Mrs. Shields' Literacy Blog: February 2011

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Why Should You Encourage Your Child to Read?

Why Should You Encourage Your Child to Read at Least 20 Minutes a Day?

Do the Math . . .

	Bobby	Billy
Minutes per day	20 minutes	0-4 minutes
Minutes per week (5X a week)	100 minutes	20 minutes
Minutes per month	400 minutes	80 minutes
Minutes per school year	3600 minutes	720 minutes
Days per year	10 days	2 days
Kindergarten – 6^th grade	60 days	12 days
Difference	+48 DAYS !!	12 days

Which student would you expect to…

· read better?

· know more?

· write better?

· have a stronger vocabulary?

· be more successful in school? In life?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Raising a Reader

How do you raise a child to be an enthusiastic and consistent reader? TV, videogames, computers, and other modern distractions sometimes make it difficult for children to focus on reading. Here are some strategies that the diligent parent can use to help motivate a child to read. These tips are from the PBS program Between the Lions at pbskids.org/lions.

·      Visit your local library often. Get your children their own library cards. Try a story hour or other free event at the library. 
·      Check out the local bookstore or book section of a local store. A book or gift certificate always makes a terrific gift.
·      Let your child see you reading, whether it's the newspaper, a magazine, or the latest bestseller.
·      Create a library for your child of new or used books. Look for affordable books at yard sales, secondhand bookstores, and library book sales.

Assessment Calendar for System 44 Students

Scholastic Reading Inventory

Every student at Lincoln will take the SRI three times during the school year. System 44 students will take the test during class time. Other students will take it during SuccessMaker.

Basic Reading Inventory

Students will be given this assessment at the beginning of the school year to help me determine . This test includes leveled word lists, leveled reading passages, and comprehension questions. The test is given one-on-one. It's a great opportunity for me to hear each of my student's oral reading, listen to smoothness, and rate.

Mid-Year Assessment

When students complete Series 14 they'll take the mid-year assessment. Since there are 25 series in System 44 this assessment might be more appropriately called the mid-program assessment. Some students haven't taken it yet while others will take it before the end of the school year.

End-of-Year Assessment

When students complete the final series of System 44, Series 25, they'll take the end-of-year assessment.

Fluency Friday

On Fridays students reread text from the Decodable Digest. A student partner times their reading twice and gives feedback on how the reading sounded. Spring oral reading fluency norms for 4th grade are 113-133 words correct per minute, 5th grade 129-149 words correct per minute, and 6th grade 140-160 words correct per minute.

When students finish the software they'll wrap up their time in System 44 and transition back to the regular LARS classroom. During the transition phase they'll take the Scholastic Reading Inventory, Scholastic Phonics Inventory, and the end-of-year assessment to measure phonics and reading growth. They'll usually join a guided reading group with Mrs. Steinhart during their transition.