January's Woodpile

There is a window in our garage where you can see the cut and split wood stacked up. It is a portal into how the weather has been through the winter months. By mid-January, you can tell if the weather has been warm because there are tiers of wood stacked up to the height of the bottom sash of the window. If the weather has been cold, there is no wood visible. This year I can see plenty of dried wood. It's comforting to see the woods stacked so high. It let's us know we have done well with conserving the use of the wood in the wood stove. The sight of wood through the garage window is like a gauge radiating out letting us know we can make it through the rest of the winter in the warmth.


Beginning next week, your child will be participating in the mid-year reading and writing assessments. These assessments serve as a gauge to help your child's teacher monitor the progress your child is making.  The results of the assessments will be stored in your child's portfolio so that you can view them.  

The Family Literacy Night is schedule for Wednesday, March 2nd from 5:30 - 6:30 in the gym.  That's Dr. Seuss's  birthday.  Be sure to mark your calendars for this fun family outing!

Hmm… What is that?

 It was a remarkable 43 degrees out today.  Unheard of on the last day of December in Maine!  I went out snowshoeing in a field in back of my house and found all kinds of beautiful dried gasses.  Many reminded me of Dr. Seuss characters with their odd formations and twisted, curly leaves but there was an odd object that I kept finding as I tromped through the field - galls. 

Galls

A gall that I found while snowshoeing.  Picture by Eliot.

It is spring

the growing green stalks

are creating storage of food.

I’ll need sustenance

during the long, cold winter.

I bubble up my mixture

and irritate.

I crawl,

surrounding myself

inside what will be

my edible sphere.

I sleep,

waiting for spring.

When I will eat

an escape hatch.

- a poem by Sheila

Sometimes a walk outside gives reasons for a fun writing project.  I wrote the poem about galls after doing a little research.  Encourage your child explore winter and chances are good that topics for writing will be abundant.

One of my favorite blogs for poetry is The Poem Farm.  In this site, the poet Amy LV has been writing a poem everyday and shares where she gets her inspiration.  Lately she has been on a non-fiction spree.  It inspired me to write about the odd formation in the field called galls.

Good Fit Books

It's always interesting to talk about what a student is currently reading.  I like to take a moment to discuss with   my students what's in their book boxes.  This gives me a chance to see what titles they are reading and also an opportunity to talk about the books to see if they are understanding what they are reading.  If  book is to hard, a student may not be able to understand what they are reading.  What a student has selected to read gives me insight into their interests as well as opening up the conversation about if a book is a "Good Fit" for that student.

I enjoy this picture... look at how the bookmarks show the use of an avid reader and the corners of the book are curled from use and being toted around.  These are the books from Jamie's book box.  Jamie is a fourth grade student that I interviewed to help explain what a good fit book is. 

In the classroom, students are taught to use the I PICK ( from The Daily 5, Boushey & Moser, 2006) method to select books that hold a student's interest but are books at a reading level that is appropriate for the child so that the child can understand what they are reading. 

There are five questions that the student needs to think about when selecting books usig the I PICK method:

1. I - I choose the book.
2. Purpose - Why do you want to read it?
3. Interest - Does it interest me?
4. Comprehend - Am I understanding what I'm reading?
5. Know - I know most of the words.

I interviewed Jamie, a fourth grade student, about the books in his book box and we talked about the five questions in the I PICK method for picking "Good Fit" books.

Jamie - Good Fit Books from Sheila Cochrane on Vimeo.

 These are the three tiles that Jamie had in his book box in November 2010:

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness: Book One, Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Ranger's Apprentice: Book Two, The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan

Goosebumps:  Horrorland, The Secret of the Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine

The books that currently interest Jamie are fantasy and he understands what he is reading.  What types of books is your child reading?  You can use the I PICK questions to discuss your child's choice in books and find out if the titles are a "Good Fit".

The Tricky Parts

This afternoon I went out for a run.  It was the first time since we had the snowfall at Thanksgiving and the first run this fall with distinctive signs of the winter ahead.  I knew went I set out that it would not be my fastest run and that I would need to watch out for the tricky parts along the way.  After running in Central Maine during the winter, I have learned the parts of the road that will be tricky: the place were the sun never manages to find throughout the day, the corner where the cars and trucks push the snow into a thick mound, or the highly polished black glaze that is pretending to be tar.  Knowing the tricky parts makes the run more enjoyable because I know what to do.  I either get into the fresh snow where I'll have some traction or onto the tar if the roads are clear.  I have my strategies for making my run go smoothly. 

           

The books that your child brings home to read should be 'good fit' books.  That is books that are at a level that is not to hard or to easy but just right.  Sometimes, your child may have a book that is more challenging and has some tricky parts in it.  There are ways that you can help your child manage through the tricky parts by asking a few questions before they start reading.

