WHY READING BUDDY BOOKS ?
All Reading Buddy Books are information based and designed to improve
reading, writing and comprehension.
Each Reading Buddy Book set contains two books. The first book uses words and concepts that are based on a specific reading level. The second book takes the knowledge gained from the first book and adds to it, so your child will be able to read, write and understand at an even higher level.
Simply by reading together and talking together, you and your child smile as the learning happens naturally. Writing happens the same way. There is no correcting! You simply write alongside your child, and then share and enjoy what you both have written. After all, learning is supposed to be joyful. So relax. Just by watching and sharing, they will learn.
Reading Buddy Books are specifically designed to be a comfortable way to help struggling readers enjoy reading and writing. Entertaining and informative, they are fun for everyone. Sharing them with each other for 10-15 minutes at a time, for a few days each week, it is easy to fit into an already busy schedule. But the best part is that just by reading/writing and talking together, parents are able to help their children learn to read and write as their children smile and find good reasons to use the skills being taught in school.
A NEW AND BETTER WAY
TO HELP CHILDREN LEARN TO READ AND WRITE
WITH UNDERSTANDING
You begin by reading and talking about the pictures in the first book with them. Once the child is able to read all the words by him/herself fairly easily, it is time to learn more. Only then you begin the second book that brings in more information and includes words and concepts that are at a higher reading level.
Reading Buddy Books work best if they are read again and again, but Reading Buddy Books are NOT meant to be the only books you use. Be sure to read lots of different kinds. As you put one down, pick up another. Fiction, poetry, non-fiction, comics, cereal boxes, recipes…. Learning to read and understand and enjoy reading and writing takes years. Let school take care of the skills and the memorization. You are the best one to help your child understand what they are reading and writing, and to make reading and writing fun.
READING BUDDY BOOKS, LIKE ALL BOOKS,
NEED DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SUPPORT
DEPENDING ON YOUR CHILD’S READING ABILITY.
For beginning readers and writers, five to ten minutes at a time might be all the attention they can give. Stop whenever you see they’ve had enough. You decide. You know your child the best. All of the Reading Buddy Books are meant to be picked up and put down as YOU AND YOUR CHILD see fit. Reading Buddy Books are NOT meant to be read at one sitting. Each page is interesting in itself, and on some days just one page might be enough. By reading little at a time, while your child’s interest is at its highest, it can easily take a month or more to finish the first book, and even longer to use the second book. You can take your time. In fact, this whole experience works best if you unwind together with laughter and smiles. Rely on your own common sense as you and your child find the best ways to relax and have fun reading and writing and understanding the ideas.
At the pre-school level, the words and letters are for you to read and point to as you talk about the pictures. Specific directions are given in the book introduction.
At the kindergarten level, the first book should be read to them as you (and they) point to the letters and words as you talk about the pictures. Be sure to spend more time talking than reading! At first, they might just repeat the words you read to them without recognizing either the words or the letters. This provides familiarity with books and shows how and why letters are used. It is how reading begins and it takes many months of reading the same books over and over again before true reading begins. Be sure to read and talk about lots of different books with great pictures. The second Reading Buddy Book is best used as they approach first grade reading levels.
For kindergarten, first and second grade (beginning elementary) readers, pages in the first book should be read with them often. Extra conversation as you are reading is very important! Asking and answering questions about the pictures and what your child thinks about is vital. Comprehension only comes once you figure out what you are ‘using but confusing’, so don’t be afraid to spend more time talking than reading. Once your child can read all the words in the first book easily, the second book can be started. When the pictures in both books match, the new words in the second book will probably require you to tell them the words they do not recognize. Here is how it works best. Open both books to the page where the pictures match. The familiar words from the first book will also be on the second book’s page. Find those words first – and smile! They give the child some confidence to try reading this new page on their own. A good number of children are surprised to find that they are already able to read most of the words in the second book by themselves. When they do get to a word they do not know, you may encourage the child to try to sound out the first sound, and when they succeed you should then TELL THEM THE WHOLE WORD right away. If the child is reluctant to try sounding out, JUST TELL THEM THE WORD. You are after comprehension, not the phonics skills that are being taught in school. Be sure to take more time talking about the pictures than reading the words on the page. Reread with them as often as you like until the words are mastered.
They should be getting the phonics skills they need to read from school, but it takes time to learn how it works. Alphabet letters in the English language do not always make the same sounds, so words are sometimes very difficult to sound out! Just relax and have fun, and help them with what they stumble over!
For middle elementary grade level readers, the first book is a chapter book. Reading with them, and even taking turns with parents reading every other page can be reassuring. After rereading a few times, and once the child can comfortably read all the words, the second book can be started. The second book pages contain black and white pictures from the first book and are suitable for coloring. Some of those pages contain new written information, and some pages contain lines for student writing. The object is to read or write about the picture on each page. The parent should have their own paper and write at the same time the child writes. USE YOUR OWN WORDS! You and your child can write the same or different words, but the purpose is to write your own ideas to share and have fun as the ideas blossom from conversation and reading into writing. Children learn best when an adult sits next to them and models how to do things right. The spelling is not nearly as important as writing what you are thinking, so let school worry about the spelling tests! Writing is very difficult and the object for parents is to make it as enjoyable as can be. Invented spelling is great at this stage.
The higher elementary level first book is a chapter book that gives even more advanced information. Once the first book has been read, talked about, and understood, it is time for the second book. This second book is designed for sentence, paragraph, and story writing to be engaging and interesting. It contains drawings sketched from the first book with lines for student writing. There are many more pages than needed. The object is for the child to pick the pages they want in order to write the story they wish to tell. The pages can be put in any order and are there to inspire a new and original student-made book. Parents are encouraged to write alongside their child, or simply work with them as the writing progresses. Writing is one of the most difficult skills to master. Encouragement and smiles from parents can lead to student satisfaction. It is more important to enjoy the process than to complete the task. Doing one page at a time and spending ten to fifteen minutes at a sitting is more than enough! Take as many weeks or months as you want. Just enjoy the process!
At every age, try to read to and with your child fifteen minutes every day. And never forget that you know best. These are your children and you are in charge! Leave the worksheets and skill building to the schools! It is parents/caretakers who are in the best position to make reading and writing both fun and meaningful!
HAVING FUN TOGETHER WHILE READING AND WRITING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS