Tuesday, October 19, 2010

October 19, 2010

October 19, 2010

Dear Parents and Families,

We have been writing up a storm this week. Today, we talked about how a story can be as simple as you telling about something funny you saw; it could be something you notice that someone has said. You decide to tell someone what you heard. That’s a story.

When you open your eyes and notice the cool things that are happening around you --- your story practically writes itself. I had kept a journal on the amazing things that came out of my kids’ mouths when they were young. I ended up typing it up, and I have been reading from it this week. I have been pleased to see that the kids have gotten excited: “I’ve got a story!” cried Jagger this morning. “Can I tell it?” And when he told it, it was a great story. “Write it down!” we all said, and by the end of writing time, Jagger had written four stories. Many others followed suit – telling their stories and then sitting down to purposefully write them. We also focused on using “talking marks” (quotes) and writing what people say to give the story energy.

In the coming days, I would like to begin a home-school journal wherein your child writes to you from school, and then your homework is to read it and write back. More on this next week.

In Reading, we are working in reading groups (“guided reading”). Here is where I challenge students with books with more challenging text and more unpredictable storylines. Meanwhile, other students are reading books at their desks independently (books that are “just right” for them; they can read them comfortably on their own.) And of course, there is the at-home reading. Your child should have come home with this week’s reading log. Please fill it out and return it on Monday.

Your child’s reading level:

I am going to need a few more days to email your child’s assessed reading level to all of you. It’s been a surprisingly-busy week. In the meantime, I have let your child know what book level (by letter) I think is a good one for him or her (each book should have a letter written in the top right-hand corner – the letters go from A to Z and are roughly associated with grade-level from K to grades 7 and 8). You can look at the books your child is bringing home to get a quick look at his or her assessed independent reading level at the beginning of this year. Here is a chart that tells how the letter roughly correlates with grade-level (of course there are overlaps.)

A-C= Kindergarten
B-I = Grade One
H-M = Grade Two
L-P = grade Three
O-T = Grade Four
S-W = Grade Five
V-Y = Grade Six
X-Z = Grade Seven, Eight, and Above

Do you wonder if a certain book is the right independent level for your child? Look here before hitting Barnes and Noble. You can go on the Scholastic website to make sure you’re not overshooting or undershooting. Scholastic has a leveling database; if you type in the name of a book, then click on the book’s image, they’ll tell you the letter associated with the reading level. Fountas and Pinnell also has a database on their website (it’s excellent), but they charge you about $15.00 for 20 visits.

Here is how you access the Scholastic Database:
1. Google Scholastic Book Leveling
2. (There is no login necessary)
3. Go to the top where it says Shop by Grade and Search
4. In the Search window, type the name of the book you are leveling.
5. When the book image appears, click on it.
6. Find the Guided Reading Level on the left.
7. Jot that reading level in the top right-hand corner of our hard-copy book.

Good luck. This should be helpful.

Speaking of Scholastic, you should have received in your child’s folder an instruction sheet on how to order Scholastic books online. Let me know if you have any questions. It’s a smart way to order: no lost checks or order forms.

Timeliner: Today, your child also brought home a brief “Timeliner” project as part of our study of “Today and Long Ago.” Please fill this out over the break and return it on Monday, too. I have enclosed a sample of the final product in the Friday Folder. Thanks for helping.

Our Stone Soup Harvest Festival was a rousing success today. We ate delicious soup and bread, and we dosey-doed around the garden to some awesome fiddle music. Special thanks to Kim Van Buren for ladling out the soup for hungry mouths!

Take care, everyone.

David