September is in full swing!

September 18, 2015

Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe that we have been in school for about five weeks. The weather is getting a little cooler and I can tell fall is right around the corner. Before long, I expect to see the little white flakes tumbling out of the sky.

At school, we have been very busy learning. Our volunteer schedule began this week and I want to thank you. Everyone was so supportive and wonderful! I love assistants!

Since first grade is your child’s first real encounter with reading, it is natural to wonder how things are going for your child. Many parents have questions about levels, how their child is doing compared to other children and why I choose the books I do for their child. I will try to briefly explain a few things here. At conferences, I will be better able to individualize the explanation. Conference time is coming (Oct. 8). Watch for the Sign-up Genius invitation.

Books can be leveled by many different standards, but there are some common elements that are addressed. These include, but are not limited to, placement of text, repetition of sentence patterns, vocabulary, familiarity of objects and actions, illustrations and language structure. Learning to read is as developmental as learning to talk and children pass through similar stages, but at different rates. We use a system of leveling that uses numbers in our District. By the end of Kindergarten, we like to see children knowing all their letters and sounds and reading a level 3 on unseen text. So it follows that our expectation for the beginning of first grade is knowing all the letters and sounds and reading a level 3 on unseen text. By the end of first grade, the expectation is level 16-18 and knowing 100 High Frequency Words by sight. Remember, not all children pass through the stages at the same rate. Those that pass through more quickly are challenged with harder texts. Those that need more repetitions will get an additional dose of direct instruction to meet the grade level expectation. That is where we are right now – determining how your child’s needs can best be met using our testing to make a good fit (your child with other children with similar abilities).

Sometimes, a book will come home in a book bag that seems wrong for your child. You may even wonder if I am not accurately getting to know your child. Don’t despair! I carefully choose a book for your child’s group based on the number of new words in the book, the accessibility of the concepts and the level of the group.

There are times when after doing the “reading work” in group, your child may have the text committed to memory – remember they have less to remember on a daily basis. That is OK and a valuable part of learning to read. It is important to have your child point to each word. The goal is that after they have read a book they will have a larger bank of words to draw upon for the next book. At other times, it will seem as if the book is insurmountable. Soon, I will have a strategy card in the book bag that you can fall back upon to help your child. Gradually, I will teach your child many strategies. Since the English language is irregular, phonics can only help so far. Early readers need to use the structure of language and the meaning of language as supports to get to the unknown words.  Book bags began coming home on Monday. Usually book bags will come home Monday through Thursday. Next newsletter I will address writing.

Our first class book is complete and will begin to go home this week. Remember to send the book back as soon as you are finished, so the next family can enjoy it. Eventually, I hope for it to make its way around to all our families. I think you will enjoy the book. Bo Bear, our traveling bear will begin his weekend visits today. He comes with a bag, books and a journal for you and your child to write about his adventures at your house. I want your child to write as much as possible, but it is OK for your child to dictate to you as you write it. He, too, will come to everyone’s house.

For Social Studies, we celebrated Constitution Day on Thursday and signed our constitution

(which is our LARKS rules). In Social Studies, we also have been discussing the Language of Time. We sorted objects from long ago and the present. Then, we made a book about our past, present and future. Rounding out the unit, we studied a calendar and all the things we can learn from it.

As we begin out next unit of families and timelines, we will need your help to fill out a paper that will be used to assist your child with completing a personal timeline. Please find it in your child’s Friday folder. We wanted to give you the weekend to find the dates. A close estimate is fine.

In math, we have just finished our first unit on numeration and had the assessment this week. As always, thank you for your support. I couldn’t do my job without it.

Sincerely,

Susan Stark