Prep Small Group Focused Reading Program
Recently we began our Small Group Focused Reading Program which has been designed to support each child at their point of need in regards to their reading development. Each week every child will participate in a small group reading session (approximately 6 children per group) with peers who are working on using similar reading strategies or skills related to reading. These sessions may involve games or tasks relating to the development of alphabet and letter sound knowledge or reading a short text (each child reading their own copy of the text) to support the development of decoding and comprehension skills. In this context the children are not only encouraged and supported to develop strategies by the teacher but by the other members of the group too.
*These sessions are in addition to our regular daily group reading sessions and workshops.
Reading Folders
We recognise the value of the teacher-parent partnership in supporting each child’s learning and development. For this reason we ask you to support your child to ensure they pack their Reading Folder (and notebook) each day so that we are able to share learning goals and ways you can support your child at home. This is incredibly important and will mean that can we work most efficiently as a teacher-parent-child team.
You may notice we have emphasised the idea of supporting your child rather than doing it for them. As the year progresses we are trying to encourage each child’s independence and self help skills. In fact, when asked to get their Reading Folders out last week one child commented “my mum forgot to pack it” which lead to a group of children working together to construct a list they could use to help them to organise themselves for school each day.
Changing Library Books
We recognise that there are times when children are absent on our library day (Friday) or are simply eager to swap their books over. With this in mind the prep teachers have kindly offered to open the library to our neighbourhood members from 3:35-3:50 on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. However, we do encourage children to read the books they borrow more than once, particularly the Junior School Library Books (with the coloured dots) prior to swapping them as this will support their confidence and fluency when reading independently.
Please remember that each child is unique and will build their reading skills at varying levels. The best thing you can do as a parent is to read regularly with your child and make use of the suggestions (you will find shortly) in your child’s Readers Notebook. Do your best to model your own interest in reading and make reading a special time to connect with your child.
Happy Reading!
