A Poem by Heart

There was a game my sisters and I used to play on the hall way steps called, “Button, button, who’s got the button?”  We would start at the bottom of the stairs and the goal was to guess which sister had a button hidden in their hands behind their back.  If you guessed right, you moved up a step: if you were wrong, you moved down a step.  About the time I was halfway up the stairs, I’d break out into a poem.  A poem I knew by heart…

Halfway down the stairs

Is a stair

Where I sit.

There isn’t any

Other stair

Quite like

It.

I’m not at the bottom,

I’m not at the top;

So this is the stair

Where

I always

Stop.

Read the full poem HERE.

There’s something about poetry that can excite children in unexpected ways.  It has to do with the rhythm and the playing with words that requires them to pay really close attention to what the poem truly means.  There are poems written on just about any topic and in many styles – from funny, rhyming, in shapes, or with two voices! Best of all, poetry is the perfect size… It travels well and makes for a great reading between dashes to soccer practice or while waiting for the vegetables to cook before supper is ready.  Here’s a little poem to encourage you to savor some poetry.

How to Eat a Poem

By Eve Merriam

Don't be polite.
Bite in.
Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that

may run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.
You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core
or stem
or rind
or pit
or seed
or skin
to throw away.

Here is a link to a website that has 12 links to sites filled with creative ways to encourage your child read and write poetry.  Check it out!

The Book Fair is Here!

The big cases that hold the books for the Scholastic Book Fair were wheeled down the school halls and set up in the library. This week the book fair will open for you to visit starting Tuesday, September 21st through Friday, September 24th from 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. There will also be special hours on the evening of Open House so families can visit. So on Thursday, September 23rd, the Book Fair will have extended hours from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

It’s always exciting when your child receives the Scholastic Book Order Form. They are eager to buy books that attract their attention. It’s a good idea to take a moment to go over some of the books that your child is interested in and develop a shopping plan. There is a spot on the back of the order form for just this purpose. As part of the Daily 5, your child is taught about finding a book that is a good for them – not too hard, not too easy. But if they do happen to purchase a book that is too difficult, it would make for a great opportunity for a read aloud.

Even if you child is naturally drawn to books and reading, you can still encourage the love of literature. Keep reading together. Even if you child is able to read well and reads alone, read aloud to your child. Reading books together offers opportunities for you to expand vocabulary and talk about the characters and action that takes place in the story. The discussions that will come out of reading a book together will help your child’s comprehension and build the enjoyment of reading.

When you come to Open House night, don’t forget to visit me in the Title 1 Room! I’m right across the hall from the library. I have handouts for you that are about writing and bookmarks with some nice questions on them to help promote your child’s comprehension while reading. I look forward to seeing you at Open House!

In the Midst of Assessments

There are moments when I feel like a rock star of reading. This week is one of those times – it’s reading assessment time! As I walk down the halls, I’m asked by students, “Are you going to read with me today?” This week we have been doing reading and writing assessments. While you may think of assessments as the dreaded test or pop quiz, your child usually comes away from assessments with a very different experience. Here’s how it goes…

When we read with your child, we are determining the characteristics and level of book they can read by themselves. Usually we offer a few books that your child can choose from to read and they select which book they want to read. The books are ones that they have not read before so the assessment provides a perfect time to see just what strategies your child knows and uses while reading. At the end of the reading session, the teachers share what they noticed that your child can do while reading. This is important because by sharing this information with your child, they know what they can do as a reader and come away from the reading assessment with a positive experience.

In writing, each child is giving a writing prompt where they write a story. In the classroom, the teacher introduces the prompt and your child works on their story independently. The teacher may talk about things they know about writing a story before they begin writing, then your child uses their experiences an imagination to create a story and tell it in writing (or drawing in some cases). Each writing piece is scored on a rubric and this information helps the teacher know what your child can do in writing and what they need to learn next to grow.

Once the teachers determine what your child knows, they can prepare what the next steps are to help them become a better reader and writer. You can find the results of the assessment when you look at your child’s language arts portfolio. Each assessment is saved in his or her language arts portfolio so that your child can reflect on their growth over the year(s) and parents and teachers can talk about your child’s work and share information with the reading records and piece of writing in front of them. It is wonderful to be able to look at your child’s growth over time with the portfolios. It’s like a time capsule of your child’s learning.