           

One great way to prepare your child for reading at home is to ask them about their book.  You can start off by asking why they chose it.  This will help your child think about what they know about the topic or characters in the book and gets their mind thinking about the book before they start reading.  Then you could ask them if there are any tricky parts in the book.  Usually a child will know if they have had trouble reading the book in the past or if there is a new challenge that the book brings.  Most students will be able to tell you what they will do if they come to a tricky part and share their strategy with you.  You might hear something like, “I will look for parts of the word that I know,” or “I will reread the passage (page, chapter, or part of the book) until I understand what I am reading.” 

           

By just checking in with your child before he or she begins reading, you can provide the support needed to begin thinking about the story and what to do when they get to a tricky part. For more ideas on helping your child, I found a nice web site that has great tips for parents on reading and writing called Reading Rockets.  Check it out!

Read to Self

There are two important ideas when it comes to reading… when you read, it helps you become a better reader and writer, AND it is fun!  In the classroom where the Daily Five is happening, you hear the students talking about read to self. 

      “Children reading to themselves is the first step in Daily Five and is the foundation for creating independent readers and writers.  On the surface—like all components in Daily Five—Read to Self seems basic and simple.  However, we have found that specific teaching techniques can make Read to Self a powerful tool for enhancing all literacy skills.” (The Daily 5 p.46)

One of the specific techniques that your child has learned in “Read to Self” is to read the pictures.  In this technique, the students look at the pictures to help them understand the what is happening in the story.  Another technique is to read the words. This is the traditional way most of us read independently.  The last technique is to retell a familiar story.  Retelling a story helps the reader remember what has happened in what they read and provides a time to think about the details in the story.  All of these techniques help your child to understand the story they are reading.

When reading to self, the student learns where to sit in the room.  This is important because you need a quiet environment in which to read.  Elaina, a fourth grader, tells us her experience with the Daily Five’s “Read to Self” in an interview:

https://sites.google.com/site/scochrane1/home/podcast

The most important aspect of read to self is that it helps your child to build stamina in reading.  It is not uncommon for a primary student to be able to read independently for 30 minutes and an intermediate student to reading independently for 45 minutes!  Because the student has some choice in the books they are reading, it makes reading fun.  In the next entry, we’ll hear about “Good Fit Books”.

           

National Writing Day

Today we celebrated National Writing Day!  There are student writings posted on the walls and throughout the classrooms for you to come in and read.  Each of the classroom teachers wrote a short article for the second edition of our National Writing Day newsletter telling about what is happening in their classroom or at their grade level in writing.

            The writing workshop is used through out the school.  While it may look different at the various grade levels, the process remains similar.  The student decides on a topic to write about and may organize the storyline in some way, gets writing on the first draft, and rereads the story often to make changes or add details.  This process of making changes and additions is the most important part... it lets the writer develop the meaning in the story through details.

It’s the details that give the reader the images that they can connect with through the writing.  In some classes, they may call this a ‘small moment.’ In a 'small moment', the writer gives enough detail so that it captures a moment in time – stretched out by the author’s tiny details of the important moment. 

So whether it’s in poetry, a story about your child's life, or the non-fiction information of a favorite topic, look for the small details that capture your attention!

Keep your eyes open for the National Writing Day Newsletter that went home with your child today.  It is filled with information about the writing that is happening throughout our school.

Fact or Fiction?

So what have you read today?  Chances are that most of the reading you have done today was non-fiction reading.  My non-fiction reading for today included maps, newspapers, magazines, e-mails, recipes, lists, order forms and pamphlets to name a few.  The list of non-fiction reading is extensive and my list just touches upon the variety of texts we read on a daily basis.

Non-fiction

Fiction

In school, your child is reading both fiction and non-fiction books.  In kindergarten and first grade, the conversation about whether a book is fact or fiction begins.  Most students in the primary grades will be able to tell you if the story is true (non-fiction) or make-believe (fiction).  A good way to talk about the difference between fiction and non-fiction with your child is to start with fiction because children hears many stories.  You tell them family stories or read stories to your child and all fiction – oral or written - have a beginning, middle, and ending.  While the individual stories may be different, they will all have the quality or structure of having a beginning, middle and an ending.

At the primary level, the non-fiction conversation asks if the book is true or has information but does not tell a story.  I am always amazed at how quickly these young readers can figure out the type of book they are reading!  At the upper elementary grades, the non-fiction books are identified with specific categories such as biographies, procedural or instructional, explanatory, persuasive, or descriptive.  Your child learns what features are important in each of the different non-fiction text structures so they can navigate through the information confidently.  By fourth grade, your child should be reading a mix of 50% fiction and 50% non-fiction books and the amount of non-fiction reading increases through adulthood.

So what did you read today? When your child brings home his or her book tonight, ask them if they are reading fiction or non-fiction!