Be Responsible Be Prepared Be Respectful

Welcome to Mrs. Thomas' Reading Webpage

This is my favorite four-legged friend Miles taking a break from reading.

The Fisher Cats Reading Challenge

The Fisher Cats Reading Challenge is on!

All Kindergarten through fourth grade students attended an assembly on Thursday, December 8 in which the details of the Reading Challenge were outlined. Each student also received a postcard entry form & a Fisher Cats bookmark.

Our goal at the Ellis School is 100% participation in this program. There is NOTHING to lose and A LOT to gain. The New Hampshire school with the highest percentage of participation of students who complete the reading challenge will receive:

A $3000.00 ~ Grand Prize
A $1000.00 ~ 2nd place
A $1000.00 ~ 3rd place

In addition, all students who complete the challenge will receive 2 free tickets to a Fisher Cats baseball game. WOW!

Here are the guidelines:

Students must read 5 books outside of their required class reading.
Write the name of each book on the back of the entry form.
Fill out the remainder of the entry form and mail it in. Details are located on the back of the postcard/entry form.

FORMS ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE MARCH 15, 2012

Good luck!

We can do it….

If you lost your Fisher Cats Reading Challenge form, click here: Reading Challenge Form

If you have questions regarding this challenge, please contact your child's homeroom teacher or Mrs. Thomas.

What is a Balanced Literacy Program?

A balanced literacy program contains four very important pieces:

Reader's Workshop
Writer's Workshop
Word Study
Interactive Read-Aloud

The Workshop Format

The workshop format has come to be thought of as an organized set of language and literacy experiences designed to help students become more effective readers & writers.

The workshop model contains the following elements:

Daily Focus Lesson (for example: Good readers read with expression or Good writers write about things they know a lot about)

Teacher Modeling: The teacher then models reading with expression using a read-aloud book or the teacher models writing about something she/he knows a lot about.

Independent Reading and/or Writing : In reading, the students grab their "just-right" books and read quietly for extended periods of time in order to practice their fluency, as well as enjoy reading a book that interests them at their "just-right" level. A "just-right" book is a book that is chosen by the student (with guidance from the teacher) that is not too easy and not too hard for the student to read by themselves. In writing, the students grab their writing folders and begin writing and illustrating their own books.

Teacher Conferencing: A reading or writing conference is a genuine conversation between the teacher and student that enables the teacher to understand each student's reading & writing process. It is also a time when teachers can provide powerful, customized instruction that will help the individual student refine and extend his/her reading & writing competence.

Reader's Workshop

Students read a variety of self-selected and teacher-selected texts for extended periods of time. They construct meaning and make personal and textual connections as they learn from and about reading. Students learn effective comprehension strategies that they can apply to fiction and non-fiction texts.

Writer's Workshop

Students develop writing strategies and skills, learn about writer's craft, and use writing as a tool for learning and communication. As they write for sustained periods of time, they explore different genres and formats for a range of purposes and a variety of audiences.

Word Study

Students explore the meaning and structure of words and investigate the conventions of written language.

Students in grades K-2 use the Wilson Word Study program. For more information on this program, click here: Wilson Word Study

Students in grades 3 and 4 use the Words Their Way Word Study program. Words Their Way is a developmentally driven instructional approach providing an integrated way to teach phonics, vocabulary, and spelling to improve literacy skills. Using a systematic approach to word study, guided by an informed interpretation of spelling errors and other literacy behaviors, Words Their Way offers a teacher-directed, child-centered plan for vocabulary growth and spelling development.

Interactive Read-Aloud

Reading aloud to students allows them to experience a variety of quality texts in different genres. In an interactive read-aloud, the teacher pauses at significant points in the story to share their own thinking as well as invite students to discuss their connections to the story or to make a prediction of what they think will happen next.

Grade Level Expectations & State Frameworks

The balanced literacy program at the Ellis School is designed in such a way that it is unique to each grade level. Each reading, writing, and word-study lesson has been customized to meet the grade level expectations put forth by the State of New Hampshire.

For more information regarding the Grade Level Expectations visit: GLE's

List of Reading & Writing Genres by Grade Level

The following list are suggested literary texts set forth by the State of NH GLE's. This list is not meant to be exhaustive for any given grade level. The italicized genres are those which require in depth studies at that grade level.

