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Why Read?

Reading is a journey that people of all ages can enjoy. Reading can introduce children to a place or time that is foreign to them in a way that nothing else can. Reading helps children imagine far away lands filled with princesses who are guarded by dragons, and schoolboy superheroes. It takes them on journeys to other countries filled with reptiles and animals they have never seen. It helps children learn new vivacious vocabulary and paint pictures of the places they read about. As children read, they learn to empathize with the characters, and think about what they would do in their situations.

If reading is so wonderful, then why do we have a difficult time getting our children to read? The answer to that question is that they have many other things to do besides read. They have video games, MP3 players, computers, televisions, and many other things that may or may not stimulate their young minds. The availability of all those wonderful things has quickly turned reading into work, and therefore not something that most kids will do on their own. Because of this, we need to help children grow to love reading and to become lifelong readers.

This manual can be used as a resource to help you and your family enjoy reading. It contains fun websites, and other helpful tips.

Make Reading Fun

If your child believes reading is work, then it is going to be very painful for both of you to get through the 80 minutes a week reading log. Here are some hints to help you disguise the “work.”

Find Fun Places to Read

under the bed
by a shady tree
on a blanket outside
in a closet with a flashlight
in a blanket tent

Find Interesting Materials to Read

magazines
poetry
science/social studies type books
comics
picture books
jokes
recipes
class newsletter J

*A fun trip to the library is a great after school activity.

Read Aloud

Many people believe that once a child can read on his/her own then they should do so all of the time. The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease states,

“reading aloud is a commercial for reading. …Think of

it this way: McDonald’s doesn’t stop advertising just

because the vast majority of Americans know about

its restaurants. Each year it spends more money on

ads to remind people how good it’s products taste.

Don’t cut your reading advertising budget as children

grow older” (2001, Ch. 4).

Reading to children helps them learn to read aloud with expression and feelings. They learn new vocabulary in context and are able to focus on comprehension rather than decoding. When they hear you taking risks in your reading, they will begin taking risks in their own reading which will also transfer into their writing. Here are some helpful hints for reading aloud to your children.

Choosing a Book

Choose a book that is no more than 2 years above their independent reading level.
Think about the maturity of a text.
Don’t dismiss picture books.
Rereading their favorite book is a good thing.
Preview the book (make sure you will like it).
Try to stay away from heavy dialogue.

Hints for Reading

Point to the words if the print is large enough.
Read with emotion and feeling.
Use facial expressions.
Dramatic pauses build suspense.
Listening is an acquired skill, so do not get frustrated if your child seems distracted.
If you have read the first two chapters of a book, and you realize it is a dud, stop reading it.
Set aside a proper amount of time (15-20 minutes) to read to your child.
Discuss the story as you read.
Ask the listener what they think will happen next. Why?
Talk about what you enjoyed about the book.
Choose a variety of genres (Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Poetry, etc.).

Grade Level Reading List 2-4 www.missiondolores.org/reading/3readinglist

Second Grade
Christine Anello	*The Farmyard Cat*
Ted Arnold	*No Jumping on the Bed*
Marcia Brown	*Stone Soup*
Tommie De Paola	*Strega Nona*
Don Freeman	*The Corduroy series*
Marjorie Flack	*Story about Ping*
Paul Galdone	*The Little Red Hen*
	*The Teeny Tiny Woman*
Father Gander	*Nursery Rhymes*
Paul Giganti, Jr.	*How Many Snails?*
Robert Krause	*Leo the Late Bloomer*
Theo Lesey	*Ten Apples on Top*
A. Lobel	*Frog and Toad series*
Jonathan London	*Froggy series*
Patty Lovell	*Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon*
Gerald McDermott	*Arrow to the Sun*
Mercer Meyer	*There's a Nightmare in My Closet*
Elsie Minarik	*Little Bear*
Numeroff	*If You Give A _______ A __________*
Peggy Parish	*Amelia Bedelia*
Barbara Park	*Junie B.Series*
Rodney Peppe	*The House that Jack Built*
Raffi	*Shake my Sillies Out ( or other Raffi Songs to Read)*
H. A. Rey	*Curious George series*
Cynthia Rylant	*Dinosaur Stomp*
	*Henry and Mudge series*
	*The Clifford series*
Maurice Sendak	*In the Night Kitchen*
	*Where the Wild Things Are*
Dr. Seuss	*Dr. Seuss Series*
Charles G. Shaw	*It Looked Like Spilt Milk*
Shel Silverstein	*Where the Sidewalk Ends*
William Steig	*Amos and Boris*
Mark Teague	*Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp*
Judith Viorst	*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good , Very Bad Day*
Paul Vischer	*Pa Grape's Shapes*
Gene Zion	*Harry the Dirty Dog*
Charlotte Zolotow	*I Know an Old Lady*
*Third Grade* Judy Blume	*Freckle Juice*
Matt Christopher	*Man Out First*
Beverly Cleary	*Ramona Quimby, Age 8*
	*Ramona the Pest*
Joanna Cole	*The Magic Schoolbus series*
Roald Dahl	*The Magic Finger*
Ina R. Friedman	*How My Parents Learned to Eat*
Suzy Kline	*Horrible Harry series*
Stephen Krensky	*Arthurseries***
Freyda Littledate	*The Magic Fish*
Arnold Lobel	*Frog and Toad series*
Mary Pope Osbourne	*Magic Tree House series*
Peggy Parish	*Amelia Bedelia*
Beatrix Potter	*The Tale of Peter Rabbit*
Thomas Rockwell	*How to Eat Fried Worms*
Marjorie W. Sharmat	*Nate the Great series*
Margery Williams	*The Velveteen Rabbit*
Louis Sachar	*Marvin Redpost*
Shel Silverstein	*A Light in the Attic*
	*Where the Sidewalk Ends*
Jon Scieszka	*Time Warp Trioseries***
Robert Louis Stevenson	*A Child's Garden of Verses*
Megan McDonald	*Judy Moody*
	*Scooby Doo series*
Jerry Pinkney	*John Henry*
Barbara Park	*Junie B. Jones*
	*Henry and Mudge series*
Laura Ingalls Wilder	*Little House in the Big Woods*

