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First grade: Students are learning how to visually check on themselves in print. They have learned to use one-to-one matching of spoken to written words, in order to self-monitor. They have also learned to use the first letter(s) of a word to make sure that what they say when they read "looks right." They are now beginning to check more of a word, such as ending consonants or medial vowels. Students are also learning to read and write high-frequency words (such as the, you, for, etc.). They are writing sentences to reinforce sound to letter associations, practice letter formation and habituate conventions such as periods and capital letters.

Second grade: Students are reading a variety of texts at their instructional level. They are learning to consistently use self-monitoring strategies in order to read accurately, notice errors and self-correct. Examples of strategies include rereading, looking for chunks, and listening to themselves to make sure what they read makes sense. Students are also doing some writing, in order to reinforce associations between letters and sounds.

Third grade: Students are learning the strategies that are taught in the Soar to Success Program, an intervention program. These strategies are Clarify, Predict, Question and Summarize. They practice these strategies by reading and responding to texts, using a structured lesson format.

Fourth grade: Students are learning to use comprehension strategies that are in the state Standards and on the AIMS, such as making connections and visualization. They practice strategies in the context of reading instructional-level texts. In addition, students practice skills and vocabulary that are taught in their regular classrooms. This practice occurs through the use of an instructional program that is aligned to the classroom's new reading program, Harcourt Storytown.

"Why is my child taking home such easy books?" This question comes up frequently. The answer has to do with the purpose for taking these books home, which is to develop fluency and self-confidence. One effective way to develop fluency is through reading and rereading texts on the student's independent level. The independent level is defined as the level at which a student makes no more than one error for every 20 consecutive words in the text. A great way to develop self-confidence is, of course, to read texts where most of the words are already known and not too much word-solving is required. So in general, the books your child takes home in that plastic drawstring bag should be somewhat easy. There may be names of people or places that are tricky....if these words cannot be easily figured out by the child, just tell them to him/her.

"But isn't my child just memorizing these books?" Maybe; however, if you notice that his eyes are watching the words, he is reading the text, whether it has been memorized or not.

"My child is in first grade. The books have so many pictures. Should I cover the pictures to make sure he is actually reading?" Please don't cover the pictures, because they are an important source of information for first graders. Often pictures clarify and carry meaning, because the text contains a limited amount of words and can't truly convey everything that is happening. Pictures also can help a child check on himself in print, which is what we need him to do! You can encourage this by asking him how he knows he is correct. He can check the picture and make sure that the word in the text begins with and ends with the correct letters/sounds.

"How are these books selected?" Students self-select from a box of books that are on their independent reading level. If parents indicate on the Reading Record that certain texts were too easy or too difficult, the level is adjusted accordingly. Not all books at a given level are at exactly the same level of difficulty. There is a range of texts within each level. In additon, what may be easy for one student could be hard for another student who reads at about the same level. These differences occur because students have different background knowledge. For example, a book about snow would be more meaningful to a child who has seen snow, felt it and played in it than to a child who never had those experiences.

"Does my child have to read the texts aloud to me?" The answer is "yes" for first graders and second graders. First graders do better self-checking when reading aloud; this also gives you a chance to see how well they are reading the texts. Second graders should read their texts aloud to you at least once, but after that their rereadings can be independently done if they did not make many errors when they read to you. If they made errors while reading to you, they should continue to read the text(s) aloud. Many of the third and fourth graders are taking home longer books and/or chapter books. Please listen to a small sample of the text...perhaps five pages of a chapter book. This enables you to fill out the Reading Record, which gives important feedback about the appropriateness of the text.

"Can somebody else listen to my child read? Does it have to be the parent?" It should be an adult, preferably the parent, but a grandparent or babysitter can also do it if the parent isn't available. Older siblings can occasionally "fill in," but shouldn't be the regular listeners.

"Why do I have to fill out the Reading Record every week?" Your feedback is extremely valuable, and helps determine the level and type of texts your child takes home in future weeks.

"When should my child bring the books back?" The books are due on Thursday. If your child has not finished a chapter book, he still needs to bring it in on Thursday. The book will be checked back out to him.

"What if my child loses a book?" Please make every effort to locate and return it. Otherwise, you will need to pay for the book. The cost of each book is six dollars. Bring the money or check to the office, the child's teacher or to Mrs. Rachlin.

"Are the books Accelerated Reader books?" Some are and some aren't. Most of the books for first and second graders are not AR books. Most of the books that the third and fourth graders take home are AR texts. The student can take the AR quiz at school when he finishes the book, but it is the student's responsibility to inform his classroom teacher and to remember the name of the text.

"My student has so much homework and so many outside activities. In addition, I work outside of the home. How will there be time to read these books?" Students need to do independent reading and/or reading aloud to you every day. The books from the Reading Assistance Program are self-selected and on the independent level, making them ideal for at-home reading. Please make time for your student to read. It is acceptable to substitute another book or text for his reading, as long as your student can read it with no more than one error in twenty consecutive words.

Hopefully, the information above has clarified some of your questions about the Take-Home Book component of the Reading Assistance Program. Thank you so much for listening to your child read and for completing the Reading Record. You are making an important contribution to his or her reading development!

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