Kindergarten

Nursery rhymes, poetry, fairytales, fantasy, realistic fiction, songs, chants, and non-fiction

First Grade

Poetry, fairytales, fantasy, realistic fiction, songs, chants, and non-fiction

Second Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, tall tales, realistic fiction, and non-fiction

Third Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, tall tales, realistic fiction, and non-fiction

Fourth Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, realistic fiction, folktales, historical fiction, and non-fiction

Fifth Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, realistic fiction, folktales, historical fiction, mysteries, and non-fiction

Sixth Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, realistic fiction, folktales, historical fiction, mysteries, science fiction, myths & legends, and non-fiction

Seventh Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, realistic fiction, folktales, historical fiction, mysteries, science fiction, myths & legends, short stories, and non-fiction

Eighth Grade

Poetry, plays, fairytales, fantasy, fables, realistic fiction, folktales, historical fiction, mysteries, science fiction, myths & legends, short stories, epics (poems, novels, dramas) and non-fiction

Let's Talk About Books

Distinguished author and Newbery winner Katherine Paterson suggests, "It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations--something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own" (Paterson 1995).

If you have recently read a book that has inspired you and you would like to recommend it to Mrs. T, please email the title and author to me.

One of my favorite authors is MoWillems.

Click here to be directed to his website with a list of his books: Favorite Author

Click here for a list of some of Mrs. T's favorite books to read-aloud: Read-Aloud Books

Click here for a list of some of Mrs. T's favorite books to read for pleasure: Favorite Books

Reading Aloud at Home

Jim Trelease, author of The New Read Aloud Handbook, says that the purpose of literature is to provide meaning in our lives. He believes that literature is the most important medium, more important than television, film, and even art, because it "brings us closest to the human heart". He states that reading aloud serves to "reassure, entertain, inform, explain, arouse curiosity and inspire our kids." (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

**********************************************************************************************************

Did you know that reading aloud is one of the best ways to help your child succeed in school? When reading aloud, keep these tips in mind:

Everybody makes mistakes. If you make mistakes when reading aloud, your child will learn that it's okay for him/her to do so, too.
Practice makes perfect. Find a book that you like and read it aloud by yourself until you feel comfortable.
Involve your child in the story. Have him/her turn the pages or take turns reading one page at a time.
Take your time and don't rush the story. Your child can tell if you're in a hurry. Reading slowly will help you to read more clearly.
As you feel more comfortable, try changing your voice to show the characters' feelings- joy, sadness, fear. These variations can make the story more exciting for both of you!
Remember that you are helping your child learn to enjoy reading. Try different genres of literature, such as poetry, historical fiction and comic books.
Above all, try to relax and enjoy the time you're spending with your child.

**********************************************************************************************************

Comprehension Strategies

The following information comes from Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis' groundbreaking book, "Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding" (2000).

Proficient Readers...

Make connections between prior knowledge and the text

Readers pay more attention when they relate to the text. Readers naturally bring their prior knowledge and experience to reading, but they comprehend better when they think about the connections they make between the text, their lives, and the larger world.

Ask Questions

Questioning is the strategy that keeps readers engaged. When readers ask questions, they clarify understanding and forge ahead to make meaning. Asking questions is at the heart of thoughtful reading.

Visualize

Active readers create visual images in their mind based on the words they read in the text. The pictures they create enhance their understanding.

Draw Inferences

Inferring is at the intersection of taking what is known, garnering clues from the text, and thinking ahead to make a judgement, discern a theme, or speculate about what is to come.

Determine Important Ideas

Thoughtful readers grasp essential ideas and important information when reading. Readers must differentiate between less important ideas and key ideas that are central to the meaning of the text.

Synthesize Information

Synthesizing involves combining new information with existing knowledge to form an original idea or interpretation. Reviewing, sorting, and sifting important information can lead to new insights that change the way readers think.

Repair Understanding

If confusion disrupts meaning, readers need to stop and clarify their understanding. Readers may use a variety of strategies to "fix-up" comprehension when meaning goes awry.

What is Corrective Reading?

SRA's Corrective Reading series is designed to accommodate students who have difficulty in reading. These students may be deficient in decoding skills (misidentifying words), comprehension skills (not understanding what they read), or both.

The Corrective Reading program directly addresses all of the critical components identified by the National Reading Panel--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. All skills and strategies are taught through direct instruction.

Corrective Reading is currently used at the middle school level (grades 5-8) for students who need more direct instruction in reading- decoding and/or comprehension.