Dear
Parents,
This week I’ve began
reading assessment.
A running record is a
record of your child’s reading, retelling and fluency. It will take
about two to three weeks to finish the testing. Once I’m finished,
students will choose their own reading books on Thursdays. All the
books in my room have a colored sticker on them. Each student has a
similar sticker on his/her desk. The sticker represents their
independent reading level, which means your child can read the book with
little difficulty. It should be easy; it is a confidence builder. The
levels are star, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Most
students have a star or red sticker. During guided reading groups your
child will work at a level above, instructional level. During guided
reading I challenge students to become better readers by using their
reading strategies, discussing comprehension and fluency, and
investigating other reading skills.
Our school believes that
children who are good readers and writers will be better, happier
students and citizens. I have made a commitment to do all that I can to
ensure that all of my students will be good readers and writers. All
children learn differently, it is important to find ways to reach
children no matter what their strengths and weakness might be. I use a
method of instruction called the Four-Blocks Model: Guided Reading,
Self-Selected Reading, Writing, and Working with Words. The first block
is called guided reading. We focus on reading strategies-those
strategies help students decode unknown words. It also focuses on
reading comprehension that helps make sense out of the print on the
page. We will work on reading fluency-smoothness of reading text.
Guided reading is conducted in small groups. Students have been placed
in a group with students of the same reading abilities. While students
are waiting to participate in their guided reading groups, they are
working on literacy centers such as squiggle, science, ABC stamps, and
listening center. Others will be introduced as the year progresses.
Self-selected reading
(or D.E.A.R.) is the second block. It gives students an opportunity to
see themselves as readers and will build their fluency, the ability to
read smoothly. This block begins with me reading aloud an enjoyable
story or text to the students. Next two students share their favorite
books. This exposes students to other good reading materials. Then
each student will select a book to read independently for approximately
10-15 minutes. During this time, I will have individual conferences
with two students daily. Together, we will discuss the book; I will be
able to evaluate the student’s growth in reading.
The third block is
writing. Students will learn to think about and use their knowledge of
phonics to write compositions. Along with applying phonics, they will
have an opportunity to practice penmanship, to learn about the writing
process, grammar, and the mechanics of good writing. Each day, I will
write my own composition for the students and will use it to teach a
lesson about writing. Then, all students will write their own story or
composition, using inventive spelling (their best guess) about
spelling. On certain days, the students will work individually with me
to learn to correct their errors and they will publish their work as a
book to be enjoyed by other classmates. At the end of the writing time
each day, a few students will share their work with the class.
Currently we have been composing writing with the “All about Me”
student. Each week we ask him/her questions, and then I model writing
four sentences about the special student. The student’s chart is
displayed for three weeks and then taken down to make room for new
ones. That way, there are only three charts in the room at any one
time.
It is important to note
that inventive spelling is acceptable for students to phonetically sound
out an unknown word. Later in the school year we will work on unknown
or misspelled words, they will be on their individualized spelling
list. Words don’t have to be spelled correctly yet, but students are
able to utilize the word wall and picture dictionaries to assist them in
their writing.
Working with Words block
is the fourth block. It allows students to explore words, word families
(patterns), spelling, and phonics, and to see how they can use what they
learn about words in their reading and writing. This block begins by
studying words from the word wall. These words will be displayed on our
wall all year for students to use as a resource. They are
high-frequency words-grade-level words used frequently in reading and
writing that students should spell correctly in their writing. We use
movements, such as clapping, snapping, and cheering, to learn to spell
the words. Five words are introduced per week. Currently students are
writing word wall words on a half sheet of white paper. You should see
two come home every week in the Friday Folder. This is word wall
practice. On Tuesdays students have making words homework. This
hands-on activity helps reinforce phonics within the working with words
block.
If you have any
questions about the above information, please feel free to contact me at
889-9674 ext. 436 before or after school or via email at sniederstadt@manistee.org.
The
following are dates that you may want to add to your calendar:
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¨
School Picture
Day – October 13
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¨
Onekama Public
Library – October 22 at 11:45 -1:30 p.m.
-
¨
Onekama
Village Fire Department – October 26 at 11:45 – 1:30 p.m.
-
¨
Halloween
party – October 30 at 11:45 – 3:00 p.m.
-
¨
Substitute –
November 4 at 8-11 a.m.
-
¨
School Store –
November 6
Warmly,
Shantel |