Reading Joy

Our girls need few reminders about the joys of reading. Many come to school with a book in their hand. Others walk from lunch to recess to class holding a coveted novel. Literature classes, a favorite for many of the girls, provide windows into unknown worlds, and few complain that nightly homework includes fifteen minutes of reading. Even with this said, we have tried to ramp up the enthusiasm for reading this month with several reading “events”. Bev Edwards in the library has started her lunchtime book clubs. One recent school day fourth grade girls gathered to discuss, Love that Dog by Sharon Creech. They talked about the characters and plot while enjoying theme-based treats! Other grades are soon to follow. What a treat to sit in the library on a cold winter afternoon talking about books with classmates.

This week our students in both Preschool and Lower School are invited to share the love of reading together in our first “Snuggle Up and Read Night”. Children and their parents will share stories by the “fireplace” and enjoy some lite fare for dinner. We chose the classic novel, Charlotte’s Web, for our first and second grade to discuss and the new, but soon to become a classic, Wish, for our third through fifth grade students. We will use the theme of “kindness” as a basis for talking points. It will provide a connection to our character education program for families. Being kind to each other is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can instill in our young students. What better way to reinforce this lesson than through the magic of books.

Books with themes of social justice are being collected this month in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. On February 1^ststudents in all grades will gather in the gym with students of Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School to read, discuss, and create bookplates so that the 1000+ books can be donated to Baltimore’s Head Start program. Another reminder that books can create connections and provide bridges between members of the community. It promises to become a yearly event.

We take the teaching of reading seriously here in our lower school. Nowhere is this more evident than in our kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Girls are exposed to letter-sound correlations and, once mastered, they learn to blend these sounds into words. It is rewarding work and creates strong readers. I recently discovered an article that does an excellent job describing the process and have linked it below. The English language is complex and often defies logic; our young readers are to be commended for making such steady progress despite the obstacles!  One strategy teachers use is to pair younger and older readers together. This is made so easy since we are all under one roof! Upper school students charmed all of our classrooms by reading the story of Beauty and the Beast to the girls prior to the musical performance this fall. Our kindergarten girls have loved sharing activities that involve reading with our fifth grade girls, and our second grade enjoyed reading picture books to our toddlers one recent afternoon. The article linked below describes the benefits of this buddy reading. Enjoy.

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/ed/11/01/you-need-r-ee-d-read

Reading with a Buddy

In the Lower School, we strive to always balance our curriculum so that the girls are exposed to appropriate challenges, cover necessary content to build solid foundations, and gain skills that can be applied across disciplines. Reading is at the heart of much of what we do each day. Nurturing a love of literature, teaching language fundamentals in meaningful ways, and celebrating reading progress in all subject areas remain objectives for our students. Thank you for all you do at home to support your budding readers. They will reap the benefits throughout their lives.

I hope that my communication with you encourages “talking points” to inspire weekend conversation with your children. Here are some “talking points” for this weekend.

• If you are in Kindergarten- What have you learned about the letter R and the sound it represents? What does addition and subtraction mean?
• If you are in First Grade- What type of background did you give to your self-portrait in art class? What did your letter from the “Roses” say?
• If you are in Second Grade- What part do you have in your Egyptian play?
• If you are in Third Grade- What has been your favorite part of the novel The Fantastic Mr. Fox? What did you love at the BMA? What types of paintings were in the Cone Collection?
• If you are in Fourth Grade- What did you contribute to the recent Dr. Martin Luther King Day morning meeting assembly?
• If you are in Fifth Grade- What will the subject of your letter to a State Representative be? What do you hope to accomplish with your letter? What did you contribute to the recent Dr. Martin Luther King Day morning meeting assembly?