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815.433.1133

Mrs. Woolley - Reading Specialist

Welcome to Reading

Contact Information:
815-433-1907
 
Credentials:  
B.S-Special Education- DHH, ISU 1991
M.S- Education- Reading- ISU 1996 
**Teaching since 1991



Thank you for visiting my Reading Page!!

Reading is the most important activity that you can do with your child to teach reading and reinforce learning!! To read to your child is such a gift, not only to them, but for you, as well.

To make reading fun, here is a list of helpful strategies that will provide a framework for you.

 Guide your child to use these strategies so they can help him/herself grow into an independent reader.

Be Excited About Reading!

1. Use Picture Clues: Tell your child that the word is something that can be seen in the picture (if this applies to the word being read). Don’t cover up the picture. It gives meaning which is needed to understand the text.

2. Use Chunks: Have your child look for chunks in words, such as it in sit or at in mat or and and ing in standing.

3. Use Beginning Sounds: Ask your child to get his/her mouth ready to say the word by shaping their mouth for the beginning sounds.

4. Ask your child if the word looks like another word he/she knows. Does cook look like look?

5. Ask your child to go on and read to the end of the sentence. Often by reading the other words in context, the child can figure out the unknown word.

6.  If the child says a wrong word while reading, ask questions, like Does it makes sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?

7.  It is ok to tell the word if after a few seconds your child can’t get it on his/her own. Be sure to have your child go back and reread the sentence with the correct word!!!

READ! READ! READ!

THANKS FOR VIEWING THIS PAGE OF STRATEGIES. I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR READING TIME AT HOME BY USING THESE HELPFUL TIPS!


 

Monthly Update

                                                                                                

Upcoming Happenings!!    
** Week of September 19th- McKinley Book Fair
** READING GROUPS BEGIN!!!! Notes will be sent home with students who will begin the adventure of reading!!
**Friday, October 7- Teacher Institute - No School -------  ** Monday, October 10- Columbus Day!! No School

PLEASE KEEP CHECKING MY PAGE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION!!
 
READING RECAP:   
  To promote a lifelong love of reading, helping your child with a nightly reading routine is an excellent way to start showing the importance of reading.  For older students, sight word practice can be a fun way to review words from a previous grade.  
Sight words are those very familiar words that are seen and used often in reading and writing. Many of the words can't be sounded out, so storing those words in memory is key to fluent reading. We will be working on sight words after the start of fall tier groups.   Now, even more focus will on be words.  Writing is an extension of what students know and can show.  Ask your child to write about something.  Give a topic or let them choose one of interest.  Call it " Show What You Know".  **(Games or snappy titles given to an activity are a couple of ways to help keep readers engaged when working on reading at home.) 

 **Please remember:  The very best way for a child to increase reading skills is to read! Remember, reading books is wonderful, but you might also expose your child to magazines, ebooks, comics, newspapers and a wide range of texts to find what interests your child most. 
 
 Parent-Child Connection: Word Games are a great way to keep kids using words and recognizing them in text.  Make a list of  sight words or choose a different word family each week and play games with those words.  
Word Games that are fast, easy and VERY cost efficient:  
1.  Guess my word- think or spell a word and your kiddo writes or says the word
2.  Beach Ball Words- write sight words on a beach ball, throw the ball, and whichever word is on top at the time, they read.
3.  Magnetic letters- on the fridge or a cookie sheet (for traveling in the car) is great to show patterns.
4.  Shaving Cream- writing words in shaving cream- Kids love this one!! They learn and get a little messy at the same time. 
5.  Newspaper Words- Give your child a word. Have them use a highlighter or crayon and find it in the newspaper. You can even have your child make a chart of progress and post on the refrigerator for all to see.  This boost confidence and shows the value of working hard. 
 
SIMPLE SPOTLIGHT IDEAS:   
** Make a fun book nook or reading corner at home- create a chart for students to color as they complete books.  Post the chart in their special spot.   After reading a few books, celebrate!!  Create a family reading challenge to see how many books can be read by the beginning of November!  Make a day of the week a family day and read at night together.  One day a week is doable and will have a positive impact on reading this school year.
 
 
 
 
 

Home and School Connection

This section is used for specific ideas that hone in on strategies currently being used or seen in student reading progress.  I am hoping that these will help encourage and motivate ideas to be shared and used between school and home!!
 
 Tip for the Months Ahead:
Calling All Grown Ups!!!!!- I'm asking for partners to help McReaders read at home.  With the past year behind us, revving up reading and learning at home is a great way to help build students confidence and gain more practice time on reading skills needed on a daily basis.   
Reading Challenge- Looking for McReaders, at any grade, to bring a picture of or note about working on reading at home, I will post in my room!!   Here an idea to do at home:  
  Create a Word Family poster- give your child a word family, such as - at, ug, ight, udge  and ask them to spell words with that word family.  To strengthen his/her thinking: prompt them to spell a word by giving another word with that same spelling pattern. Example:  "If you can read, right,  ...... you can read  sight".  Continue with this type of prompting using a variety of word families.  This strengthens vocabulary fluency, writing, and accuracy (careful reading to notice patterns). 
Next Month's Preview: October
Here are some ideas for this Spooktacular month:  
Enjoy reading around a fire pit as the weather cools
Choose fun Fall or Halloween themed books
Costume reading party-