Student of the Month Assemblies

Student of the Month Assembly  Every month there is a Student of the Month Assembly. At these assemblies recognition is given to students for the special character trait of the month, Super Surfers handed in by students, and Remarkable Readers .

Super Surfers Super Surfers are notes given to students by staff and adults at the school for various accomplishments. When your child saves up 10 of these please - *Staple them together and write their first and last name and room number on the top one. *have your child hand them in to me. They will be called at the next assembly to receive an award and prize for every 10 they have turned in. Please note that if turned in close to the assembly date then they may have to wait for the next assembly for their award. ***You can save these until the following year**** Pogs I also use pogs in the classroom to reward students. Once a month they are allowed to 'buy' items from our auction.  Please donate any leftover party items or toys that your child(or you) may not want.

Student of the Month Every month Smith Elementary School will be featuring a different attribute as a building block in the foundation of teaching our children how to become good citizens. We invite parents to get involved and support our efforts. With your children as well as others, please teach them, talk to them and show them these attributes. At the end of the month teachers choose students who most exemplify the trait of the month - Student of the Month. Character Traits- September - Responsibility- is being reliable, accept the consequences of their words and/or actions, can be trusted, take care of themselves as well as others, and are accountable for all the say and do. October- Honesty- is being truthful and fair to yourself and others. November- Self-Control- is being aware of the thoughts, feelings and desires of yourself and others, and then making an appropriate choice of action regarding how to behave. December- Kindness/Compassion- is being polite and helpful with our words and actions, and being thoughtful of how others feel. January - Respect- is showing consideration through words and actions for: the worth of self, others, living things, property and rules. February - Citizenship- is behaving in a way that contributes positively to our school, family, and community environments. March - Cooperation- is an individual's willingness to be helpful and work together with others to achieve a common goal. April - Perseverance/Diligence- is to stick with a task and not give up, even when it is hard. May - Courage- is having the moral strength to do what is right even though it may be difficult.  Super Surfers Super Surfers are notes given to students by staff and adults at the school for various accomplishments. When your child saves up 10 of these please - *Staple them together and write their first and last name and room number on the top one. *have your child hand them in to me. They will be called at the next assembly to receive an award and prize for every 10 they have turned in. Please note that if turned in close to the assembly date then they may have to wait for the next assembly for their award. ***You can save these until the following year****

A,B,C's of Reading To and With Your Child

                                               The ABCs Of Reading                

To And With Your Child

Source Unknown

Ask questions while reading together: Who? What? Where? Why? When? This is one of the most important thing for comprehension. 

Buy books as gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or other holidays. 

Chat about what is happening in the book and how it relates to everyday life. 

Drop everything and read. Set aside 20 minutes a day during which the whole family reads. 

Examine book illustrations in detail. Select books that have large, bright pictures. 

Find books that interest your child. Make suggestions, but don't turn reading into work. 

Give hints when your child gets stuck on a word. Have them 'get their mouth ready and slowly roll their fingers under the letters as they say the sounds.

Have fun. Smile and enjoy the story. Read with a slow, relaxed voice and be expressive. 

Invite your child to the bookstore. Take time to lounge in the chairs and browse the books. 

Join in your child's reading successes. Celebrate every small step with sincere praise. 

Kids love to receive mail. Send your child a magazine subscription in an area that interests him or her. 

Learn to read with, and not just to, your child daily. Read aloud, share ideas, and answer questions. 

Model reading. Share with your child, whether you're reading for information or for entertainment. 

Never force your child to read. If you're both too tired or discouraged to read, take a break. 

Offer your child a variety of reading materials, such as books, magazines, cereal boxes, comics, and newspapers. 

Predict story elements, draw conclusions, and retell the story with your child. 

Quiz your child at the end of a story. Informally, of course! 

Reread books to familiarize your child with words and to build self-confidence. 

Sing songs, recite poetry, and do finger plays to help develop language and listening skills. 

Try to help your child understand that it's okay to make mistakes. 

Understand that reading is developmental and that it takes time and practice to become fluent. 

Visit your local library on a regular basis. Sign your child up for his or her own library card. 

Welcome wordless picture books into your collections. They generate conversation and allow the nonreader to create his or her own stories. 

"X hibit" patience when your child is selecting books. Your support is empowering. 

You are the most important person in helping your child develop a lifelong love of reading. 

Zealous readers are the result of supportive and nurturing role models. 

Alphafriends

These are the letters we use in our district.  In my class we say the sound of the letter, then the word that starts with the sound(I also sign it), and then the name of the letter. 

