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Announcer: Welcome to Mondays with Maria, presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS, Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Hi everyone. Nancy Alvarez is back. And Nancy, I understand that you may have a question I may be able to help answer.
Nancy Alvarez: Yeah. So as an elementary school parent, we all know and hear how critical reading is yes to academic success. Of course, it's everything and as early as possible, right? But not all parents really know the best ways to help and support their child. And now we're hearing this phrase called science of reading. So is this something new and what exactly is it?
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Well, yes, I think we're hearing more about the science of reading and it's actually research that's based on thousands of studies on how children learn how to read. And districts across the country, including Orange County Public Schools have taken that approach as we are helping our teachers and our parents understand how children learn to read.
Nancy Alvarez: There is a national reading crisis. We know this especially since the pandemic because kids just haven't gotten back on track as quickly as they should. And the latest research in this science of reading brings a lot of factors together to actually help a child learn to read.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Yes, it does. For example, one of the strategies is using multiple senses such as movement and sound when we're instructing children how to read. Let's take a look at an example.
Speaker 5: Oh, ah, P-Q-Q-R-S-T,
Nancy Alvarez: Getting kids moving. We can see how that can be a good strategy, you know, and we understand in the classroom students are repeating the strategies over and over to practice and really reinforce those skills and make sense. And then as parents, we of course have to do our part at home.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Yes, it's critical that the families are working with the schools as we're educating their child. And our parents are going to be receiving videos, short videos that will demonstrate or mimic what the classroom teachers are doing in the classroom as they're helping their child acquire the reading skills. Let's take a look at another example.
Speaker 6: V, zzzz, k, g
Dr. Maria Vazquez: In addition, families are still encouraged to read a variety of books with their children, ask questions before, during, and after they've read with their child. Do word games, have discussions including discussions about new words their child may have encountered in the book. Or even if they're having a conversation and they're using a new word, it's important to discuss vocabulary with their child.
Nancy Alvarez: And I know we have mixed feelings about technology and, you know, getting the kids off the tablets, but there's some really good word games now that kids can download and parents can do with them. I do them with my kids and they're really helpful.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Yeah. Great tip. Be sure to look for those videos. You will see some on social media, and you will also be getting them directly from your child's teacher if you haven't already. Let's keep reading. Thank you all for watching. Stay tuned for another Mondays with Maria next week.
Announcer: Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at Additionfi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit theslice.ocps.net. I'm your announcer Deivarsi Demezier a senior at Apopka High School. Thanks for watching and have a great week.