Letter from the Editor
Photo by John Chang
What thoughts and images spring to mind when you think of winter?Photo by John Chang
Here I would like to invite you for an activity. Please take a piece of scrap paper and spend about 5 minutes to jot down everything that you associate with winter. If your children are with you, why not invite them to join us as well. For younger ones, drawing or dictation will do.
When you finish, look at the items on your list(s) and compare them with mine, below: Do we share a lot of ideas?
Winter reminds me of . . .
| COLD! COLD! COLD! COLD! WET! WET! WET! Grey sky Snow Chinese New Year Lucky money Chinese Steamboat Family Snowman Hot soup Running nose Comforter Spring Crocus Hardships in life . . . |
 Photo by John Chang |
I'm sure you'll find that some items on our lists overlap but that others are different. Depending on our life experience, winter evokes different feelings and brings different images to our minds. So it is with other things in our lives. Because of different experiences we as individuals have had, we bring different expectations and perspectives into our "reading" of the world as well as words.
In this issue, I would like to share with you a family reading strategy-Say Something-described in "Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers" by Kathy Short, Jerry Harste, and Carolyn Burke. Although this strategy was originally used by classroom teachers, it can also serve as a way for parents to support their children's literacy learning, as well as provide a channel through which parents and children can understand the different ways each interprets the words they read.
Photo by John Chang
1. You need at least two participants in this activity. Select reading material which you and your child(ren) will enjoy reading. The material can be in an online format, such as one of the PCTO stories, or it could be printed material, such as a picture books, chapter book, or magazine. If you have more than three participants in this activity, you may want to check out multiple copies from your local library so that everyone can clearly see the illustrations (if it is a picture book) and read the words.
2. The participants need to decide in advance how much each person will read. In addition, the participants in this activity also need to decide whether they will be reading the story aloud or silently. Alternatively, you or a child can read the material aloud to the whole family.
3. If you are reading a short selection, stop at each page or paragraph. If reading a chapter book, stop after every one or two chapters. The participants then take turns expressing what they think of the passage. It can be a connection they make between the story and their life, questions they have about the story, what they like or dislike about the characters, etc. After each "say something", the participants go on to read the next page/paragraph/chapter before engaging in the next round of "say something."
Hope you enjoy this reading activity, and that your winter is full of wonderful memories and images.
Stay warm and have fun reading!
Mei-Yu
Title: Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers (2nd edition)
Authors: Kathy G. Short, Jerome C. Harste with Carolyn Burke and Contributing Teacher Researchers
("Say Something" strategy can be found on pages 512-515)
Publication Year: 1995
Publisher: NH: Heinemann
ISBN: 0435088505
back to Parents and Children Together Online Issue 6
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