Dear Parents:
This year, our 4th grade class is again involved in an interpretive reading and discussion program called Junior Great Books. This program stresses the enjoyment of literature for its own sake, while at the same time it develops comprehension, interpretive thinking, and oral and written language skills.
As I did last year, I will again ask you to join in the program. Your child will bring home his or her packet of stories on Monday night so that you can read aloud the selection for the week. I encourage you to talk with your children about open-ended questions that have no one “right” answer such as “why do you think …….thought that?” or “What might have made …… do something like that?” One way to help your child fully express his or her ideas is to follow up a statement by asking, “Why do you think this?” or “Can you tell me more?”
Also, ask your child if there are any words that she or he doesn’t understand and circle and discuss them in the context of the story. After reading the selection and discussing it with your child, write down your child’s own question about the story. Some of these questions will be shared and discussed the next day in class. While relaxed and fun, this at-home work is important because it will form the basis of your child’s work with the reading selection in class on Tuesday morning.
Our first at-home session will be Wednesday, 9/17 with the story, Thank you Ma’m, beginning on page 9 in the packet. Please plan to set aside about one half-hour with your child on Monday evenings. I’m sure you and your child will find the Junior Great Books Program an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Your curiosity about what your child is thinking will communicate a very important message about the value of discussing ideas and the importance of reading for meaning. The role you fill in the program is a vital one.
Sincerely,
Judy Peiken
Programming Librarian, Carmel Campus
Stevenson School
This year, our 4th grade class is again involved in an interpretive reading and discussion program called Junior Great Books. This program stresses the enjoyment of literature for its own sake, while at the same time it develops comprehension, interpretive thinking, and oral and written language skills.
As I did last year, I will again ask you to join in the program. Your child will bring home his or her packet of stories on Monday night so that you can read aloud the selection for the week. I encourage you to talk with your children about open-ended questions that have no one “right” answer such as “why do you think …….thought that?” or “What might have made …… do something like that?” One way to help your child fully express his or her ideas is to follow up a statement by asking, “Why do you think this?” or “Can you tell me more?”
Also, ask your child if there are any words that she or he doesn’t understand and circle and discuss them in the context of the story. After reading the selection and discussing it with your child, write down your child’s own question about the story. Some of these questions will be shared and discussed the next day in class. While relaxed and fun, this at-home work is important because it will form the basis of your child’s work with the reading selection in class on Tuesday morning.
Our first at-home session will be Wednesday, 9/17 with the story, Thank you Ma’m, beginning on page 9 in the packet. Please plan to set aside about one half-hour with your child on Monday evenings. I’m sure you and your child will find the Junior Great Books Program an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Your curiosity about what your child is thinking will communicate a very important message about the value of discussing ideas and the importance of reading for meaning. The role you fill in the program is a vital one.
Sincerely,
Judy Peiken
Programming Librarian, Carmel Campus
Stevenson School