February 24, 2012

Ray Holland, Master Storyteller,

Reads Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey

To Mr. B’s Fundations Class

Dear Parents,

 I was talking to my Fundations class yesterday about their success on the Unit-11 tests. We were kind-of marveling at how far we have come this year.  We've moved through 11 units,   and there are only about 6 units to go.  The kids were able to talk quite thoughtfully about the gains they have made in their reading.   They also remarked on how their handwriting has improved since September. One of my Fundations students exclaimed, “That is the best “polish” I have ever written!”

With February break upon us and  report cards and conferences coming up in just a few weeks, this is a great time for all of us --  teachers,  parents, and  students,  to reflect on what's been accomplished and what still have left to master --  in the last three-or-so months.

The big thing with reading this time of year: if your child is struggling with fluency, is  reading out-loud books that are a couple of levels below their  instructional level.  Encourage your child to read those stories out loud several times to just practice hearing themselves say the words fluently and with expression. Read the book, you and your child,  as though you were a pirate family on the high seas. Then read it as though you were aliens on a far-off planet. Don’t forget to read it as though you were your dog and cat reading to each other -- whatever it takes to read and read and read. By the way, it is obvious to me as I look at those reading logs, that you all have been relentless in your support at home of your child’s reading. I am grateful to you.

By the way, another fun, and valuable thing to do for fluency is to do Reader’s Theater. Take a Shel Silverstein poem and take turns saying those silly lines. That, too, is a tried-and-true way to build that fluency.

For readers who are solidly on grade level and are reliably reading on their own, the important work now is to help them 1) develop their habit for lifelong reading: help them develop a habit of reading at a regular time every day for pleasure, and help them get used to trying out different genres.  2)  strong, young readers need help thinking about, talking about, and making sense of the more complicated themes that begin to emerge in 3^rd  and 4^th and 5^th-grade level books like Harry Potter or Lemony Snickett.

For readers at all levels, it's so important for us to ask them what kind of books and genres and topics interest them, then try to put in the time to go on websites and talk to bookstore owners to find great books,  great new series, and great new characters that will really strike a chord with them and maybe be the series that they will look back on in twenty years as the one that really launched them as readers.

In writing, our student teacher, Ms. Jacy, is teaching a unit on poetry -- encouraging students to really close their eyes and see the pictures – see the images --  that come up for them. We want them to get used to paying very, very close attention to that internal movie. Once you get good at noticing it, watching it, and  telling about it,  then writing about it is actually pretty easy!

Four Winds:  we tested insulated and non-insulated cannisters of water, and we made mouse homes using cattail fluff and pieces of grass for insulation. We also noticed that Mr. Bolger and Sean were both not very insulated outside (not wearing jackets), so their body temperatures would probably “stabilize” at 32 degrees more quickly than the rest of the class.

Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey: We were paid a visit by  Mr. Ray Holland, master story-teller. He read about Burt Dow and his adventures on the high seas for our 2^nd-grader Fundations class. We noticed that Mr. Holland puts a lot of emotion into his reading, and that makes it more fun to listen to. We noticed lots of words with vowel teams in them (like “tail”). We also noticed that Burt is an r-controlled syllable. It’d sure look funny if they’d spelled it Birt.

Friday Folders: are empty today because with report cards coming up, I need to hold onto the papers this week  to review and assess. I’ll get them to you as soon as we get back from break.

Friendship List: completed! Thank you, Jodi.  I will email it to all of you all this afternoon.

Have a wonderful break, everyone.

Mr. Bolger

February 9, 2012

Olivia shares her alligator skull

February 9, 2012

Dear Parents,

It has been a stellar week. 

Science

Ms. Powers has my core class working in the tech lab studying the stars.  I have had her class with me learning about waxing gibbous moons and figuring out why the light on the moon’s surface always seems to go from right to left.  Next week,  we will switch so I will be working with my core  class.  By the way, what a gorgeous full moon we had this week! Ask your child to keep an eye on it and watch it change across the weekend.

Handwriting and typing: we are continuing our work in handwriting using our clock letters. I'm seeing a real difference – though everyone needs practice to be more consistent.  We will be starting with Type-to-Learn 4. TTL4 is available for your child to use at home. Let me know if you are interested.

Reading:

We have begun a new read-aloud called The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. Ask your child what is happening so far (Chuck and David, two teen-age boys – are building a space ship out of junk in their garage, and they hope to fly to “a nice little planet – just my size…”).

Reading Assessments:  now that the reading assessments are completed, Mrs. Powers and I are very proud of the progress these kids have made in their reading. Ask your child to tell you his or her new “independent” reading level. Email me if your child is not sure.

Variety Show – next Friday (tickets go on sale Monday):

Don't forget that next Friday is the Williston Variety Show featuring our very own Horizon house band with Mrs. Powers,  Ms. Rodliff ,  Ms.Schwartz,  Mr. Mozill , Ms. Jacy,  Ms. Lemieux,  and Ms. Trasciatti-Holmberg, and even Mrs. Rodliff’s husband, Dan,  playing drums. The tickets are seven dollars for adults and five dollars for kids. They always sell out, so get them early. The evening is a real blast and an exuberant celebration of our community and the talent of our children.

Sharing (see accompanying Sharing schedule) : we have resumed our sharing, and your child knows his or her sharing day.  A new feature is that every week, now, we will have a new sharing theme.  Until April vacation, we will share only on these themes. And thank you for not bringing in toys or stuffed animals!

Review of our goals: we are looking at our hopes and dreams for this year – the ones  that we established in September. We are revising them now, as we reach our goals and set a “spring challenge”  for ourselves.

We have been safe, kind, and responsible!   Last week, we celebrated a month of great school-wide behavior with 400 kids and adults doing the Hokey Pokey in the gym.  Imagine.

I am going to try to sit down with Amy and the kids this weekend, and do nothing. I think you should join me.

Yours in doing nothing,

Mr. Bolger