One, part two

Last week, our school celebrated International Literacy Day with a school-wide reading of the book One by Kathryn Otoshi. All of the ‘It only take ONE to…’ statements that students have written are now on display and make a proud statement of friendship, cooperation, and reach out to others in our community as they walk around our school. The colorful sentence strips attract your attention and they are being read!

I watched a class line up in the hall getting ready for lunch and heard a hum of whispered readings of the quotes. The display happens to be in an area where two hallways converge so there is a lot of foot traffic… and reading. Some of the students take a moment to spot their own quote and then began looking for friends or siblings quote but settled in to read statements nodding their head in agreement with what was written. Here are a few more quotes:

It just takes ONE to help other people when they fall.
It just takes ONE to make someone else happy.
It just takes ONE to turn a bully into a friend.
It just takes ONE to turn around the world.

Teachers have taken the opportunity to bring in other books to read aloud or a collection of books that echo a similar message. For example, Carol McCloud’s book, Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?, is a book that has extended the conversation around friendship and helping others.

If you are interested in looking for books to read with your child, I recommend the web site Kids Lit. The site offers book reviews on books from toddlers to teens as well as reading and writing information. I like the way the site is set up because you can locate books by genre, recommended book levels, authors, award winners and more. Check it out! Chances are good that you’ll find a book that is the ONE.

International Literacy Day

This year, we started off the year with a school-wide reading to mark International Literacy Day - September 8, 2010.  A good story sparks good conversations and Kathryn Otoshi’s book, One, did exactly that!  In the book, one character named Blue feels left out and picked on by another student named Red.  At last, one student stands up for Blue in front of Red and that turns the story around.  In the end, the characters learn that it is better to be nice and not to be mean or bully others because no one wants to feel left out.  The book was a great way to start a conversation about how we all need to cooperate and think about how others feel in order to have a supportive school community.

            The children worked together as a class, small groups, or with book buddies to come up with a statement that reflected what the book was about.  They came up with various “It just takes ONE” quotes.

“It just takes ONE to give confidence.”

It just takes ONE to have courage.”

It just takes ONE to help others.”

It just takes ONE to be a good friend.”

There is a display near the office that shows the thoughtful and insightful quotes that came out of the conversations our students had about the effects of bullying, cooperation, and the joy we can find in our school community.  As the year continues, we will be working on ways to make our school even better by working together.  And to think, it all started with a reading of a book… one really good book.

Reading at Home

In the next few weeks, your child will be bringing home a Ziploc bag with a familiar book that they have read in the classroom. There will be a form in the bag where the date, book’s title is written, and a place for you to initial after your child has read the book to you and send it back to school with your child the next day. Reading at Home is a program that has been at the Corinna School for over three years. It helps develop the habit of reading outside of school and provides a time for practicing reading. Your child should be reading at least 15 minutes (this is only a minimum; your child can certainly read more!) at home but we know that the more children read, the better readers they become.

         The books that your child brings home should be familiar books and ones that they can read with little or no help. When a child reads a book more than once, it helps them read at a faster pace and recognize words more consistently. You can tell when the book is just right because your child will have a nice rhythm to his or her reading and few errors. Your child can read to you or, in the case of an older student, read silently. You’ll want to ask them what the book is about or discuss their favorite part or character to find out if they understand what they are reading.

        Over the course of the year, daily independent reading at home will help your child to improve in fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and writing. But most of all, it will foster an enjoyment of reading and develop the habit of reading for pleasure. Encourage your child to read by providing a quiet time and place for reading, such as a time when the television isn’t on, a family reading time, or reading as part of the bedtime routine. As Dr. Seuss said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

Welcome

Welcome to a place where information and resources for reading and writing with young children will be shared.  As we start off the school year, I will post information that can help you get the most out of what’s happening at the Corinna School in literacy.  The classroom is an exciting place where all children are involved in learning through reading and writing.  Perhaps your child comes home and says, “We did Daily 5 today!” or “we are working on building our stamina.”  While this sounds funny, your child is trying to explain what is happening in reading or writing workshop.  My goal is to provide you with information about what is happening in the classrooms, post helpful links, and give support to help learning be fun.  Join in and subscribe to Learning for ME!