READING

COUNTS!

Central Elementary
Nevada, IA
October 2015
Volume 7, Issue 1

Reading Newsletter

Whats going on at Central

Welcome to a new year at Central

Elementary! This is the first issue of this years
Reading Counts, a newsletter that comes
every month to help you help your children
with reading. WELCOME!
This newsletter will give you ideas of
how you can help your children with reading
and writing.

Title One Parent Meeting

On October 8th a Title One parent
meeting will be held in the Central Library
during Open House. At that time, you will
meet all Title One teachers and learn about
the Title 1 program at Central Elementary.
Topics to be covered will include how students
are selected, federal funding sources, and the
Title One parent component. Families will be
asked to complete and return a ParentStudent-Educator Compact. An additional
copy of this compact can be found on the Title
1 Reading website at:
www.readingsuccessatcentralelementary.weeb
ly.com.
We look forward to meeting you and to
a great year ahead.

Questions from
Parents
What can I do to get my child to
read?
The easiest way to get your child to read
is to read to them and make sure they see you
reading! Children copy what they see their
parents do. Some ideas to make reading fun:
* Take turns choosing books
* Take turns reading. You read a part and your
child reads a part.
* Read joke books. Kids love goofy jokes!
* Read as the character with silly voices. Let your
kids see you have fun with a book.
* Read comic books, magazines, cereal boxes,
the newspaper, anything they can imagine!
* Use some of the websites found in this
newsletter.

Reading Teachers at Central

Mrs. Cave:
lcave@nevada.k12.ia.us
Phone: 382-2383 Ext. 426
Mrs. Elsasser:
kelsasser@nevada.k12.ia.us
Phone: 382-2383 Ext. 425
Mrs. Hewitt:
jhewitt@nevada.k12.ia.us
Phone: 382-2383 Ext. 422
Mrs. Klopstad:
eklopstad@nevada.k12.ia.us
Phone: 382-2383 Ext. 428
Mrs. McCarville:
mmccarville@nevada.k12.ia.us
Phone: 382-2383 Ext. 423
Mrs. Swanson-Brehm:
mswanson@nevada.k12.ia.us
Phone: 382-2383 Ext. 424

Reading Counts! Page 2

For Your Information

How can I help my first grader
when they are just beginning to
read? It is VERY important that you read to
your beginning reader. They hear how good
reading sounds and they learn lots of words
they will need to know. As you are reading
have your child point out words that they
recognize. Then as you come to that word
again have your child read it to you. You and
your child can also write simple stories. After
you write them have your child read them
back to you. You can write them on strips and
cut them into puzzles to make them even
more fun!

How can I help my child at home

with comprehending stories that
they read? One of the best ways you can
help your child with understanding the stories
they are reading is to ask questions
periodically as they read either aloud or to
themselves. (If they read to themselves you
need to read the story before you ask
questions.)
Some ideas are: Who is the main character?
Do you see any connection with the
characters in this book/story? What was
the main idea of that section or chapter you
just read?
You may also ask them to tell you about what
they just read. But you need to read the story
as well to know how accurate they are.

Books to Check Out

There are two lists of award
winning books that the children at Central
Elementary are familiar with. These lists
are the Iowa Childrens Choice
Awards and the Goldfinch Awards.
These lists are available to you at the
public library. They are quality literature
that you may read to your child or they
may read to you.
In picking out a book that is right
for your child, you may look at the back
to see a reading level (R.L. 2.5). This
would be 2nd grade mid year. For longer
books children choose any page to read.
Each time they come to a word they do
not know they put down a finger. If they
put down 5 fingers before they get to the
end of the book it may not be the best
choice for them at this time. Good Luck!

Upcoming Events
October 8: Open House at Central
Elementary
October 8: Title 1 Parent Meeting
October 23: End of 1st Quarter
October 26 and 27: No School,
Professional Development and Teacher
Work Day
November 7: Parent/Teacher
Conferences
November 10 & 12: Parent/Teacher
Conferences 2:10 Dismissal
November 13: No school
November 25: Thanksgiving Break Nov.
25-29