**Please review these over and over until your child can see the letter(without the picture) and can tell you the sound then the name of each letter. 

-Go through the whole set once, then do 5-7 (just letters, no pics) at a time.

-When they know it put those aside and add some more. Make sure to review the ones they 'know' as they tend to forget!

-You can also print 2 copies of the sheet(at the end) and cut them apart to play Memory or Go Fish.

 

sound of letter             word that begins with that sound        letter nameAh,Ah – Andy Apple-ay,ay,ay

B,B – Benny Bear-bee,bee,bee

C,C – Callie Cat-cee, cee, cee

D,d – Dudley Duck-dee, dee,dee

Eh,eh – Ellie Elephant-ee,ee,ee

F,f – Fifi Fish-ef,ef,ef

G,g – Gertie Goose - gee, gee,gee

H,h–Hattie Horse –ay-ch,ay-ch,ay-ch

I,i – Iggy Iguana, eye,eye,eye

J,j - Jumping Jill, jay,jay,jay

K,k – Keely Kangaroo, kay,kay,kay

L,l – Larry Lion, el,el,el

M,m – Mimi Mouse,em,em,em

N,n – Nyle Noodle,en,en,en

O(ahhh),O(ahhh), – Ozzie Octopus, oh,oh,oh

P,p, – Pippa Pig, pee,pee,pee

Q,q,–Queenie Queen, q-u, q-u, q-u

R,r – Reggie Rooster,ar,ar,ar

S,s – Sammy Seal,es,es,es

T,t – Tiggy Tiger, tee,tee,tee

Uh,uh – Umbie Umbrella,you,you,you

V,v – Vinny Volcano,vee,vee,vee

W,w-Wally Worm, double u, double u, double u

X,x –X-Ray,ex,ex,ex

Y,y – Yetta Yo-Yo,why,why,why

Z,z – Zelda Zebra,zee,zee,zee

Sentences for reading and writing

The Noun is at the top. what it looks like, can do and how they feel about it are below.

dog

looks          do             feel

    big           run            like

I see a dog. It is big. It is tan. The dog can run. I like the dog.  

 

The noun is in the center and describing words are placed on the outside bubbles.

The child can then write -The dog is brown. The dog is big. etc.

The following sentences will help your child with writing.  We will be writing and labeling from the first week on. I use Kidwriting and Thinking Maps to help them understand what they are doing when they write.  Discovery is the key to helping your child learn how to read and write.  

Practice reading-

1. I see a dog.
2. I see the cat.
3. It is big.
4. It can run.
5. I like the car.
6. Look at the cat.
7. Can you see the tree?
8. He can run fast!
9. She can go out to play.

These are the paragraphs they will be writing soon!! I only use these when the student is not developing their own sentences.

Descriptive -

#1

1. I see a 
2. It is 
3. It is
4. It can 
5. I like the 

#2

1. Look at the 
2. It is
3. It has 
4. It can
5. I like the

Narrative -

1. I like the
2. I go with 
3. We play
4. I can 
5. I like the

Ways to play at home-

This helps your child to learn how to construct sentences and not just 1 or 2 word answers.

Playing at sentence building is really beneficial also.

Choose a noun. -dog

Have your child say a sentence about it.

      I see a dog.

The next player builds up on that sentence.

      I see a big, brown dog.

The next player builds up on that sentence.

      I see a big, brown dog in the yard.

      I see a big, brown dog playing in the backyard with my dad.

Draw a picture or cut one out from a magazine. 

Label all you can.

Tell each other sentences using the labels.

Books are So Nice!

Books are the big cheese in our classroom! Almost everything we do centers around reading wonderful literature! And there's no better way to build up both our classroom and your home libraries than with school book clubs! During the year we will use mainly the Scholastic Book Clubs, which offer wonderful, current literature AS WELL AS a large selection of EASY and BEGINNING READER books which are sometimes difficult to find, but so appropriate for the k/1  reader!

Several times during the year I will send home book club ordering forms from Scholastic Books. In addition, I may send home software forms as well. At any one time, there may be 3 or 4 different Scholastic order forms for you to browse through and choose from! The more choices I can offer, the better! PLEASE KNOW that participation in this is PURELY OPTIONAL! Because the books are so reasonable I feel it is worth offering them to those families who wish to participate!

All payments must be made in the form of Cash or a CHECK made payable to SCHOLASTIC. In addition, be sure to include your child's name on the order form and send it in by the specified date or that Friday. I would love a parent volunteer to help coordinate this.

