QBS Learning Centre News
Week beginning 20th January
Thank you
Thank you to all of those parents and PTA members that bought books through PaddyField's and helped organize the orders. This week the Learning Centre received $8000 worth of credits and have already spent them on some lovely new titles. many recommended by the School Library Journal. Explore some of the latest books we are purchasing by clicking here.
Read aloud.
One of my Christmas presents to myself this year was Jim Trelease's read-aloud handbook. As a parent, teacher and librarian I have found it invaluable. He talks so much sense and highlights that reading is the most important area within school. Without being able to read children can not inquiry, read about other curriculum areas and are even unable to answer maths word problems.
His website is really worth exploring and the extracts are worth a read. I enclose some excepts below. The books is a very accessible and if you are interested in improving your child's reading i would encourage you to get your hands on a copy. The Hong Kong Public Library service holds several copies of the 6th edition.
Chapter 2 How old must a child be before you start reading to him?
That is the question I am most often asked by parents. The next is: “When is the child too old to be read to?”
In answer to the first question, I ask one of my own. “When did you start talking to the child? Did you wait until he was six months old?”
“We started talking to him the day he was born,” parents respond.
“And what language did your child speak the day he was born? English? Japanese? Italian?” They’re about to say English when it dawns on them the child didn’t speak any language yet.
“Wonderful!” I say. “There you were holding that newborn infant in your arms, whispering, ‘We love you, Tess. Daddy and I think you are the most beautiful baby in the world.’ You were speaking multisyllable words and complex sentences in a foreign language to a child who didn’t understand one word you were saying! And you never thought twice about doing it.
But most people can’t imagine reading to that same child. And that’s sad. If a child is old enough to talk to, she’s old enough to read to. It’s the same language.”....
QBS have fantastic authors.
Please congratulate Helen Yim in Grade 4 for her wonderful entry. It was enormous fun to read, and won her a Special Mention in the Grade 4 to 6 Section of the Competition! I do hope to see more of her writing in future competitions.
Please visit Sarah's blog to discover more about her books and her competitions. Sarah will be visiting us during book week which is the 10th to 14th March.
Remember to keep in touch
Email: learningcentre@qbs.edu.hk
Website: http://www.qbs.edu.hk/
Location: Hau Yuen Path, 6, North Point, Hong Kong
Phone: 2566 42 42