Reading Strategies Video

Reminder of Family Literacy Night

Family Literacy Night

Thursday, November 16^th

6:30 p.m.

Learn about the reading strategies your child can use at home!

You get all this:

Snacks!

A Packet with games to practice strategies

Laminated book marks

Colorful plastic “gems” to mark your book marks

An entire Family Literacy Package

·         A game board with spinner and pawns!

·         4 books        

·         115 letter pieces

·         10 ask and answer question sticks!

·         1 minute sand timer!

·         20 sight-word game cards!

·         Activity book with 15 different activites!

Family Literacy Night November 16th

Mark Your Calendars!

Thursday, November 16th, 2017 at 6:30 pm

is

Family Literacy Night

for all families and students in the 

Title 1 Reading Program

Come learn and practice how to help your child read at home using reading strategies.

Games!

Snacks!

Give a-ways!

Fun!

Look for more information coming your way! 

Open House

Our UMS Open House is Thursday, October 5th at 6:30 pm-7:30 pm
Please stop in to the Title 1 room.
I will have information for you on our program and on the upcoming workshop in November.
There is also a goody bag for your child.
I hope to see you there!

Title 1 Reading Summer News

Summer Subscription to Lexia Core 5

Your child has a subscription to Lexia Core 5 that continues through the summer.

I HIGHLY encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful program this summer in addition to reading together.

Students who do Lexia Core 5 consistently have markedly higher reading skills than students who do not! (Especially if the area of difficulty is in the area of phonics.)

To access Lexia on-line:

Ø -Go to www.lexiacore5.com

Ø  You need to sign in to a teacher’s account: My username is lynn.mazza@colchestersd.org.  My password is April20

Ø -Your child’s username is their first and last name, no caps or spaces (eg.johnsmith)  Their password is their first name only (eg. john)

To access Lexia through a tablet or device:

Ø Download the free app through the app store

ØSet it up the same way as the website: Put in my username and password

Ø  --Your child’s username and password is the same as using the website

All students will be taking home their poetry books and word study books this week. Please look for these in your child’s backpack, and encourage them to read the poetry to you.

Have a great summer! Happy Reading!

Groups News

As we settle into spring, our Title 1 literacy groups have become very specific.  We work  hard on trying to fill in any missing knowledge students may be missing before they move on to the next grade. Through close conversations with the classroom teacher, as well as notes taken when students read, the instruction is now very specific to individual needs of each student. Even though we always strive to teach what students need, at this time of year the focus almost becomes hyper-focused on what students still need to learn.

As the weather gets warmer, please remember to read, read, read. You don't get to the Olympics in your sport, or the VSO with your instrument by only practicing once in a while. It is the same way with reading. There is only one way to get better at reading, and it is very simple. Lots of practice!

Check out the link below to find some new books about spring that might pique your child's interest!

Happy Spring!
The best spring books for kids

                                                           

New Groups, Conferences, and Reading Challenge

February has been a busy month in Title 1!

Due to assessments, groups have shifted. If you child will be having any changes to their services, you will be receiving a note. If you hear nothing then you can rest assured your child's Title 1 reading group has had little to no change.

Parent/teacher conferences are on the Monday and Tuesday that we come back from vacation. Due to a class I am taking, I will be at UMS those two days. You can expect to see detailed progress reports go home from Title 1 in their report cards. Please let me know if you wish to schedule a conference with me after meeting with your classroom teacher.

Title 1 is sponsoring a Reading Challenge over February Break. Your child will be bringing home a reading log where they should cut and paste attached "marshmallows" or draw their own marshmallows on the hot cocoa mug. Each marshmallow equals 10 minutes of reading. Once they bring the reading log (paper hot cocoa mug) back to school on the Wednesday or Thursday we get back, they will get to put a real marshmallow in their classroom jug. We will then combine all of the classroom jugs into a large school jug to see if we can fill it. If we can (which equates to half of the students in school reading over vacation,) we will have a school wide celebration. You'll see these reading logs this Friday.

Have a great break!

Happy New Year!

Wow! Time flies! We have been so busy working hard at reading, that I haven't taken the time to post on this blog in a long time. For that, I apologize!

First grade has been very busy learning about short vowels, blends, and diagraphs. Blends and diagraphs are those beginning consonant sounds that can occur at the beginning of words such as "tr" in "truck" or "cl" in "clock." Diagraphs are also knows in school as the "h" brothers. This includes "ch, sh, and th" like in the words "chick, wish, and this." It's tricky learning all about these different letter combinations!
Why is this important? You need to understand how words work in order to read them! Many people think the English language is very hard to learn, but in actuality, there are more patterns and rules than exceptions. Learning these can be the key to unlocking reading!

In second grade, we've upped the ante by discussing all long vowel patterns including magic "e" words as vowel teams (such as "ea" in "team.") These changes make the vowels say their long sound. We've also spent a lot of time discussing syllable types and how to break words down.
Why is this important? Believe it or not, once you learn the seven syllable types (closed syllables show us the vowel is short like in the word "cat", and both the magic e ad vowel team syllable tell us the vowel sound is long....we have learned 3 of the 7 syllable types so far,) and how to break a word apart, you can read almost any word in the English language! Of course, we're also introducing prefixes and suffixes (which have Latin and Greek origin,) but with yearly exposure to all of these things, there is no word in the English language you can't read and understand! Really! It's true! As students learn this, they can read anything someday!
                                                                       

Both first and second grade students are reading non-fiction text, and working on finding the main idea, as well as comparing and contrasting two books on the same subject (eg. sharks.)
Why is this important? It's not enough to be able to read the words, but you also have to understand the author's message and be able to think critically about what you're reading. This is just the beginning of the reading journey!
                                                             

The Holiday Season is a Great Time for Books!

