31
August
2008
Week of 1 September 2008
iNews
I hope you have had a wonderful long weekend! The first full week of school went pretty smoothly. I can not thank you enough for all your support. This week’s article was originally written for teachers. However, I feel that parents are a child’s first teacher and that if the school and the home work together, students will have greater success. Reading is of tremendous importance and this article gives specific details along with references to support the claims. Encourage your child to read every day. I know that schedules are hectic, but think about the time your child spends in the car travelling to or from a practice…the time spent waiting for an appointment…etc. Maximize this time by toting along an interesting book or two!
The importance of reading
Getting students to read their textbooks is hard. Getting them to read books just for the sheer pleasure of reading is especially harder since kids just don’t seem to be interested in reading these days. Gone are the days when kids curled up with a nice little book when it was too hot to play outside. Today, students spend any free time they have watching TV, going to the mall, tinkering with their mobile phones or playing video games.
Still, the many benefits your students could reap from reading regularly should make the challenge of making them read a small price to pay. Consider the following:
- Reading develops a person’s creativity. Unlike movies where everything is determined by the producer, writer and director, books allow students to create in their minds how a particular character looks like or imagine how a scene plays out. Reading a book therefore, allows a student to exercise and cultivate her/his creative thinking skills.1
- Developing good reading skills can improve your students’ ability to comprehend concepts and ideas. 2
- Reading develops critical thinking, thus, ensuring that your students will be able to think and make good decisions for themselves.3
- Ones’ fluency in a language and, consequently, communication skills are improved by reading.4
- Reading introduces your students to new things and has the ability to broaden their interests. A student who reads a biography of Albert Einstein for example, may be inspired to take his high school Physics class more seriously.5
- Reading regularly increases the vocabulary.6
- Reading can develop positive values in your students. According to a study conducted in the United States for example, students who learn to read by the time they are in third grade are less likely to take drugs, drop out of school or end up in prison.7
- One of the main problems of today’s students is their inability to concentrate on their lessons (a result of their shortening attention span.) A solution to this problem is to encourage students to read. According to studies, reading increases a student’s ability to concentrate.8
- Developing your students’ reading and comprehension skills early on in their education also means that you are preparing them for the “real world.” Being able to read well means that they would have no problem understanding manuals, guides or contracts – vital documents and papers they will surely encounter when they join the work force.9
- Spelling improves when words are seen in print.10
- Reading also improves your students’ writing skills as they are able to “subconsciously acquire good writing style.” 11
The fact that students reap great benefits from reading cannot be doubted or questioned. It is for this reason that teachers must instill in students a real love for reading and groom them into becoming lifelong readers.
Sources:
1 Rabel, Nikki, “Reading to Children is Essential.”
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5287.html
2“The Impact of Trade Books on Reading Achievement,”
www.sdlback.com/standards/Reading Achievement.pdf
3 Ralph, LeAnn, “The Importance of Reading.”http://www.peopleoffaith.com/benefits-of-reading.htm
5, 6 “Benefits of Reading for Pleasure.’
http://www.pinescharter.com/teacherwebs/KScarola/Student%20Work%20Files/2005%20FAU%20
at%20PPCS/2005%20FAU%20RED4750/Kori%20Winters/Promoting%20the%20Lifetime%20
Reading%20Habit%20in%20Middle%20School.ppt
7 Wikipedia, Reading. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_(activity)
8 Haker, Paul, “Read away winter blues.”http://www.kernel.uky.edu/2001/text/0131/09a_arts.shtml
9Gallagher, Kelly in Communication Skills Expectations for Students and Parents,
http://www.ccboe.net/Teachers/kirkland_judy/files/965464C6604340088477A831352915D0.doc
10, 11 Krashen, Stephen in Communication Skills Expectations for Students and Parents,
http://www.ccboe.net/Teachers/kirkland_judy/files/965464C6604340088477A831352915D0.doc.
© 2005 Smart Communications, Inc. | All Rights Reserved
iPlans
MATH
Monday:NO SCHOOL
Tuesday: Factor Number Lines Project
Wednesday: Factor Number Lines Project
Thursday: Rules of Divisibility Lesson: Take notes in math notebook concerning the rules of divisibility Assignment: p. 12 #10-34 EVENS ONLY
Friday: Rules of Divisibility Lesson: Hands-on divisibility activity Assignment: p. 594 Lesson 1-2 #2-24 EVENS ONLY
SCIENCE
Tuesday/Thursday: Scientific Method (71A) Lesson: Penny Experimentation, Quantitative Observations List Assignment: Complete list of 10 Quantitative Observations about a penny. Due next class meeting. At home penny experiment – KIESEWETTER DUE MONDAY (9/8), HUTSELL DUE WEDNESDAY (9/10)!
