MSI Press Blog

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #91 Variety is the Spice of Reading You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note. ~Doug Floyd   As a parent, you want to encourage your child to read. Most experts agree the best way to do that is to read, read, read. You may think you need a library full of books at home to make that possible, but that’s not necessarily true. Don’t get stuck thinking that to be reading, your child must have an actual book. There are many different sources of reading materials besides books, and encouraging your child to read them helps expose your child to different genres. It also may help your child learn to love reading more. Become aware of the different opportunities in your house and in your child’s life for reading. Perhaps your child would love a subscription to a nature or animal magazine. Kids love getting mail addressed ...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #90 The "Pros" of Poetry   Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them  ~Dennis Gabor   Using poetry or verse as reading material for a change can prove to be very motivational for reluctant readers and quite enjoyable for all readers. Poems are usually short, sweet, and highly entertaining. Finding poetry that fits your child's interests (such as humor, nature, realistic…) is easy to do. A librarian or bookstore employee can help you find anthologies to suite any child. If your child especially seems to enjoy reading poetry, you might try to gently suggest ways to increase academics through the use of poems. Perhaps you could:   ●       You can pause, while reading him a poem, and omit the rhyming words for him to fill in. ●    ...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #89 Summarizing   As you child writes in her personal journal, encourage her to try writing a summary about her day.   Have you ever heard your child retell a movie or book to someone and listen to her go on and on and on? It may even be difficult for the listener to follow if he isn't familiar with the plot. Teaching your child how to summarize can help her capture the plot and feeling of the movie or story without getting lost in minor events, thus increasing her comprehension of the main idea of a story. Start by showing your child examples of good summaries. Good summaries (also called a synopsis) are not hard to find. You can find summaries on the back or inside cover of books. In the newspaper, there are synopses of movies and books. On the Internet, you can look up a title of any book and most often there will be a s...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #88 Fun Reading Activities   Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. ~ Michael Jordan   When your child finishes a story (whether he read it himself or you read it to him), the fun doesn't have to stop there. There are so many activities he could do or that you could work on together that would extend the enjoyment of reading and aid in comprehension as well. Here are just a few ideas:   ●       Draw a 6-frame cartoon sketch showing the book’s plot. ●       Select one character and explain why you would like to know him or her. ●       Draw a map or picture of the setting described in your book. ●       Create an advertisement for your book (a picture ad you might see in a magazine or a poster you might see at a movie theat...