Falling into Reading
Our School Library is Open!
Students are coming to library daily to check out and return books.
*Students need to return the signed library contract in order to check out books.
If you need form; one is attached below.
We also have extra copies in library for students to pick up.
Students Checking Out Books
First Trip to School Library
Reading in the Library
Fall Family Fun
Families, fall is here! For many of us, that means school is up and rolling, after-school activities are in place, and we are BUSY!!
But before you blink and the holidays are here, how about really taking time to appreciate this beautiful season with your family?
Print out our list of family-friendly fall activities and keep a pen or pencil close by. Cross off items as you accomplish them, and day by day, you will realize you've had the best fall ever—filled with family fun all week long!
Family Activities like:
- Drink apple cider
- Read 5 books about fall
- Find a red, orange, yellow, green, and brown leaf
- Help a neighbor clean up the yard
We're hoping that this mix of activities will keep your family reading, counting, learning, and observing through October, and November.
Happy fall!
Texas Primary Reading Inventory (tpri)
All Kinder through 3rd grade students at STEM have finished talking the Beginning of the Year TPRI. Your students teacher will be providing you a copy of the report. Students will be tested again at the Middle of the Year in January and at the end of the year in April/May.
Below you will find Parent resources (in English and Spanish) explaining the areas tested in each grade level and how you can help prepare you student at home.
Helping Your Child Become a Reader
There are a number of steps that parents and other family members can take to help prepare their young children to become readers and to support the reading habit once they are in school. These include:
1. Talk to your child
Feed your child a diet of rich language experiences throughout the day. Talk with your infants and young children frequently in short, simple sentences. Tell stories, sing songs, recite nursery rhymes or poems, and describe the world around them to expose them to words. Name things. Make connections. Encourage your child's efforts to talk with you.
2. Read Aloud
Try to read aloud to your children for 30 minutes daily beginning when they are infants. Ask caring adults to be your children's daily reader when you are unavailable.
3. Test your child's eyes and ears
Have your child's eyesight and hearing tested early and annually. If you suspect your child may have a disability, seek help. Evaluations and assessments are available at no cost to parents. Call the early childhood specialist in your school system or contact the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities.
4. Choose child care carefully
Seek out child care providers who spend time talking with and reading to your child, who make trips to the library, and who designate a special reading area for children.
5. Ask the teacher about your child's reading
Ask your child's teacher for an assessment of your child's reading level, an explanation of the approach the teacher is taking to develop reading and literacy skills, and ways in which you can bolster your child's literacy skills at home.
6. Limit TV watching and iPad/computer time
Limit the amount and kind of television your children watch. Seek out educational television or videos from the library that you can watch and discuss with your children.
7. Create a reading corner
Set up a special place for reading and writing in your home. A well-lit reading corner filled with lots of good books can become a child's favorite place. Keep writing materials such as non-toxic crayons, washable markers, paints and brushes, and different kinds of paper in a place where children can reach them.
8. Visit the library
Visit the public library often to spark your child's interest in books. Help your children obtain their own library cards and pick out their own books. Talk to a librarian, teacher, school reading specialist, or bookstore owner for guidance about what books are appropriate for children at different ages and reading levels.
9. Show that you read
Demonstrate your own love of reading by spending quiet time in which your child observes you reading to yourself. You are your child's greatest role model. Show your child how reading and writing help you get things done every day-cooking, shopping, driving, or taking the bus.
10. Give books
Consider giving books or magazines to children as presents or as a recognition of special achievements. Special occasions, such as birthdays or holidays, can be the perfect opportunity to give a child a new book.
11. Tap relatives
Connect your children with their grandparents and great-grandparents. Encourage them to read books together, talk about growing up, tell stories, and sing songs from their generation.
12. Attend book activities
Ask about free readings and other programs at bookstores and libraries in your community.
Bonnie Villarreal
Email: villarreal_b@utpb.edu
Website: https://utpbstemacademy.org/
Phone: (432) 552-2580