Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123

From the Principal

PRINCIPAL’S MONTHLY MESSAGE – MAY 2010

Each month I have been posting a Principal’s message on my Webpage. May's topic center’s on the importance of summer reading. This message is intended for our entire school learning community; parents, guardians, students, both present and past, teachers and educators, as well as anyone else with an interest or stake in middle school education. I especially encourage my students and families to share their feelings about each message and email me your thoughts at penderle@d123.org.

I am looking for new topics that are important to you each month. Any suggestions from parents and students are welcome. I would like to make the monthly Principal’s message something we all look forward to reading and discussing.

What to do in the summer to improve middle school reading comprehension.

Reading comprehension skill can make a big the difference in the success of your child’s middle school experience. Learn more about a few simple ideas to help your middle schooler improve his or her reading skills during the Summer.

Reading Fundamentals
If your child has exhibited that he or she does not understand their reading assignments, there may need to work on skills other than reading comprehension. Often, when a student does not comprehend their reading it is because he or she has not mastered other reading fundamentals. This can be easily corrected once detected.
Many middle school students are enrolling in reading tutoring programs. These learning centers help students improve their reading through professional, one-on-one instruction. The best tutors are those who are state-certified teachers, and use a diagnostic approach grounded in regular assessment. This is because they have received a formal education and know what methods are most effective when teaching children how to read.

Note Taking
Get your child to read something each day and when they are reading, encourage them to take notes. This is true even for fictional pieces. Taking notes will help your child recall the smallest details, as well as more general themes and ideas. Writing reinforces concepts and helps cement information into longer-term memory. In fact, many students who take notes will remember information that they would have forgotten otherwise, even if they never reread through their notes! When your child takes notes on their reading, remind him or her to include page numbers for easy reference. Many middle school students also use post-it notes or index cards to mark important pages.

Vocabulary Building
Vocabulary is a critical component of reading comprehension. If a student doesn't understand the words they are reading it will be impossible for him or her to understand what the book, article, or other reading material is about. Encourage your middle schooler to write down each word he or she comes across in their reading assignments that they do not know. After they finish each section, have your child look up the meaning of each unfamiliar word. Consider purchasing a small, hand-held dictionary to keep close to where your child reads, this approach may encourage them to look up words they do not fully understand.

It is very important for middle school students to stop and re-read passages that they do not understand. Make yourself available when your child is reading so you can help them to understand concepts, ideas, or words that are confusing them. Speak with them regularly about what they are reading. This shows them that you are interested in their reading and will help you gauge how much they are progressing.

Children may think this is a lot of extra work. However, the note taking and re-reading will pay off when it comes to getting back into the classroom in the fall. Putting in the work during the summer will help students maintain reading levels and not experience the typically summer reading “dip” that occurs with students who neglect to read over the summer. Remember to encourage your student for their hard work. Reading is a difficult task to master and your child is working their hardest to succeed.

With Mustang Pride,

Paul Enderle, Principal