IT IS DANGEROUS TO GO

ALONE!
TAKE THIS.

Dear Parents,

First I would like to thank

you all for coming along
on this literary adventure.
I know we  will be a
fantastic team when it
comes to helping your
child discover and learn
literacy both in and
outside of the classroom.
While there may be some
smelling of flowers and
fighting of dragons along
the way of our adventure,
we all know the journey is
just as important as the
destination!

NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST

-J.R.R. TOLKEIN
 WHY DO WE READ?
I think the wonderful thing about literacy is that we
are all literate. Literacy is all around us from the
books we read, the language we speak, signs and
symbols on the street, the movies we watch, the
music we listen to and even when we create visual
art when drawing. Though we may see literacy as
just an English Language Arts subject, it is actually 
present in all subjects both outside and inside of
school. We can find literacy in science when learning
about plant growth. The ability for students to
understand the stages of growth could be explained
through narrative, or even having a visually
appealing and well labeled poster diagraming the
parts of a seed are all part of literacy. Students must
have knowledge in  literacy because literacy is
important to everyday life. Having literacy in their
lives gives students the tools for academic success, it
helps them define themselves and conceptualize the
world around them. With your support and patience
I know we will help your children to feel confidence
and enjoyment in learning to read and write!

Book Nook: Cross Curricular

Wonders
Whole-y Cow: Fractions are fun by Taryn
Souder
Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream by Cindy
Neuschwander
Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and
Thrive!) in the Real World? by Helaine Becker
Inside your insides: a guide to the microbes that
call you home by Claire Eamer
The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella
The Road to Mumbai by Ruth Jeyaveeran
 The Fellowship of Five
There are five components to learning how to read.
These components usually follow this order but they
do not need to. Children are like snowflakes all of
them are unique and individual, so instead of stating
this is how you read, we must ask ourselves the
question: "How does this child learn to read?"

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics create the dynamic

duo Decoding! Decoding is the relationship between
how we hear sounds and what words and letters look
like. Basically when your child is sounding out words
they are flexing their decoding muscles!

Vocabulary is learning the meaning and pronunciation

of new words, as well as how to use them in the proper
context. Your child will use vocabulary to paint vivid
pictures in their mind when they read and write!
Fluency is the accuracy, pace, comprehension and
expression of the text being read. Patience is key when
it comes to fluency, because there are many different
types of readers. It takes support and practice for
students to gain a mastery of fluency, you can help your
child do this by modelling. This can be done by first
reading aloud to your child and then having them
reread the book back to you. 

Reading Comprehension is how well the text being

read is understood by the reader, as well as if they can
recall and express their understanding to others. You
can help your child with their reading comprehension
by asking them questions before, during and after
reading.
 The Six Heroes of Literacy
Did you know that literacy extends past reading and
writing?

Literacy actually has SIX parts to it and they come in

pairs of text study and text creation. These partners in
crime act as ways in which we communicate by
creating and interpreting the world around us.

The six heroes of literacy are:

Reading

Writing

Listening

Speaking

Viewing
Visually
Representing
Understanding that there are different parts of
literacy will help you on your journey to guiding your
child along the path of literacy. All students are
literate and love literacy even if it isn’t the
traditionally viewed literacy of reading and writing.
Chances are your child excels in at least one of these
fields of literacy. This is great! Because literacy is an
ocean and all rivers lead there.
 Literacy Tool Box
Like most things, the best way to get better at literacy
is to practice, practice, practice. Having your child take
part in literacy as a daily activity in their lives will
exponentially help them with their learning how to
read and write. Here are a few tips, tricks and tools to
help your child read:

Please be patient with your child, this is the number

one tool in your tool belt. Even if a student is
struggling with reading and writing, we must
remember that it isn't never, but simply yet.

Books with rhyme and repetition such as Dr. Seuss

can really help build confidence in early readers. 

Writing and reading are a powerful pair. Encouraging

your child to write, whether that is journals, fairy
tales,  or even comics can vastly help improve your
child’s reading as it allows them to explore how we
read by creating the text themselves.

A great way to incorporate reading and writing into

your child’s life if through their play. Having a child
act out or use props to summarize a story can help
with their reading comprehension. 

Reading should ultimately be fun. So even if a book is

not on the menu tonight and that is ok. A great way to
keep literacy a daily activity is to engage in our other
literacy streams. Watching an educational story
video, listening to a spooky podcast or even playing
make believe by creating your own stories with your
child are all ways to keep reading a fun and light
activity.

"The pen is mightier than the sword"

- Edward Bulwer-Lytton
 Book Nook:
Food For the Mind

Please enjoy this bountiful buffet of books to snack on

with your child. I hope that by giving a plethora of
cool, magnificent and super exciting examples of
books, that your child and you can find a book that fits
your taste and wet your literary appetite. Like food
some students are picky in what they like and dislike
to consume, by giving them the options and autonomy
they are more likely to find out what they like.

Non-Fiction Wonders:
All the Dirt: A History of Getting Clean by
Katherine Ashenburg
Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-
Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled
Orchestra of Paraguay by Emily Ann
Thompson

Fantastic Fiction:
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Matilda by Roald Dahal
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The Velveteen Rabbit By Margery Williams

Powerful Poetry:
Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein
Hungry for Math: Poems to Munch On by
Kari-Lynn Winters and Lori Sherritt-Fleming
Mixed Beasts by Kenyon Cox

Marvellous Graphic Novels:

El Deafo by Cece Bell
Lumberjanes by Michael Berry
The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
 Bibliography

Anne Davies,PH.D. Making Classroom Assessment

Work. Third Edition, A.Davies Duncan Holding Inc.,
2011.

Bright, Robin M. et al. Language and Literacy:

Content and Teaching Strategies. Seventh
Canadian Edition, Peason Canada Inc., 2011.

English: General Capabilities - The Australian

Curriculum v7.5. http://v7-
5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/english/general-
capabilities. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

How to Coach Parents to Become Reading Partners

at Home.
https://www.kaplanco.com/blog/post/2016/06/15/ho
w-to-coach-parents-to-become-reading-partners-at-
home.aspx. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

Tompkins, Gail E.. 50 Literacy Strategies: Step by

Step. Fourth Edition, Peason Canada Inc., 2013.

Book of Jenna

Amy Robinson