On Thursday evening, teachers Carrie Reinhardt and Emily Quinlan read “Cookie’s Week” to a rug full of expectant children, exploring the adventures of a clumsy cat in the large book. But at the Twin Ridge Elementary School literacy night there were some older students in the room as well — parents.
The whole group learned together, part of the Partners in Print program, where students and parents find out how to apply lessons in school to life at home.
In their session, Reinhardt and Quinlan showed how to dissect a sentence, sound out words and anticipate what might be next in the sentence, “On Monday, Cookie fell in the…” printed next to a picture of the hapless cat in a toilet, giggle worthy for the kindergarten audience.
The evening is targeted toward the younger grades in the school, where activities like dissecting a sentence about a mischievous cat can easily be applied at home.
Organizer and Twin Ridge reading specialist Ruth Allwardt said the Literacy Night has long been a tradition at the school, and she’s been implementing it for three years.
The event is voluntary, and she guessed around one-fourth of the targeted school population comes on any given night. Sessions are short, around an hour and 30 minutes, and include dinner, door prizes and literacy sessions.
She said she usually receives positive feedback. “They like the idea that they get to see a little bit of what instruction looks like during the day and they get practical tips to take home,” she said.
Mount Airy moms Margaret Apau and Elaine Rosquist were a few of the parents scattered in the cafeteria before the sessions began.
The two sat on one side of a cafeteria table as their children and some of their friends sat on the other side, chattering as they ate carrot sticks and pizza, swinging their legs back and forth.
Apau, there with son Daniel, 5, said coming was a simple decision.
“We want to help the kids the best we can; help them get engaged and ready for reading,” she said.
Rosquist, there with son Michael, 5, said she had been there two years earlier with another son, but thought it was valuable to come with Michael and see what he was learning in class and what she could apply at home.
“I feel like I can never hear it enough since it’s not what we do all the time,” she said.
Both have applied lessons they’ve learned in previous sessions to reading times with their sons.
Each of the three nights of Partners in Print has two sessions, making a total of six if a parent decides to attend all. “They give you materials to take which is great,” Rosquist said. “…It’s just an added bonus why not take advantage of it?”
Allwardt said parents are a child’s first teacher. “There’s so much brain development that happens before they come to us,” she said.
Showing the parents what the school is doing, and partnering with them in literacy development, maximizes learning for the child.
The lessons spanning the three night series — Oct. 3 and 27 and Nov. 8— involve not only reading and writing, but also different aspects of literacy adults sometimes take for granted: where to start when reading, how to find the book’s author, a sense of sound with what letter sounds like what and learning to anticipate where an action word or noun might be in a sentence structure.
Allwardt said one session even pulls out picture books, which may seem like a step back, but really is a way to develop meaning.
“Students are developing a sense of story,” she said. “That’s so important for all the kinds of story reading in the future.”
Allwardt said the Nov. 8 session will focus on reading comprehension and asking questions.
“Children are reading even if you think they’re non-readers,” she said, pointing out many can recognize brand names, such as Target or traffic signs like “Stop.” For more information on the remaining session, call the school at 240-236-2300.
acochrun@gazette.net
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