{"id":538,"date":"2022-10-14T21:33:50","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T21:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/litblog.wpengine.com\/?p=538"},"modified":"2023-10-13T02:49:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T02:49:17","slug":"supporting-independent-reading-at-home-3rd-and-4th-graders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/literati.com\/reading-levels-parent-guide\/independent-reading-for-kids\/supporting-independent-reading-at-home-3rd-and-4th-graders\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting Independent Reading at Home: 3rd and 4th graders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As parents, we\u2019re always wondering how to help our children who are learning to read in school. Are there ways to effectively support them at home?<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-book-item\" data-block_b4c49b3a7434fa7e881f348042e29c57>\n    <div>\n        \n        \n          <p class=\"book-item-decription\">\n        We recently spoke with MK Mutzbauer, a former teacher who taught at the 3rd and 4th grade level for 23 years. She holds a masters degree in special education and currently works in the Book Fairs Division at Literati!\n      <\/p>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on for our Q&amp;A with MK, as she answers questions about how to engage your elementary schoolers in reading\u2014whether or not they\u2019re currently struggling\u2014and help support their learning at home.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">Literati:<\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\"><b>Thanks for speaking with us, MK! You\u2019ve said that literacy is the foundation for the rest of education. Given your diverse background in teaching, what are your tips for parents who might be struggling to keep their kid interested in reading? What can they do at home, especially when they&#8217;re up against screens, video games, and other things right now?<\/b><\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">MK:<\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\">First of all, reading should never be a punishment, as in \u201cgo to your room and read.\u201d Try to make it more of an activity, like \u201cHey, let&#8217;s go read together! It\u2019s a nice day out, so let&#8217;s grab a blanket and go read under a tree.\u201d Grab something to eat or drink and just go sit somewhere and read a few chapters or a little bit of a book together.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">Literati:<\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\"><b>What are some of the fun places you&#8217;ve read with your students to get them excited about reading?<\/b><\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">MK:<\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\">In the classroom, we\u2019d have DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) or Pop-a-Top Friday, where students could bring in a drink of choice, and they could read <i>anywhere<\/i> in the classroom. It was always a big fight to get under the teacher&#8217;s desk! \r\n<br><br>\r\nAnd I sat and read with them\u2014I didn\u2019t grade papers, I didn&#8217;t read emails\u2014I read. Mom and Dad can do this the same way: they have to read as well, because kids notice and learn from them. Find a room, or anywhere, and read. Maybe outside, maybe in a playroom, maybe at night in a tent in the yard\u2014wherever your kids have the most fun, bring a book and read together there. Make reading fun!\r\n<br><br>\r\nAlso, while you\u2019re cooking or doing something around the house, you can have your kid read to you. Say something like, \u201cI just want to hear a little bit about that story that you&#8217;re reading\u201d or \u201cwhy don&#8217;t you read a chapter to me so I can understand it,\u201d and let them read to you.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">Literati: <\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\"><b>Are there situations to avoid because they might cause a child to have a negative association with reading?<\/b><\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">MK:<\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\">Reading shouldn\u2019t be used as a prize or as a punishment\u2014it should just be \u201cwe\u2019re reading\u201d or \u201clet&#8217;s read.\u201d So it should never be a negative; it should always be positive and fun. Pop popcorn or make some hot chocolate, grab a few good books, and read together. If kids understand that this is fun\u2014it&#8217;s not a punishment, as in \u201cyou have to read 30 pages\u201d or \u201cyou have to read this\u201d\u2014they should want to.\r\n<br><br>\r\nOr, sometimes a child has a book that Mom and Dad expect them to read, but it\u2019s too hard. Maybe they\u2019re a 4th-grader trying to read a 6th-grade book, and they&#8217;re just not ready for that. They need to read at their interest level and age level, or lower, for them to really comprehend that book.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">Literati: <\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\"><b>That\u2019s exactly what we&#8217;re trying to do with our new system of reading levels: not only find books that match a kid\u2019s interests, but that also match their skill set. \r\n<br><br>\r\nAt this age level, they&#8217;re starting to have strong opinions, comprehend books, and really think critically about them. Do you see a big impact when a kid has the opportunity to choose books for themselves?\r\n<\/b><\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"not-prose mt-6 md:mt-12\"><h3 class=\"text-2xl font-black mb-3 md:mb-4\">MK: <\/h3><p class=\"pl-7 text-lg leading-9 md:text-xl md:leading-9\">Oh yeah, they are 100% invested in the book if it\u2019s something they\u2019re interested in, and they&#8217;re going to want any and all information they can get about that topic, whether it\u2019s dinosaurs, sports, or anything else. I would say their interest level is the main thing for getting them interested in reading.\r\n<br><br><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>For more information on Literati Book Clubs and Reading Levels, visit <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/literati.com\/\"><strong><em>literati.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As parents, we\u2019re always wondering how to help our children who are learning to read in school. Are there ways to effectively support them at home? Read on for our Q&amp;A with MK, as she answers questions about how to engage your elementary schoolers in reading\u2014whether or not they\u2019re currently struggling\u2014and help support their learning &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/literati.com\/reading-levels-parent-guide\/independent-reading-for-kids\/supporting-independent-reading-at-home-3rd-and-4th-graders\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Supporting Independent Reading at Home: 3rd and 4th graders - Literati<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These tips from former elementary school teacher, MK Mutzbauer, help parents support their 3rd and 4th graders who are learning to read independently.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/literati.com\/reading-levels-parent-guide\/independent-reading-for-kids\/supporting-independent-reading-at-home-3rd-and-4th-graders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supporting Independent Reading at Home: 3rd and 4th graders - 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