This week, your child will be bringing home their “book bag.” It is a large, blue and red bag with their name on it, a book inside and a more detailed letter regarding the use of the bag. Each child has their own bag and will be responsible for bringing it home EVERY night and returning it to school EVERY day.

Your child’s job is to read the book(s) inside the bag every night at least 3 times. Please note that your child may not bring home a new book every night. This reading can be counted toward your 15 minutes of reading each night for your child’s reading log (reading logs will begin in October).

In addition to your child reading their book bag books every night, you will find a READING RESPONSE JOURNAL inside their bag. This journal is used for follow-up reading activities from their group time with me that day. The activities in their journal will differ from drawing a picture of their favorite part of the book and labeling the pictures, to story maps, to answering comprehension questions, etc. Please check you child’s reading response journal every night to see if there is an assignment in there. Note that there may not be an assignment every night, however, when you do see an assignment, it is due on the date highlighted at the top of the page.

Also, below are some activities you can do with your child while reading his/her book bag books (or any other books):

1) Retell the story after reading. What happened first, next, then and last?

2) Draw a picture of your favorite part of the story. Then write a few sentences and tell why it was your favorite part.

3) Rewrite the ending of a story. This is super fun using fairytales such as “The 3 little pigs,” “Cinderella,” “Goldilocks and the 3 bears,” etc.

4) Make a list of the characters and write about your favorite one.

5) Create a family drama and act out the story with your family.

I hope these ideas help create a fun and exciting reading environment with you and your family. Your nightly reading doesn’t always have to be something to check off your To-Do list; make it fun and get the whole family involved! 😀

Happy Reading!!

Ms. Otto