Room 140

Many students in Middle School would rather be chatting with friends online or playing a video game than reading a book. Research has shown that reading improves vocabulary which in turn improves reading comprehension. It is my goal as a teacher to foster a love of reading for my reluctant readers and to improve the skills of those students who already enjoy reading. One way that this can be accomplished is through parental involvement.

On this page you will find resources that you, as a parent, can use to encourage your child to improve their reading skills.

The number one hint that I can give you is to read with and to your child. It is not only young children who like to be read to; Middle Schoolers like it too. You don’t have to read only stories to them; share magazine and newspaper articles that you find interesting as well. You can model comprehension skills by pointing out interesting facts (main idea and supporting details), or thinking out loud about reasons that something in the article occurred (cause and effect). When your child has a novel to read for school, get yourself a copy and read along with them. After you both finish a chapter, you can discuss it. Talk about what happened (summarizing), why you think the author put those events in the story (author’s purpose), how the character’s personalities fit in the story (characterization) and what you think might happen next (prediction).

In addition, I have created some video tutorials to help you better understand what your child is learning in the classroom and ways that you can help your child at home. Use the Video Tutorial link on the left to see all tutorials, or just click here.