4. Friday, March 25, 2016
Helpful Tips For Parents
“Few children learn to love books by themselves. Someone has to lure them into the wonderful world of the written word: someone has to show them the way.” - Orville Prescott
· Apply for a library card. Selecting and borrowing books is a thrill for children of all ages.
· Don’t leave home without a book. Keep a box of reading materials in the car as you travel about doing your weekly errands.
· Once is never enough. Encourage your child to reread favorite books and poems. This rereading helps your child read quicker and accurately.
· Limit television and video games. I know it is difficult to compete with these activities but you are the adult.
· Talk, talk, talk. Talk with your child about what they learned or read in school today. Talk with your child throughout the reading of a book at home.
· Be patient. Young readers are inconsistent. If they knew something the day before they may not know it today. Remember we are building the routine of reading and the more that your child reads the more consistent reader they will become.
· Sight words are words that your child should be able to read in 3 seconds. They are not words to sound out.
· Pointing to words as you read them is a great strategy. We use it every day in class.
· Stay tuned for more tips and strategies. Please plan on visiting us four times throughout the year for our Family Starbooks Days where you will learn more about how to help your child read.
Need a Library Card?
The Riverside County Library System is available online at rivlib.info/ to access many of our local Inland libraries. You can also apply online for a library card if you need one for you or a family member. Listed below are three local libraries with their hours of operation:
Corona Public Library
650 Main Street, Corona, CA 92882
951.736.2381
Hours:
M – W: 10-9 Th & F: 10-5 Sat: 12 – 5
Eastvale Public Library (on the campus of Roosevelt High School)
7447 Scholar Way, Eastvale, CA 92880
951.273.1520
Hours:
M – Th: 3 p.m. – 8 F: 3 p.m. – 6 Sat: 10 – 5
Norco Public Library
3954 Old Hammer Road, Norco, CA 92860
951.735.5329
Hours:
M – Th: 10 – 8 Sat.: 10 – 4
TAKE A PICTURE!!!!!
For the Month of July
To motivate and get all the scholars excited about their membership in our book club, please, please take a picture of your child in their designated Starbooks Cafe reading location at home or just a special picture of your scholar enjoying their reading at home. You can print or develop the picture at home and have your scholar bring it to class or you may email me the picture and I will download it. My email address is:
We will be posting all the pictures of our club members reading at home in our classroom. During the August Book Club Celebration (Aug. 21) we will share our pictures and talk about our reading experiences so far.