A Teacher's Reflections

My final newsletter to families at school, telling them how important reading aloud chapter books is to their children.  Hopefully this opens the door for them.

Chapter Reading
June 16, 2021

Chapter reading is one of our treasured moments of the day.  We bring to life the imagination, the world, and the past.  The anticipation of ‘what happens next’ stirs excitement every day.  Children listen and think.  They ask questions.  Ask your child, “At chapter reading where do you make the pictures?”  You will hear your child say, “In your head.”

When we finish a good book and then start a new one, emotions run high and low.  The end of a good book is so satisfying and pleasant, yet…it is over.  That is the wonderful roller coaster of reading.  And, with each chapter book we read, we ride that roller coaster again and again.

We have finished Little House on the Prairie, and it was thrilling; from Jack the dog, to building a house, to Indians in the house.  Pa and his neighbor Mr. Scott dug a well, and we learned about the bad gas deep inside the earth (Pa had to save Mr. Scott) that only a candle can detect.  Of course, I had to bring in my grandfather’s childhood portrait wearing a miner’s hat with the same candle. Laura and her family had fever ‘n’ ague (malaria), an illness that people thought came from eating watermelons.  There was also fear of Indians, which was an opportunity for Gloria to discuss diversity and prejudice.

We read a second Doctor Doolittle book, Doctor Dolittle’s Journey (ask your child about Long Arrow and Spider Monkey Island), and we have just started reading On the Banks of Plum Creek which picks up when Laura and her family leave the prairie in Kansas.  We recommend that you finish reading the book to your child over the summer.  We have read as far as page 132.  The next chapter is The Fish-Trap.

We voted on our favorite chapter books this year.  Charlotte’s Web was the clear winner!

These are the chapter books we have read this year.  Good books are meant to be read over and over again.  We encourage you to revisit these wonderful books with your child:

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles

The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Doctor Dolittle’s Journey, adapted by N.H. Kleinbaum

On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The fundamental constant that gives children the tools to succeed in school is language.  The more words that children hear, the better they will do in school.  Reading aloud to children is far more than an enjoyable experience.  It increases their language development!  In kindergarten through grade four, the primary source of instruction is oral.  The more words that a child has heard, the better s/he will understand the instruction, and the better s/he will perform in school, in all subjects.  Therefore, we will always campaign to read aloud.

A wonderful guide to book recommendations and to understanding the importance of reading aloud is the million-copy bestseller book, The Read-Aloud Handbook.  I have used the book since my children were little.  The author, Jim Trelease, visited the Aqua Room and GCS.  We are featured in the seventh edition of the book.

Jennie