Sylvan Recommended Reading List: National Black History Month Reading Recommendations

Every February, Black History Month provides children with the opportunity to learn and share in the rich history of African Americans, both at school and at home.

Educators and parents alike know that even with the development of electronic learning technologies, reading still provides the primary gateway into that history, as it does for much of what our children learn.

That's why Sylvan Learning created a new learning system that blends state-of-the-art instructional technology with our proven proprietary approach to supplemental learning. With SylvanSync™, Sylvan’s certified instructors incorporate the use of an iPad® to create a more engaging educational experience for students and extend the learning of reading, math and other skills into the home and onto mobile devices.

Sylvan Learning is deeply dedicated to helping children build their reading skills. In addition to the leading-edge SylvanSync system, Sylvan also offers a range of free resources—including reading lists and online learning aids— aimed at helping children acquire the reading skills they need.

Black History Month provides parents with the perfect opportunity to use reading to bring this important history alive for their child while helping to build their student's reading skills. Each of the books in our recommended reading list offers an excellent window into black history at the appropriate level for each grade.

Elementary School

Kindergarten:	God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday A Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler and Robert Castilla
Grade 1:	Big Jabe by Jerdine Nolan I Dream of Trains by Angela Johnson
Grade 2:	I've Seen The Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr. by Walter Dean Myers If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold
Grade 3:	Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa by Andrea Davis Pinkney Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
Grade 4:	When Grandmama Sings by Margaree King Mitchell Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges and Margo Lundell
Grade 5:	Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon A Pride of African Tales by Donna L. Washington

Middle School

Grade 6:	Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance by Stephen P. Hardy
Grade 7:	Caleb's Wars by David L. Dudley Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson
Grade 8:	The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words by Milton Meltzer Somehow Tenderness Survives: Stories of Southern Africa by Hazel Rockman

High School

Grade 9:	The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryant The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
Grade 10:	The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: The Poems by Langston Hughes Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Sojourner Truth
Grade 11:	Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln by John Stauffer The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Grade 12:	A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Parents with children in grades K-8 also can take advantage of Book Adventure (www.BookAdventure.com), a free, online Sylvan Learning reading resource that provides a fun way to motivate children to read. Book Adventure lets children search for books, read them offline, come back to quiz on what they’ve read, and earn prizes for their reading success.

Book Adventure also features Parent’s Place, where parents can monitor their child’s reading progress, track quiz results, approve their child’s prize selection and help them find their next book to read. The site also includes a number of valuable resources, including ideas, informative articles and online tools parents can use to help motivate their child to read.

About Sylvan Learning

Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels with over 30 years of experience and more than 800 centers located throughout North America. Sylvan's trained and Sylvan-certified personal instructors provide individualized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.SylvanLearning.com.

Forgotten Math for Parents

When was the last time you had middle school math - adding fractions or solving a percentage problem? Does the word "algebra" still strike fear in your heart?

Take our fun, Forgotten Math for Parents Quiz to discover how to revive some of your long lost math skills in order to become a better resource for your children during homework time.

Pop Quiz!
1. 3 1/2 + 2 6/8 =
2. Andrew attended 2 3/4 hours of class yesterday and 3 5/12 hours of classes today. He plans to attend 12 1/4 hours of class in all. About how many more hours must he attend?
3. What is the product of 1.16 and 20.051?
4. Find 287 1/2% of 24.
5. (26-9)-(-4-9)
6. It will cost $240 to charter a bus for a class trip. There is already $65 in the class treasury. The 25 students agree to pay the difference evenly. How much will each student pay?
7. Simplify (3x)(5x)=
8. Write 44.207 in expanded form.


Pencils down! How did you do?

Answers
1.6 1/4 2. About 6 hours 3. 23.25916 4. 69 5. 48 6. $7 7. 15x^2 8. (4 x 10^1)+(4 x 10^0)=(2 x 10^-1)+(7 x 10^-3)

90%-100%
Congratulations! You are a great math resource for your child. But, even mathematicians sometimes need a little extra help. Students who are unsure of their academic knowledge require assurance to ask for help. In order to ensure a student is secure in his or her abilities, parents must be nurturing and inspire confidence by helping the student develop self confidence. Study tip - Take turns working on problems together and explaining how you arrived at your solutions. Then, solve problems in a variety of ways and allow your child to use his or her imagination and favorite method.

70%-80%
Great job! You have mastered the math fundamentals. Making mathematics a part of a young child's daily routine, and continuing that process throughout high school, can help create excitement and willingness to learn new, complex concepts. Study tip - Make math matter outside of school by creatively unlocking the math problems hidden within everyday situations. Keeping track of batting averages provides a natural introduction to statistics. Rearranging a teenager's room can turn into a geometry lesson by talking about the room's square footage versus the space taken up by the child's furniture or how the room's shape determines interior design - the placement of objects.

50%-60%
You are on your way to becoming a mathlete! To support your child's math learning, parents must believe that everyone can learn mathematics, and that learning math is essential to lifelong success. It is important for parents to intervene as soon as a child exhibits signs that he or she is struggling with a concept. Study tip - Use fun activities to introduce new math concepts. Ask your child to figure out the savings on a sweater marked down 25 percent when shopping or offer to give students a percentage of the grocery money saved by clipping coupons.

Less than 50%
With a little practice, you'll become a math star! It is common for parents of elementary school-aged students to feel secure helping their children with math assignments. However, as children enroll in more advanced math classes, parents often become less confident in their ability to help their children. Study tip - Review previously learned math concepts together before each homework session and gradually move into new and more difficult areas. Model the process of making mistakes and calmly learning from them.