Language Arts
How can parents help their children to read for meaning?
Reading for Meaning with Your Child Reading with comprehension means understanding what’s been read. It takes practice, time, and patience to develop reading comprehension skills. Families can play an important role in helping a child learn to read for understanding.
First, make sure your child is reading books appropriate for their reading level. If a book is too hard, all your child’s energy will be put into decoding and reading word for word, with less energy available to figure out what the book means. Books that your child can read with 98-100% accuracy are good choices for comprehension building.
Reading comprehension skills can be developed using a before-during-after approach. Below are a few suggestions that will help build comprehension skills.
BEFORE READING
Your goal is to help your child build an understanding of and purpose for what they’re about to read. Look at the book’s cover. Ask, “What do you think this book might be about? Why? Can you make some predictions?” Guide your child through the pages, discuss the pictures, and brainstorm what might happen in the story. Talk about any personal experiences your child may have that relate to the story.
DURING READING
Your goal is to help your child be an active reader. Read together and talk about what’s happening as they’re reading. Stop and discuss any interesting or tricky vocabulary words. Talk about any surprising or sad passages, and help them visualize parts of the story. Ask your child, “Do you understand what’s happening here? What do you think will happen next?” If your child seems unsure, stop, go back and reread if necessary. Discuss any confusing parts.
AFTER READING
Your goal is to help your child reflect on what they’ve read. Summarize and share your favorite part of the book. Have your child rate the book on a scale from 1 to 10 and say why. Have your child reread their favorite part or act it out.
Take the extra time before and during reading to read with your child this way. You’ll soon find yourself reading with a child who is motivated to comprehend and learn from everything they read.
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MAP Growth and MAP Reading Fluency Assessments Have Begun
School District 21 utilizes the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Growth assessment as one measure to provide information on student academic growth. MAP is a unique computer assessment that adapts to your child’s level of understanding and mastery of skills. The difficulty level of each question is adjusted based on the student’s answers.
Students in second grade through eighth grade, will be assessed in Reading and Mathematics during the test window of August 29 – September 14.
Important MAP Information
- Who participates in MAP?
In School District 21, all second through eighth grade students.
- How long does each assessment take?
MAP assessments are not timed assessments, but they typically take students about 45 minutes to complete in the school setting. Rarely does a student spend more than 60 minutes on an assessment. There is only one Reading and one Mathematics test each fall, so about two hours in total is spent in the assessment process.
- How do teachers use the results?
NWEA test results are important to teachers because they indicate student growth in basic skills. By analyzing these results, teachers know where a student’s strengths lie and in which areas specific support is needed. This information helps guide instruction in classroom lessons.
MAP Reading Fluency is an online adaptive reading assessment for students in grades K – 1 who are learning to read. It measures foundational reading skills, with an emphasis on oral fluency. Students will be assessed in MAP Reading Fluency August 29 – September 14.
MAP Reading Fluency was designed with an understanding that before students can read with comprehension, they need to have developed both decoding and language comprehension skills. For students ready to read, MAP Reading Fluency can assess oral reading from passages. But for students not yet ready to read, the foundational skills in both decoding and language comprehension can be assessed.
If you have any questions about either of these assessments, please contact your school principal.
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