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Dyer Elementary
14500 Dyer St.
Sylmar, California
Tel.(818) 367-1932
Fax (818)364-1913

 

                                                                                      July 14, 2003

Dear Parent/Guardian,

 

I would like to inform you of a Silent Reading strategy I use in class and would encourage you to have your students do at home.  Silent Reading, sometimes referred to as SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) is an excellent way to develop fluent readers. 

 

The “rules” for SSR are:

 

-         everyone reads; everyone stays silent; there are no interruptions

-         each child selects his or her own book to read

-         the teacher reads and models enthusiasm for reading

-         children are not required to answer questions about the book or read orally. (This specific time is meant to be pleasurable and not to be seen as a chore)

 

Normally the SSR lasts about 15-20 minutes in school.  I encourage you to have your students read silently at home every night in addition to their homework.  I have included a list of appropriate 4th Grade Reading Books.

 

                            

 

 

                                                                             Thank you,

                                                                            

 

                                                                             Mr. Riddick

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                   _________________________

   (Parent/Guardian please sign here)                                 (Students Name)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Parents,

 

The following books should be available. 

 

Fourth and Fifth Grade


 FOLKLORE:

Asbjoornsen, Peter Christian, and Jorgen E. Moe., East of the Sun and West of the Moon and Other Tales., Four Winds Press, 1980.

Carpenter, Frances., Tales of a Korean Grandmother., Doubleday, 1947; Tuttle 1972.

The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories., Retold by Harold Courlander and George Herzog., Putnam, 1982.

Louie, Ai-Lang. Yeh Shen:, A Cinderella Story from China., Philomel, 1982.

North American Legends., Edited by Virginia Haviland., Philomel, 1979.

Stoutenburg, Adrien., American Tall Tales., Viking, 1968.


MODERN FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION:

Andersen, Hans Christian., The Emperor’s New Clothes., Retold and illustrated by Anne Rockwell. Crowell, 1982.

Grahame, Kenneth., The Wind in the Willows., Scribner, 1908.

L’Engle, Madeleine., A Wrinkle in Time., Farrar, 1962.

O’Brien, Robert C., Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh., Atheneum, 1971.

Van Allsburg, Chris., Jumanji., Houghton, 1981.


POETRY:

Tripp, Wallace., A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me: A Book of Nonsense Verse., Little, 1973.


CONTEMPORARY REALISTIC FICTION:

Bulla, Clyde Robert., Shoeshine Girl., Harper Junior Books, 1975.

Cohen, Barbara., Thank You, Jackie Robinson., Lothrop, 1974.

Gates, Doris., Blue Willow. Viking, 1940.

Jukes, Mavis., Like Jake and Me. Knopf, 1984.

Lowry, Lois., Anastasia Krupnik., Bantam, 1981.

Ness, Evaline., Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine., Harper Junior Books, 1966.


HISTORICAL FICTION:
 
Clapp, Patricia., I’m Deborah Sampson: A Soldier in the War of the Revolution., Lothrop, 1977.

O’Dell, Scott., Island of the Blue Dolphins (California)., Houghton, 1960.

Wilder, Laura I., Little House in the Big Woods., Harper Junior Books, 1953, 1986.


NONFICTION - INFORMATION:

Aliki., The Story of Johnny Appleseed., Prentice-Hall, 1963.

Patterson, Francine., Koko’s Kitten., Scholastic, 1985.

Weaver, Harriett E., Frosty: A Raccoon to Remember., Chronicle Books, 1973.


NONFICTION - BIOGRAPHY:

Franchere, Ruth., Cesar Chavez., Crowell, 1970.

Kohn, Bernice., Talking Leaves: The Story of Sequoyah., Hawthorn, 1969.

 

 

List of books compiled from the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies.