ENGLISH+HELP

=READING=

· **Make Connections** o Readers make connections by activating prior knowledge: text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world. · **Determine Importance** o Readers determine the most important ideas and themes. They learn to exclude peripheral or unimportant details. · **Question** o Readers ask questions of themselves, the authors and the texts as they use questioning to clarify and guide reading. · **Visualize** o Readers create visual images from text to make deepen understanding. · **Make Inferences** o Readers make predictions, draw conclusions, make critical judgments, and form interpretations. · **Synthesize** o Readers retell or summarize what has been read to better understand and remember. · **Repair Comprehension** o Readers use a variety of fix-up strategies to repair comprehension when it breaks down.

So what can a parent do to encourage reading? · **Provide books and magazines.** Take your child to the library or book stores regularly. Surround your child with things to read. Be a step ahead. Your child should always be tempted with enticing things to read. · **Choice**. Allow you child to choose his/her own books. Your middle school child will respond more favorably to reading if allowed choice in selection. Without guidance? No, but encourage choice when you can. And don't forget nonfiction. Some of our most reluctant readers love only nonfiction. · **Time.** Provide quiet time to read. · **Be a reading role model.** Share interesting facts you've learned from the newspaper, books or magazines. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa/staff/abita/english/reading_strategies.htm Reading Strategies
 * __How Parents Can Help:__**

http://users.crocker.com/~rebotis/titles/6th.html Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site (reviewed books suggested for grade six)

http://library.isb.bj.edu.cn/readinglist6.htm\ ISB's Reading List Grade 6 2006-2007



=WRITING= These are the cornerstones of teaching writing at ISB:

Final Draft / Publishing
Sample Peer Revise Rubric Editing and Proofreading Marks

__Publishing__ - //quality product, presenting to the class or parents, posting on a bulletin board//


http://www.realkids.com/club.shtml Young Writer’s Clubhouse http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm Online English Grammar http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/getskill_s.cgi?A1=selects&A2=la&A4=1&A7=0 Language Arts Games http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa/staff/abita/english/writing_process.htm Writing Strategies to Support the Writing Process

=SPEAKING & LISTENING =