FARMINGTON – A workshop this Thursday will be just the thing for parents and volunteers looking to improve children’s reading and writing.

Put on by the W.G. Mallett School and funded by federal grant money, the lunchtime workshop will include a group session on putting reading first and techniques for encouraging children to read, said Melvin Burnham, Mallett’s principal.

Led by Mallett teachers, a main focus of the workshop, Burnham said, will be familiarizing parents with the language used in the classroom. That way parents can support what is being done at school and not be counterproductive.

There will also be a choice of three smaller workshops: on coaching student writers at home, playing with and using words, and getting to know books.

Thursday’s workshop, which includes a free lunch, is the second in a series of four workshops being organized by Mallett school to help connect parents and community volunteers to what’s being done in school, “so when kids come to school, they are ready to learn,” Burnham said.

Every piece of research from the federal department of education and major collegiate research institutions show a direct correlation between the amount of involvement by parents in their child’s academics and the child’s success, Burnham stressed.

For those who cannot attend the workshop, Burnham had one slice of advice for helping students learn to be better readers and writers.

“Read and read and read,” he said, adding that being a model reader helps encourage students to pick up a book too.

He also recommended that parents and community members talk more with their children about students’ feelings, experiences and ideas.

For more information about Thursday’s workshop, people can contact Burnham at 778-3529.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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