With the Holiday Season upon us very soon, don't forget that books make great holiday gifts. Even students who don't "like to read" LOVE to explore their favorite subjects. Try a Lego Book, a Paw Patrol Book, or a book about horses. It doesn't always have to be at their reading level. Let the joy of books simply be in looking at the pictures! Happy Reading!

A HUGE Thank You to everyone that came to our Family Night last night. As promised, here is the short video showing how to do paired reading. Enjoy and thank you once again!

Cut and paste this URL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5RJyUnAkWM

or click on this link

Link to paired reading experience

Parents guide to shared reading 1

Here's a preview of our parent night on Wednesday.We will also be playing math games! We hope you can join us and meet our new Title 1 Math Teacher!

Paired Reading workshop part of our Family Night on November 16th at 6:30!

The literacy portion of our Family Night will be on Paired Reading, a powerful way to help your child with reading, without tears! Here is some information FYI.

The following link a great description of Paired Reading and how to do it.

Paired Reading

I hope to see you next Wednesday! Please RSVP if you haven't already by returning the bottom of the flier or emailing me at lynn.mazza@colchestersd.org.

Title 1 Family Night

Please join us on Wednesday, November 16^th from 6:30-7:30 at UMS

for a fun and informative evening!

Math games to play and take home PLUS a short workshop on a way to read together that is guaranteed to make reading fun for you and your child!!

You will get:

ü Popcorn and apple juice!

ü A FREE 300 page math and reading workbook specific to your child’s grade!

ü Math games to take home with all the materials including dice and plastic coins!

ü A fun and easy way to read together!       

We hope you can join us! Please RSVP by calling 264-5959 or emailing me at lynn.mazza@colchestersd.org. OR fill out the form coming soon in your child's home/school folder. We can’t wait to see you!

   

No Book Bags This Week

It is the time of year when students are assessed on their reading level and comprehension, along with sight words. In order to do that, I will NOT be meeting with groups this week, as I will be taking students one at a time to listen to them read. Therefore, THERE WILL BE NO NEW BOOKS GOING HOME IN BOOK BAGS THIS WEEK. This is a great time to get caught up if your child has not returned a book bag to me in a while.

I will keep you updated, as I hope to pick groups back up starting next week.

Reading with a Wiggly Reader!

Time is precious! But yet we know that reading WITH and TO your child is the only way to grow readers!
At this age we know children need to MOVE! So how can you read to your wiggly child? Here are some ideas from Family Fun Magazine.

1.) If you are reading a book where a word is repeated often, (like Brown Bear, Brown Bear), have your child jump up and stretch every time they hear the word. This helps them focus on the text you OR THEY are reading while allowing them to move.
2.) Read to your child while they are already involved in another activity (such as taking a bath or eating breakfast.) Since they are already moving, exposing them to stories during this time keeps them engaged.
3.) Allow them to use what we call in school "fidgets." These are small objects they can play with while sitting with you. Some great examples are koosh balls, a few Legos, or even Playdo.

Let them wiggle while you read to them, or even let them stand and move while they read to you.
The most important thing is READ, READ, READ, READ!

Our Greeting Share for School-Wide Meeting

Saying "Hello" in Different Languages

A Greeting During School-wide Meeting

This greeting focuses on saying "hello" in different languages. Each month we get together as a school to share parts of morning message such as greetings and activities. Mrs. Hoenigsberg (our ELL teacher) and I worked together to share a greeting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAVHEABtYw

      A couple of great reasons to come see us at Open House, Thursday, October 6th at 6:30

Please come in and see us this Thursday, October 6th at 6:30 in the Title 1 room (across from the gym) for our school Open House. There will be a free shuttle from Partner Tire for your parking convenience.

I have free fliers about the FREE TUTORING program that is offered at the Burnham Memorial Library on Monday and Wednesdays. If you are interested in this FREE program, I can work with the tutor from the library to ensure a consistent learning focus for your child. Please come in and see me for the flier.

Also, when you come in to my room to introduce yourself (or just to say "hi!") I will have a free book for your child. It's my way of saying "Welcome to the Title 1 Program!" I hope to see you Thursday night!

Reading Opportunities for Students

Often a parent of a student who is having difficulty learning to read will tell me it is a chore to get their child to read at home. The Burnham Memorial Library may have a solution! At 3:30, (days TBA) they will have Willy Wonka the Chocolate Lab in the library for students to cuddle up and read to. This certified therapy dog will patiently allow your child to read to him. Many times students will open up to an animal, knowing there is nothing but acceptance and patience. They are also offering Fall Reading Buddies. Teens from the area are available at the library to read to sit with  your student and read with and to them. Please call the Library at 264-5660 to take advantage of either one of these wonderful opportunities!

Welcome UMS Families and Visitors!

This blog supports the Title 1 Literacy Program at Union Memorial School in Colchester, VT.

Students who receive Title 1 Literacy services receive extra support in the area of reading.

Learning to read can be a challenge for younger students. I support these students and their families on the journey to life long literacy!