Parents,

When ordering books for your child from the Scholastic Book Club, you have two ways of placing your child's order.  In addition to the traditional method of sending your order and payment to school with your child, you also have the opportunity to place your order online at Scholastic's private and secure website.  When ordering online, you pay by credit card, so there's no need to write a check and send it to school.  You can order anytime right up until the online order due date, and you'll receive an e-mail confirmation of your order.

Here’s how it works:

• Sign up for a free account at http://www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.
• On the parent page, click the "Don't have a User Name and Password?" link, and then register for your own username and password. When prompted, enter this one-time Class Activation Code:  JM6VY. This code ensures that your child’s orders will be included with the rest of our classroom’s orders.
• Browse the titles with your child, and place your order with your credit card.  Placing your online credit card order is completely safe and secure.  Your order will come to me, and your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic’s secure server.
• After I submit the entire class’s order to Scholastic, your order will be delivered to our classroom for your child to take home.
• If you already have an account , you can place an order by visitinghttp://parents.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp.

Current Catalog:  TBA Ordering Due Date:  TBA

Of course, if you prefer, you can still send your order and payment to school with your child (checks only, made out to "Scholastic Book Clubs").  Orders placed online arrive at the same time as those sent to school, so don't worry about one method being faster or slower than the other.  In our busy lives, it's just nice to have options!

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you for helping to support reading! We hope you find this offer useful, but please remember it is OPTIONAL! If you have any questions, please jot me a note or email me!

Fun sites for learning

                                  

http://www.ixl.com/math/kindergarten

1. Cool Math - free online cool math lessons, cool math games & apps ...

   

Also visit my board on pinterest for more apps for students - Pat Miner

APPS for Teachers

Please make sure the application is appropriate for the grade level you teach!!! Apps listed at
http://www.apple.com/education/apps are approved, provided they are appropriate for the grade level.
Music
Bing Music
Drum Kit
Flash Music
Garage Band
Iheartradio
Learn Notes!
Lyric Search
Magic Piano
Miso Music
Musicnotes
Nutcracker
Pandora
Pulse
Rainbow Notes
Rhythm Racer
Shazam
Total Music
Trumpet Pro
TV Tunes
Virtuoso
What Note Is This

For All
ActivePrint
AroundMe
Dragon
Educreations
iBooks
Keynote
Maps
Numbers
Pages
Searchit
Wikihood
WikiHow
Wolfram

For Special Ed Teachers
ASL
Autism Test
AutismXpress
Converse
ECove SpEd
Going Places 1 and 2
IEP Checklist
iSign
iTranslate
ProLoquo2Go
Sign4Me
SoundTchLite
SpaceTime

For Media Specialists
AudioBooks
eBookReader
Ghost Stories
iBook
Iceburg
KOBO
For ELA Teachers
1st Grade Sight Words
23,469 Books
300 Sight Words
Audiobooks
AudioNote
Classics
ESPN Spelling Bee
Greek Gods
iQuestion
iQuote 2.0
Letters Lite
Lit2Go
Paint Letters
Poe
Poems
Shakespeare
Vocabolistic

For Math Teachers
ArthmeTick
Basic Math
Calculator XL
Calculator3D
Clock Master
Counting Money
Dice Throw
Elevated Math
Fast Facts
Flash to Pass
Freddy Faction
Graph It Lite
Graphbook
Math Bingo
Math Dictionary for Kids
Math Drills
Math Splash
Math Tests
Number Line
PCal Lite
Pizza Fractions
Pizza Math
Rocket Math
Ruler
Symmetry Shuffle
Tangram
Times Tables
TimesTableFree
TPP Free
Units
Wolfram

For Science Teachers
3D Head and Neck
3D Sun
3D4MeImages
APEuropeanLite
APOD
Chem Solver
Dinosaurs
Dr. Planet
Exoplanet
Gravity HD
Human Calculator
iSeismo
NASA
Periodic Table
Planet Facts
Planets
Science VL
Space Images
Stars
TCT Lite
The Elements
The Weather Channel

For Social Studies Teachers
AP Eupopean Lite
Atlas 2010
Constitution
FlagsWorld
GeoMaster
Geoplay
GPS Lite
Gravity HD
History Lite
MyGov
National Geographic Kids
On this day…
US States
Victory at Sea
Walking Tours (Paris, London…)
WWII Video Collection
Your Rights

For Art Teachers
123 Color HD
365 Paintings
ArtLite or Art (paid)
ArtsPicture Gallery
ArtStudie
Da Vinci HD
DoodleBuddy
Louve
Paintbook
Painting
SAT/ACT
AccelaStudy
Allen ACT
Allen English
Allen Math
Allen SAT
Easel SAT Lite
SAT Word
For Guidance
Bullying UK
Converse
iTranslate
Translate!