Wednesday/Friday:Scientific Method (71A) Lesson: Quantitative Observations Con’t Assignment: Measurement of Length WS (p.19) KIESEWETTER DUE MONDAY (9/8), HUTSELL DUE WEDNESDAY (9/10)
iTIME
Monday: DRA Testing/SSR
Tuesday: DRA Testing/SSR
Wednesday: DRA Testing/SSR
Thursday: DRA Testing/SSR
Friday: DRA Testing/SSR
Posted: Uncategorized
26
August
2008
Picture day is this Friday, 29 August 2008! Students were given a picture order form today and should bring all orders back by Friday. There will be no late payments accepted for pictures, so make sure your child has returned their order form ASAP.
Also, student T-shirt order forms went out today. Each T-shirt is $6.00. T-shirt orders are also due this Friday.
If any of you are football fans, the Willard Tigers kick off the 2008 football season with an opening home game against Rolla. The game begins at 7:00 pm at the Willard Athletic Complex. If you are new to the district, you will be amazed by the sense of community at these events. Our marching band is fantastic and I know you will be “WOW-ed” by their half-time performance. And of course…you will want to get a funnel cake early in the evening before they sell out!
Have a wonderful week!
Posted: Uncategorized
24
August
2008
Week of 25 August 2008
iNews
So, the question is, “How important is reading to my child’s success?”. Interesting. It is of utmost importance!! I thought I would share an essay with you this week concerning the importance of reading according to Dr. Benjamin Carson. Dr. Carson is not a reading specialist or even a classroom teacher. He is the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital. His expertise includes separating conjoined twins and doing brain surgery to control seizures. The following is an essay that he wrote for the NPR series, “This I Believe”. I hope that you will enjoy his story. It is about more than just reading…it is about an amazing parent who overcame tremendous obstacles and inspired her son to be successful. I found it to be inspirational and thought I would share it with you.
Morning Edition, The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother.
My belief began when I was just a kid. I dreamed of becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and submit to her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother was illiterate; she had only received a third-grade education.
Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.
When I entered high school I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student, but I didn’t care. I was getting the high fives and the low fives and the pats on the back. I was cool.
One night my mother came home from working her multiple jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.”
I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.
I also realized that immediate gratification wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation.
I went back to my studies and became an A-student again, and eventually I fulfilled my dream and I became a doctor.
Over the years my mother’s steadfast faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I had to perform extremely difficult surgical procedures or when I found myself faced with my own medical scare.
A few years ago I discovered I had a very aggressive form of prostate cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine. My mother was steadfast in her faith in God. She never worried. She said that God was not through with me yet; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in my spine turned out to be benign; I was able to have surgery and am cured.
My story is really my mother’s story — a woman with little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe.
iPlans
MATH
Monday: Composing/Decomposing Numbers (N1C)
Lesson: Review of Multiplication Facts and Addition/Subtraction with Regrouping
ASSIGNMENT: Position Facts B WS & Cross-Number Puzzle B WS
Tuesday: Number Sense (N1A)
Lesson: Place Value City Presentation
ASSIGNMENT: Draw a visual representation of Place Value City
Wednesday:Number Sense (N1A)
Lesson: Create Math Journal and log yesterday’s lesson
ASSIGNMENT: NONE
Thursday:Number Sense (N1A)
Lesson: Review Place Value, Practice Word and Number Form
ASSIGNMENT: Word Form WS & Find Message WS
Friday: Week-By-Week Math Review
Lesson: Work independently, as a small group, and as whole group to complete problems
ASSIGNMENT: Week 1 “Keeping Skills Sharp” WS
SCIENCE
Monday/Wednesday: Scientific Method (71A)
Lesson: Read “Reasoning in Science”, Complete the Scientific Method Flow Chart
ASSIGNMENT:Scientific Method Comprehension Questions WS
Tuesday/Thursday: Scientific Method (71A)
Lesson: Read “Observing” p. 8, Conduct “Confection Connection” Lab
ASSIGNMENT: Write a detailed paragraph describing the object from today’s lab to a young child. Do not mention the name of what you are describing.
