Jennifer Rohde, Reading Specialist
" It is not enough to simply teach children to read, we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch thier imaginations-something that will help them make sense of thier own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own." -Katherine Patterson 1995
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Reading!
I am Jennifer Rohde and this is my first year at Tonawanda as the Reading Specialist. I moved to Wisconsin this past summer from Saint Paul, Minnesota where I was a Reading Specialist for the past two years at a local elementary school. I have taught 3rd, 2nd, and 6th grade in various districts in Wisconsin and Minnesota over the past ten years. I am looking forward to working with students and parents as I begin my journey here at Tonawanda.
Fun Facts
-"There are only fourty-four sounds in the English language. And all of those fourty-four sounds-every ending, blending, and dipthong- can be found in Goodnight Moon, Make Way For Ducklings, and Charlotte's Web."
-Jim Trelease 1995-
-"Reading aloud to a child is the single most important factor in raising a reader. This extensive and pleasurable fifteen minutes a day-either in the home or in the classroom- is more effective than worksheets or any other method of reading instruction.
- Jim Trelease "The Read Aloud Handbook"
Here are a few hints when helping kids self select good literature:
Have them...
1. Read the back of the book
2. Read the flap on the book jacket
3. Read the first page- an interesting lead can reel them in
4. Look at the length of the book
5. Flip through the book and scan the illustrations
6. Find out more about the author
7. See if it is a series book
8. Consider the genre- mystery, adventure, historical fiction, non-fiction, etc...
9. Look through the table of contents
10. ** Remember if reading non-fiction the reading level should be a level or two below where they are reading.
Good Habits for Healthy Readers
-taken from Strategies the Work by Stephanie Harvey
* Make connections between prior knowledge and the text
*Ask questions
*Visualize or make a movie in your head of the characters and setting so you can see what is happening while you read.
*Draw inferences- use clues from the text to think ahead and make a judgement, find a theme, or speculate about what is to come.
*Determine the important ideas
* Synthesize information- combine new information with existing knowledge to form an original idea.
Repair understanding- If confusion disrupts meaning, readers need to stop and clarify their understanding.