End of the Year Message

It’s hard to believe that another school year is coming to an end soon. It seems like yesterday we just got started! This does not mean the academic year has to end, however. You, as parents, are your child’s most influential teacher. Use the summer months to explore, talk, play, tell stories, keep a family journal, and enjoy each other. Use this time to explore local (or distant) museums, nature preserves, the local library, history centers, and theater.




There is such a thing called a summer slump; many students can fall a half or even full year behind over the summer months and then have to work so very hard the next fall to catch up. I urge you to encourage your child to keep reading, writing, and practicing real world math during the summer. Kids that do tend to enter the next school year well prepared and confident. Your local library is a good source of fabulous children’s books. Your local retail store has journals and notebooks to keep your child writing, and real world math is all around us. Let your child count money when paying for items; help them make change, estimate whenever possible, etc.



Most of all have a great summer and enjoy your children!



Kathy Heim

Literacy Coach

Reading Fluency

Students at all grade levels are working on fluency as well as comprehension. Fluency is the ability to read with appropriate speed and accuracy. It also means using proper expression and phrasing – paying attention to punctuation. The importance of fluency cannot be underestimated. Students who struggle with fluency tend to also struggle with comprehension - Both the student who struggles with decoding and the student who races through text. “Racing readers” often pay little or no attention to the author’s message, recall important information, or think about the text.




Here are some ways readers can develop fluency…

• Repeated reading of the same text

• Oral reading - giving time for student to notice and correct errors

• Writing – and reading their own work

• Model fluent reading with your child

o You read, and then the child reads same sentence or paragraph trying to model your reading

• Turn on the closed captioning on your TV set during educational or children’s programming! Children will try to match words and spoken language as they watch programs.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions or need suggestions. Kathleen.heim@oldham.kyschools.us