Fourth Grade

Title	Author
18th Emergency	Byars, Betsy
Aldo Peanut Butter	Hurwitz, Johanna
All About Sam	Lowry, Lois
All-of-a-Kind Family	Taylor, Sydney
Angel's Mother's Baby	Delton, Judy
Arthur, For the Very First Time	MacLachlan, Patricia
Barn	Avi
Bear Called Paddington	Bond, Michael
Beezus and Ramona	Cleary, Beverly
Bingo Brown and the Language of Love	Byars, Betsy
Blossom Promise	Byars, Betsy
Case of the Elevator Duck	Berends, Polly
Cat Ate My Gymsuit	Danziger, Paula
Cat Who Escaped from Steerage	Mayerson, Evelyn
Celery Stalks at Midnight	Howe, James
Chocolate Fever	Smith, Robert
Class President	Hurwitz, Johanna
Cold and Hot Winter	Hurwitz, Johanna
Computer Nut	Byars, Betsy
Courage of Sarah Noble	Dalgliesh, Alice
Cricket in Times Square	Selden, George
Dear Mr. Henshaw	Cleary, Beverly
Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley?	Caudill, Rebecca
Do Bananas Chew Gum?	Gilson, Jamie
Double Dog Dare	Gilson, Jamie
Eating Ice Cream With a Werewolf	Green, Phyllis
Emily's Runaway Imagination	Cleary, Beverly
Fourth Grade Rats	Spinelli, Jerry
Friendship	Taylor, Mildred D.
Fudge-A-Mania	Blume, Judy
Gold Cadillac	Taylor, Mildred D.
Great Brain	Fitzgerald, John
Hello, My Name Is Scrambled Eggs	Gilson, Jamie
Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library	Clifford, Eth
Henry and the Paper Route	Cleary, Beverly
Henry Huggins	Cleary, Beverly
Hot and Cold Summer	Hurwitz, Johanna
How To Eat Fried Worms	Rockwell, Thomas
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher	Coville, Bruce
Julian, Secret Agent	Cameron, Ann
Kitty from the Start	Delton, Judy
Lily and the Runaway Baby	Shreve, Susan
Little House on Rocky Ridge	Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Little Town on the Prairie	Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Magnificent Mummy Maker	Woodruff, Elvira
Make Like a Tree and Leave	Danziger, Paula
Misty of Chincoteague	Henry, Marguerite
My Trip to Alpha 1	Slote, Alfred
Nighty-Nightmare	Howe, James
On the Banks of Plum Creek	Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Onion John	Krumgold, Joseph
Our Sixth-Grade Sugar Babies	Bunting, Eve
Pinballs	Byars, Betsy
Ramona Forever	Cleary, Beverly
Reluctant Dragon	Grahame, Kenneth
Return to Howliday Inn	Howe, James
Runaway Ralph	Cleary, Beverly
School's Out	Hurwitz, Johanna
Sideways Stories from Wayside School	Sachar, Louis
Socks	Cleary, Beverly
Soup	Peck, Robert Newton
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself	Blume, Judy
Superfudge	Blume, Judy
These Happy Golden Years	Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub	Gilson, Jamie
Trumpet of the Swan	White, E.B.
Wayside School is Falling Down	Sachar, Louis

Helpful Websites

Educational Gateway

www.educationalgateway.com/reading-help.html

International Reading Association (IRA)

www.reading.org

The Children’s Literature Web Guide

www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/

Literacy Connections-Promoting Literacy and a Love of Reading

http://literacyconnections.com/ReadingAloud.php

Fun Reading Sites

Awesome Website! Links to Fun Reading Sites for Kids

http://www.teachingfirst.net/reading.htm

Kaboose

http://games.funschool.com/games.php.?level=5