Welcome To Second Grade

Welcome family and friends to Room 14! I am looking forward to another fabulous year of wonderful new experiences and lots of learning. Please visit this class blog weekly for school updates on special events, projects and maybe a few surprises. I will try to post on Sunday night or Monday as time allows. Your children are off to a great start and I am so pleased with my move to grade two after twenty-two years in grade one.

This week our class will review and practice the routines of the Daily 5. Our focus will be on Read To Self. The children will model to each other what Read To Self looks like and find a comfortable spot to read. Then they need to work on building their stamina for reading. At first they will read for 5-10 minutes but I hope by the end of the week it will be as much as 25-30 minutes. Reading research reports that in order to build stronger strategic readers our children need to read, read, read! So, beginning this week, students need to be reading at least 20 minutes every night. You will find a recording sheet that should be left in your child's homework folder. Each night have them record the book and amount of time they read. I will check this weekly.

I will talk more about curriculum at open house. I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday night. Have a great week!

Final Thoughts

As we all look forward to summer vacation, let me take this time to thank my parents for their continued support and encouragement throughout this school year. Thank you too, for the opportunity to teach your children. It was a year filled with wonderful growth and development with the children blossoming in all areas of the curriculum. Parents, you need to continue to give them care over the summer so they will thrive! Our little readers, writers and mathematicians will then move on to new gardeners who will continue to cultivate these little blooms.

To my colleagues, thank you for the inspiration and enthusiasm as we continue our journey. You are all fabulous and I love working with you each and everyday. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me. You make me a better educator for having worked and collaborated with you. May you all learn something new while recharging your mind and body this summer. Take time for yourself. You all deserve it!

Lastly, to the administrators who have guided our schools and learning community, thank you for your guidance and enthusiasm. You too, inspire and make me proud to work in the Reading Public Schools. Your energy and desire for the best for our schools is truly amazing. Thank you for letting me a part of the plan. May you all take time to rest, relax and enjoy your rewards!

Finally to all; please live well, laugh often and love much! I will miss you!

Reading Stamina Analogy

When we talk about our students reading "good fit" books, we want them to read for a sustained period of time. This can and will happen when the books and stories they are reading are at their independent reading level. As parents, you should not be concerned that your child will remain in "easy books" for ever. If the child continually reads something more challenging where they have to stop and figure out many words, their stamina and interest will waiver. Research shows that as students build their stamina and successes through the reading of a good fit book, they will continue to grow and develop into lovers of literature.

Think of it as a walk on a treadmill. If you start on a speed level of 4 plus and an incline 5, you will be exhausted, frustrated and unmotivated to continue your workout. Should you begin at a more "good fit" level of 3.0 for a couple of weeks, you may find in time, you will increase that level before you know it. Your stamina and skill level will increase and you will be ready to move up a level. This is an analogy of our young readers. Readers will be inspired to move on when the time is right!

Summer Reading Fun

Preparing for summer vacation always includes a list of summer readings. Don't forget to plan for your child as well. Your first grader has come so far this year so you won't want to let them forget all the skills and strategies they learned. Students should continue to read and practice strategies all summer. Here is a cute site from Scholastic that encourages reading and writing with our friend Clifford.
I will continue to share great sites through the end of the year and over the summer as I find them. Happy reading and be proud of your child's successes!

The Count Down Begins

I believe the number is 36 days left of this school year. Where did the time go? Your children have worked hard becoming strategic readers, thoughtul writers, problem solving mathematicians, insightful historians and observers of science in our world. First graders grow and change quickly right before our eyes. It is a metamorphosis of growth and change in learning. One of the many rewards of teaching first grade is watching this growth and being part of the changes taking place.

As you look towards summer, take a look at this literacy website called "Reading Rockets". It will provide you with suggested literacy activities to do with your child to keep their skills polished over the summer. The last thing you want is for their skills to become "rusty" from lack of use.

Please stay tuned for up-coming end of the year plans and events. There will be mixed emotions of happiness (end of the year), saddness (missing teachers and friends) and anxiety (over what the next year will bring). The Killam School community will make the transition very easy. Happy Endings!

Happy Vacation Everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their break away from school. My weekend started great as we were celebrating my son Ken's wedding shower on Sunday. He is getting married in July. I will also be spending time with friends up in Maine. Later this week I will be compiling lists of emails to invite participants to my KillamCafe wiki. Mrs. Macari and I presented a workshop on The Daily Cafe to over 60 people at Reading's Blue Ribbon Conference. We were very excited to see so many interested colleagues from as far away as Arkansas. The whole conference experience was awesome! So continue to rest, relax and have fun this week. Here is a Daily Five Photo Story that I used in the presentation. Enjoy!

Voki Web 2.0

I have been greeting my students with this Web 2.0 tool each morning and the students are loving it. Each day its a surprise as to the new character and conversation. I hope to have each student create a Voki so stay tuned.




Get a Voki now!