Marysville School
Reading
Readers Theatre - Coyote In Love, performed 12/4/12
Reading at Home
Students are encouraged to read 20 minutes a night. This is important and let me tell you why . . . or better yet let's look at it mathematically:
Student A reads 20 minutes, five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins/week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 mins/week
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months (school year)
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days.
Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.
One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think student B will feel about him/herself as a student?
Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better? Which student would you expect to know more? Which student would you expect to write better? Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school....and in life?
Core Reading Instruction
All students in our blended classroom will receive grade level instruction. 5th graders will go to Mrs. Lewis' room for literacy. If you have questions about your student's progress in reading or the 5th grade curriculum, you may contact Mrs. Lewis via email or by calling 503. 916. 6363. 4th graders will receive their reading instruction from me along with the 4th graders from Mrs. Murphy's room. Each week we'll focus on reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary development.
Novel Studies
My core class of 4th and 5th graders will do novel studies throughout the year. This will give us the opportunity to sharpen and fine tune our reading strategies. Be sure to ask your student what we are currently reading. I strive to pick engaging and thoughtful books for this study.
We are currently reading:
We finished:
This will coincide nicely with our field trip to see the Oregon Children's Theater production on 1/31/13.
We finished:
Quarterly Book Reports
Quarterly Book Reports
In an effort to continually promote literacy and to develop a love of reading, all of my students will participate in a quarterly Book Report Program. Your students “reads independently” report card grade will reflect the successful completion of each of these projects. All reports are due on time. Late reports will result in a drop in effort score.
Each book report should reflect a different genre of reading. Example, if the first report is a mystery, that genre should not be used agianfor the 2nd, 3rd or 4th reports. Genres include adventure, mystery, realistic fiction, historical fiction, humor, biography, fantasy, and science fiction. The goal is to try reading different types of books!
|
|
Format |
Due Date |
|
1st |
Skeleton |
October 26 |
|
2nd |
File Folder |
January 18 |
|
3rd |
Sandwich |
April 5 |
|
4th |
Wind Sock |
May 31 |
*Extra credit is available for students willing to do a book talk on any book they read. The book talk must be a minimum of 30 seconds. Students should see Mrs. Joy to schedule a convenient time for the class to hear it.
Students will receive a hand out packet with the scoring rubric for each report on the first day of the term. It is then up to them to plan their time accordingly and complete the work on time. I will provide reminders throughout the quarter but will not (repeat WILL NOT) provide any time in class to complete this work. This considered homework, just like reading 20 to 30 minutes a night is.
If you have any questions or need me to make copies of the various report instructions, don’t hesitate to call or email me – 503.916.6363 or cell 503.329.3456 or kjoy@pps.net.
Thanks, and have fun with this!
October 26 - Story Skeleton Instructions Layout Rubric
Please note: The Story Skeleton does not need to be created from a mystery genre. It should, however, be from a fiction read.
January 18 - File Folder Instructions
April 5 - Sandwich Instructions Scoring Rubric
May 31 - Windsock Instructions Scoring Rubric