Friday: Scientific Method (71A)
Lesson: Penny Observations Lab
ASSIGNMENT: NONE
iTIME
Monday: How to Choose a “Just Right” Book
Tuesday: DRA Testing & SSR
Wednesday: DRA Testing & SSR
Thursday: DRA Testing & SSR
Friday: DRA Testing & SSR
Posted: Uncategorized
17
August
2008
Week of 19 August 2008
iNews
Welcome back to school! This is an exciting and exhausting time for our students. The Olympics are on television and my own children are attempting to stretch their own bedtime. I read an article in Woman’s Day Magazine concerning children and sleep. The article is, “6 Ways to Get Your Kids to Sleep” and it reminded me that older children still need 10-11 hours of sleep per night…even though they only average 8-9 hours per night. Here is a quote from the article:
During sleep, the brain sorts and processes information gained during the day. Kids who sleep more do better in school. And lack of sleep introduces other problems. Sleepy kids aren’t necessarily drooping over their desks, scientists say. To the contrary, they’re often cranky, hyperactive and less compliant—behaviors that are sometimes mistaken for ADHD. The obesity boost is serious, too: Two separate studies reported earlier this year, one involving infants and the other 7-year-olds, found direct links between getting too little sleep and being overweight.
It certainly makes me a little more aware of the importance of sleep for my own kids. Even though there are some times when sports or activities run late, a regular routine seems to work the best.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Kiesewetter
iPlans
MATH
Tuesday: Introductory Activities
Wednesday: Classroom Procedures and Expectations
Thursday: Number Sense (N.1.A)
Lesson: Numbers in everyday life
ASSIGNMENT: Cut out 15 examples of numbers from the newspaper, glue to looseleaf paper, then write what the number represents. You may have a maximum of two examples for each number type. Some examples of number types are: time, date, page number, temperature, stock quotes, bank rates, percentages, prices, sports scores, movie times, etc.
Friday: Composing/Decomposing Numbers (N.1.C)
Lesson: Review of Multiplication Facts and Addition/Subtraction with Regrouping
ASSIGNMENT: Cross Number Puzzle WS & Position Facts WS
SCIENCE
Tuesday/Thursday: Introductory Activities
Wednesday/Friday: Science Safety Introduction and Scientific Method Packet distribution
iTIME
Tuesday: Library Procedures and Book Check-out
Wednesday: DRA Student Reading Survey
Thursday: Fluency Through Song
Before: Introduce the concept of Fluency
During: Listen to “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and “Take Me Out to The Ballgame”. Hand out funny poems “My Bunnie Lies Over My Doggie” and “Let Me Out of the Classroom”. Practice reading the poems, then sing them to the tunes heard earlier in class.
After: Take the poem “School Supplies” and work together with your group to put the poem to song.
Friday: Fluency Through Song
Before: Review aspects of fluency: tempo, expression, understanding
During: Groups present “School Supplies” poem/songs
After: Discuss upcoming DRA reading tests and how fluency applies to reading ability.
Posted: Uncategorized
10
August
2008
Wow! It is almost the middle of August and that means that teachers are back at work getting things organized for all of the students who will soon arrive! I hope that each of you had a fabulous summer. At last count, our class has 28 students! We will surely be one BIG family!
Here are some important dates and times for you:
MONDAY – Aug 18th – Meet the Teacher Night from 6:30-8 pm. You can bring your back to school supplies at that time, if you would like. Get home early and get LOTS of rest for the big day on Tuesday!
TUESDAY – Aug 19th – 1st Day of School!! The first bell rings at 8:20am…tardy bell is at 8:40am. Be on time!! Bring a smile!
FYI: You will need the following supplies for my class:
- one 3-ring binder that will be divided for Math and Science class
- two boxes of tissues
- $2 for your Math Journal – you’ll get to keep this treasure at the end of the year!!
Other items that the Purple team would LOVE (but are completely optional):
- Hand sanitizer
- Extra tissues
)
- Post-it Notes (any size, any color)
- Pencils
- Loose-leaf paper
I look forward to meeting all of you on the 18th! Enjoy your few remaining opportunities to stay up late watching the Olympics…and to sleep in!!
Blessings,
Mrs. Kiesewetter
Posted: Uncategorized
