Second Grade Library Program

                                                                                   

Dear Parents,

The library program is another aspect of your child’s reading program. I, too, am one of your child’s reading teachers. In the library we focus on both recreational and informational reading—with books appropriate for individual abilities and interests. I expect that your children will select books at their comfort level and watch this level increase throughout the year. All second grade students are required to pass at least two Reading Counts quizzes per quarter, and will receive a quarterly evaluation based on this.

Attached you will find your child’s “Reading Passport” which will entitle him/her to “book trips through the library.” Five trips are outlined on the passport with ports of call labeled. To enter each port, your child must read a book of the genre specified. Books read to children by adults do not qualify.

The books must be on a reading level suitable to your child—not too difficult, but not too easy either. I have spent time in our library class periods talking about choosing books on an appropriate level. Children will become frustrated and unable to finish books that are too long or too difficult. At the same time, books that are too easy simply do not qualify.

Some ports indicate the chosen book must have an accompanying quiz in the Reading Counts program. In the library, books with quizzes are marked with large neon green dots at the top. Through these computer quizzes, our students are learning about their ability to understand and remember what they read. They are discovering that reading is much more than naming the words they see; it is becoming involved with and making meaning out of the text. At the same time, they’re becoming more proficient in the use of technology. I will send home a sticker for each passed quiz to be put on the passport. Quiz books should not be written on the passport; use the stickers instead.

Please assist your child in traveling through the library. Make sure the books are read and are matched to your child’s ability. Ask your child if he/she has read quiz books and passed computer quizzes since the last report card. I will try my hardest to suggest appropriate books here. The books may come from any source.

Your child may choose to read any books in any trip. They do not have to be completed in order. A special treat awaits the completion of each trip.

Thank you for your help in this reading adventure.

Mr. Nerstheimer