Reading Matters

This column is the second in a series that will explain some of the activities that we do at school in order to build the skills necessary for learning to read and write.

This information might help us be better able to understand some of the papers that come home so that we can discuss our children’s or grandchildren’s schoolwork with them as we ask about their day.

Learning what is called the alphabetic principle is a foundational part of early reading instruction. The alphabetic principle is the understanding that letters have names and that the letters represent certain sounds.

Additionally, time is spent learning the names of letters, the sounds for which they stand and how to write the letters.

If we think about it, these ideas are very abstract for young learners. It takes time and lots of exposure in many different ways for children to understand and to learn all about the letters of the alphabet. Learning and singing the alphabet song is one good way to begin. It helps children start to understand the 26 letters and their names. Children may come home singing the familiar song, and that’s an easy one for us to support.

Sing in the car, in the bathtub or on the way to bed at night. You can also help by pointing to the letters as you sing the song slowly. A simple strip of paper with the letters printed in order (both upper and lowercase) works well for this.

Another good way to become familiar with letters and sounds is to look at alphabet books. There are a large variety of alphabet books available, and they are written for all ages. For young children, choose those with clear illustrations and simple text.

You can help your child look for letters in his or her name in the alphabet book. You could compare two or more books and discover what the picture is in each one for a favorite letter. An alphabet book made by your child may come home, too.

Often, students get to choose the picture they want for each letter in these books. That helps them associate a picture with a letter and may help them learn the sounds for the letters as well. Be sure to spend some time reading your child’s alphabet book.

The manner in which letters are taught varies greatly from school to school. Most programs introduce the letters with sounds that are the easiest to pronounce first, and they may introduce four or five at a time, then spend some time reviewing those letters and/ or sounds before moving on to more letters.

For example, one of the first letters usually learned is the letter S. The sound is easy to make, and it is often associated with a snake because of the sound and formation.

You might see papers come home that have a picture along with some handwriting practice of both the lowercase and capital letter. In this case, the picture might go with a story and a jingle the children have learned to help them remember the sound represented by each letter. We can ask our children and grandchildren questions about papers that come home with alphabet letters.

We might have a conversation with them like this: Tell me about this letter. Is it a letter in your name? Do you know the name of the letter? Do you know the sound of this letter? Tell me about the picture. Encourage their efforts and supply the answers if they get stuck.

All of us learn things best when they are meaningful to us. Many preschool and kindergarten activities center on the children’s names. A child’s name is often the first word they learn to read and write. Being familiar with the names of the letters in their own name helps children as they work on learning the whole alphabet.

As you help your children or grandchildren learn about their names, talk about the names of the letters. Label things with their name so they can see it over and over again in many places. Make it a celebration when they can recognize their name. Then, celebrate again when they can write it.

It is also important to check with your child’s teacher if you have questions about the expectations for learning the names and sounds for the letters of the alphabet. Then you can support your children and grandchildren in this exciting learning that will open up the world of reading and writing to them.

READING MATTERS Mary Gardner

• Mary Gardner is a retired teacher who specialized in reading.

• THEATER

Continued from page 6

pamphlets, spare tiles for the bathrooms, a GE sign worth thousands of dollars and the “POLO” marquee letters.

While the GE sign will be sold to help pay for renovations, the letters are staying, she said. They’ll be fabricated, powder-coated and altered to run LED lights before being returned to their original place above the marquee.

“We’re definitely going to put the marquee to use because once we reveal all that, anytime there’s an anniversary or somebody has a baby or the Marcos’ are playing their games, it’s going to be advertised,” Reynolds said.

Upstairs also was a treasure trove, with findings such as the theater’s original ticket windows, Simplex oil for the antique projectors, oil for the popcorn machine and bags for said snack, movie reel storage boxes and a mechanism to rewind films.

“When they made it a Gambles store, they basically just shoved everything up here and didn’t bother to go through it,” Reynolds said. “Well, being a history major and historian, I started going through everything.

“It’s super fun and cool, and it does not feel like a chore when you’re over here [cleaning]. Well, the day we were taking the shelves down felt like a chore. We were so sore and our bodies felt like we were hitting muscle failure.”

One upstairs room – a storage area just off the projector room – took two days to empty of papers, boxes and garbage, Reynolds said.

“As I was going through things, I recognized the books that they had,” she said. “Every movie that they had shown and they had to keep track of the movie, when it played, who paid, what tickets –like children’s tickets – and then they sent off the receipts. Isn’t that amazing?”

For now, the Reynoldses are busy cleaning and organizing all their discoveries, some of which later will be displayed. But they have plans for 110 E. Mason St., including a new name for the building.

They named it The Honoré Centre, after Bertha Honoré Palmer, an American socialite active in women’s, artistic and civic affairs in Chicago in the late 1800s. Reynolds said the spelling “centre” is meant to emphasize the meaning of “a point that does not move.”

“We intend to support art and creativity in the community, and we plan on going nowhere,” she said.

The ultimate goal is for it to be a theater once more, but that’s four or five years down the road, Reynolds said. In the meantime, the plan is to use the building as venue space – at least once the main floor is cleaned up and decorated.

Upstairs will take a bit more time, she said. Plans for that floor include a conference room, office, reception area and kitchenette.

Come Christmastime, Reynolds is planning to host a little winter wonderland where kids can meet Santa Claus.

“It’s going slowly, but it will get done,” Reynolds said of renovations. “I have to have it [the main floor] done by Christmas because I want that little winter wonderland.” Cynthia Reynolds, owner of 110 E. Mason St., Polo, stands in upper floor of the building in what used to be the projector room. Reynolds plans to restore the property, which was built in the 1940s as a movie theater.

Alexa Zoellner – azoellner@shawmedia. com