The best thing to do with your children after school is to: one, Say Hello!

How was your day? Then give them a big hug and kiss.
The next best thing to do with your children after school is to:

two, Give them a healthful snack, and then help them with their homework.

The third really joyful thing to do with your children after school is "Reciprocal Reading"! That's right! You heard it here first!


"Reciprocal Reading". Reciprocal Reading is a reading strategy developed by an intermediate teacher at Naranja Elementary , an inner city elementary with a highly transient population, and a school with poor reading scores in 1995.

Many of the scores were so poor before "Reciprocal Reading" that they could not be posted. That is below failing.

An excellent teacher, the author has won many accolades for her writing and theories in education. Her name is Thelma White-Horton, now a gifted teacher at Peskoe Elementary in Homestead Florida.

You may contact her at 3052428340 with questions regarding this strategy 9-4:00pm s.e. time. Leave a message.

If you are a "work out side of the home mom or dad", as over 80% of us are, you will be happy to know that Reciprocal Reading can be done with a sitter, attending after school care, and at certain times, alone. I suggest the student uses the activity alone only after she/he has become familiar with the content of the book being read.

Pick a book. Any book of the student's choice. But make sure that the book is at or below your child's reading level. You do not want to create a frustrated reader. Reciprocal Reading is a formula for success. In my child's case, the fifth grade reading level was most successful.

My child and I just read, "Are You My Mother?" My son happens to be a slow reader. He is hampered by poor comprehension skills a result of "tired concentration". Too much media! So we selected a book that was both cheery and easily understood. What Reciprocal Reading does is teaches the child to learn the slight cues that denote relationships between words.

For example, when the little bird in "Are You My Mother" lands on the back of another animal to ask her poignant question, the reader can pick up cues before the question is read by asking a "self" question.

"What does the bird want?" "What is the bird's reason for landing on the other animal." This might seem a long and tedious process but it really isn't for the reader who has problems with word recognition or decoding skills.

There is reliable research in educational circles which state that when a child is read to, she/he become better readers. Well, Reciprocal Reading takes this a step further. A child who reads in chorus with other readers, reads best. Especially if aided with "lucite" ruler and retell skills.

A ruler is used while the child is reading. This is an integral part of Reciprocal Reading. The ruler is placed under each word to be decoded. The child and parent read the sentence together.

As a chorus. If the child miscues a word. The parent or helper reader says, "that's o.k." Lets try it again. This is not torture for the child. Children love to read.

They love to make up their own stories about what they have read and they love to understand what they are reading.

Here is the pay off for this after school activity. The child becomes a reader with excellent comprehension skills.

Comprehension skills help children do well on all test. You just created a good test taker. Lucky you, and lucky student. What a great after school activity!

It is my sincere belief that an after school activity such as Reciprocal Reading will benefit you and your reader.



Recommended: Yes