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. #99 SQ3R: Recite   Stay at home in your mind. Don't recite other people's opinions. I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson               RECITE is the second R in SQ3R. It means to look back at the text as soon as your child finishes it. This is when she can answer those questions she created out of the headings and/ or answer questions assigned to her. She can take just a minute or two to look back at the headings and ask herself if she can explain what they mean. Ask her to do this out loud; otherwise, she may look at them and think she knows, but saying them out loud ensures that she does. Let her play the role of teacher and “teach” you about what she’s learned. After all, children learn best when they can teach someone else what th...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #98 SQ3R: Read   To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark. ~ Victor Hugo, Les Miserables               READ is the first “R” in SQ3R. It, of course, means to read the text, but a nice addition to this step is to get into the habit of reading with a pencil in hand. If the text is something he can write on, he can learn to annotate (more on that in Idea #103.) If not, if it’s a school textbook or library book, he can take notes on a separate piece of paper. He can even jot down page numbers where he finds answers.             Another good strategy to use while reading, is to let pictures develop in your head. You probably do it all the time when you read. Try it and see. This ...

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #96 SQ3R: Survey A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  ~Confucius   Imagine walking into a crowded room at a party. When you walk in, you may stop and take a look around the room and gather information about what and who you see. You might see some friends, a table with food, an empty chair, etc. You use that information to make a decision on what to do next. You are surveying the room. Surveying a book works in a similar way. SURVEY, the first part of SQ3R, means to have your child give a quick look through what he is about to read and gather information. Imagine he has a chapter to read in Social Studies about the Declaration of Independence. Here are some things to Survey: ●        Have him read the title and guess what it’s about. ●        Look thr...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #95 SQ3R: A Reading Comprehension Technique   There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all. ~ Jacqueline Kennedy     If your child has ever read something and afterward can’t answer many questions about it, you know her comprehension was insufficient. It is possible for a child to be able to read out loud fluently, even expressively, and yet not remember much (or anything) of what they read. It is important to keep in mind the true definition of reading which involves not just saying the words but also understanding the words and constructing meaning from those words. If your child is not doing that, is she really reading? Since informational text can be more difficult to understand and, therefore, to read, it is important to offer children strategies t...