 For Career and Technology Teachers 
Health Science/Sports Med – CPR-Choking, Surgery, Epocrates, Eye Chart Pro, Body System 3D Quiz, Anatomy Lite, Bones Lite, WebMD, MedCalc, Hello Baby, Brain Tutor, Drivers Ed
A/M Design – PocketCAS, Sensor Toolkit, HOUSE, HOUSED, Architecture, ElecToolKit
Auto Tech/Collision – VehiCal, CarTrouble,
Cosmetology – Hairstyle, Best Hair, Makeover Lite, Salon Formula, SalonPerm, Skin.Hair.Nails, Easy Makeup and Hair, CelebMakeupBusiness - Finance, Entreprenuer, Mint.com, Y!Finance, Money, Acc&Fin
Carpentry – iHandy Level, iBallIt, TapeMeasure, Clinometer, TiltMeter, Carpentry, CDRecycler, CabinsSheds, Bidding Buddy, Flashlight
ROTC – MIL Gallery 01, Military Abbrs., Sigacts, US Army
Culinary Arts – CIA, Epicurious, How to Cook, FoodFaves, Cook’s Illustrated

DIBELS - Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

DIBELS are a series of short tests given to children in kindergarten through third grade to screen and monitor their progress in learning the necessary skills to become successful readers. Many elementary schools across the nation are using DIBELS as part of their ongoing assessments to hel all children become successful readers. All DIBELS measures are timed with most taking only one minute. The reason for the timing is to find out if a child is able to answer the questions automatically and not take a long time to think about how to answer the questions or read the words correctly. Having these basic reading skills at the automatic level allows children to focus on understanding the meaning of what

they are reading.

Letter Naming(LNF)

Kindergarten and first grade students are given a page with letters and asked to name each one. This test tells us if the child is likely to struggle or be a successful reader in the future. It only takes one minute to give this test.

Initial Sounds(ISF)

By the middle of kindergarten, children should be able to say or recognize the beginning sounds in words automatically. To measure this with DIBELS, students are given a page with four pictures. They are asked to find the picture that starts with a particular sound or to say the beginning or initial sound in a word. 1 minute is given.

Phoneme Segmentation(PS)

This is a measure of children’s awareness of the many sounds that make up words we speak. It is given to kindergarten and first grade students and is a skill that should be mastered by the end of kindergarten. The child is told a word like cat and asked to say all of the sounds in the word. There are three sounds in cat – c-a-t. They have one minute to test.

Nonsense Words(NWF)

The ability to blend together the sounds represented by letters to make words is an important skill in learning to read. This skill helps children in kindergarten, first and second grade to use their knowledge of the relationship between letters and sounds to read unfamiliar words. Children are shown a page of make-believe words, like tob or miv and asked to read them by saying the individual sound of each letter in the word or the whole word itself. It takes only one minute to give this test.

If your child is just beginning to learn to read

At home you can help your child by...

• Practicing the sounds of language. Read books with rhymes. Teach your child rhymes, short poems, and songs. Play simple word games: How many words can you make up that sound like the word bat?
• Helping your child take spoken words apart and put them together. Help your child separate the sounds in words, listen for beginning and ending sounds, and put separate sounds together.
• Practicing the alphabet by pointing out letters wherever you see them and by reading alphabet books

If your child is just beginning to read

At home you can help your child by...

• Pointing out the letter-sound relationships your child is learning on labels, boxes, newspapers, magazines and signs.
• Listening to your child read words and books from school. Be patient and listen as your child practices. Let your child know you are proud of his reading.

If your child is reading

At home you can help your child by...

• Rereading familiar books. Children need practice in reading comfortably and with expression using books they know.
• Building reading accuracy. As your child is reading aloud, point out words he missed and help him read words correctly. If you stop to focus on a word, have your child reread the whole sentence to be sure he understands the meaning.
• Building reading comprehension. Talk with your child about what she is reading. Ask about new words. Talk about what happened in a story. Ask about the characters, places, and events that took place. Ask what new information she has learned from the book. Encourage her to read on her own.

Practice pages:



LNF – How many letters can they name in 1 minute? Mark it and repeat together and do it again or the next day. There will be improvements!!


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