Reading together is a fun-filled experience for a child and a parent. It’s also one of the most important things a parent can do to help a child learn and practice reading.
WHAT ARE THEY?
Some educators call them snuggle books, some call them book baggies. Regardless of the name, this is a great opportunity to get parental involvement in supporting a student’s reading efforts. At the beginning of the year,after the reading level of each student has been determined, they are encouraged to pick a book at their reading level from the classroom library. Allowing students to pick based on their interest, will ensure greater involvement with the book. The book is then place it in a bag for protection. Inside the bag there is a note for the parents and a signature sheet, inviting parents to read with their children every night and mark on the recording sheet how much time their child spend with the book .
HOW DO THEY WORK?
An emergent reader has multiple interactions with the book at school before they take it home: first, the teacher or a paraprofessional would read all or parts of the book to the student, next, they would read it together, and finally, the student would read it to the teacher or a partner. After that, the book is placed in the bag and will be going home with the student at the end of the day. At home, the same process can be followed by the parents: first, the parent would read it to the child, next, they would read it together, and finally, the child would read it on their own to the parent or a sibling. Parents are encouraged to stop and ask questions about the story frequently, like events, characters, settings, main idea, etc, as well as to find rhyming words, word families, patterns etc. Parents are required to sign the reading calendar each night they read with their child. The next day, the student would bring the book back to school and read it to the teacher. If they can read it independently, with no mistakes, they can get a small treat, and move on to a new book. If they cannot read it fluently, they will take it back home for more practice. For older, more experienced readers, the book can go home with no prior interaction in the classroom. Also students can take home just the reading calendar and the book selection can be made from their personal library or the school library. It is recommended that the teacher keeps track of the books students read and how many days they spend on a book. This offers great data for remediation and also helps setting intervention goals.
Reading matters! The recommended amount of reading time per day per student is at least 20 minutes. Of course, this amount can be adjusted based on a student’s needs.