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Mrs. Dempster’s Classroom Edit display name

  • Dixieland Elementary School
  • Lakeland, FL
  • More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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I asked my students one day if they remember someone reading to them before they started school. I saw three hands in the air...only three. Language development and early literacy skills are built when children are read to at a young age. Children who start school with little of this development must work very hard to catch up with their peers. When my students hear me read to them, when they see the words on the page, when they feel the emotional expression in my voice, they learn to understand what they are reading. I read to them from "The Tiger Rising" and "Number the Stars", books at 4th grade reading level. We have a group discussion about how to interpret what is happening, which emotions are felt, and what lessons are unfolding. They then read a book at their own reading level and practice the same skill. This practice helps close that gap with amazing growth in language and literacy while helping children become empathetic and knowledgeable citizens.

About my class

I asked my students one day if they remember someone reading to them before they started school. I saw three hands in the air...only three. Language development and early literacy skills are built when children are read to at a young age. Children who start school with little of this development must work very hard to catch up with their peers. When my students hear me read to them, when they see the words on the page, when they feel the emotional expression in my voice, they learn to understand what they are reading. I read to them from "The Tiger Rising" and "Number the Stars", books at 4th grade reading level. We have a group discussion about how to interpret what is happening, which emotions are felt, and what lessons are unfolding. They then read a book at their own reading level and practice the same skill. This practice helps close that gap with amazing growth in language and literacy while helping children become empathetic and knowledgeable citizens.

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About my class

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