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
