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- How is the reading program funded?
- How are children chosen to be in the reading program?
- Do you give my child his/her reading grade on the report card?
- What is the CRCT and why is it important?
- What strategies do you use to prepare my child for the CRCT?
- What are the casual and formal registers of language?
- What are context clues?
- What is inference?
- What is a metaphor?
- What is a simile?
- What is a word family?
- What is a narrative?
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How is the reading program funded?
We are funded through two sources. One is state-funded, called the Early
Intervention Program (or EIP). My program is federally funded through Title
I.
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How are children chosen to be in the reading program?
We use several different types of assessments: MAP scores, CRCT scores,
Star reading scores, teacher observation, report card grades, conversations
with the children and running reading records. We assess continually
throughout the year, and groupings frequently change based on the needs of
the students.
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Do you give my child his/her reading grade on the report card?
No, I don't. However, I do assign weekly homework, in the form of a
reading passage with questions, which is graded and returned to your child's
teacher. I also confer with the homeroom teacher on a regular basis
regarding your child's strengths, weaknesses, and progress. The homeroom
teacher and I work as a team to help your child become a better reader.
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What is the CRCT and why is it important?
The CRCT (criterion referenced competency test) is a standardized test that
is administered state-wide to all students in grades 1-12. The test is
designed to measure how well students have learned what the state requires
public schools to teach. Third-grader must pass the reading portion of the
test in order to go to fourth grade. Fifth grade students must pass both
the reading and math portions in order to progress to middle school. That
is why it is so important for your child to be at school every day ready to
learn. It is also vital that your child complete his/her classwork and
homework each day, get a good night's sleep and proper nutrition. By
working together, we can better prepare your child to meet educational goals
and achieve academic success.
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What strategies do you use to prepare my child for the CRCT?
In addition to guided reading sessions, one day per week is set aside
for "CRCT Practice." During this time, I teach in your child's classroom to
the entire group. We use reading passages with related questions. Genre
varies
from week to week. I try to expose them to fiction, non-fiction, poetry,
recipes--any thing they may encounter on the test. I display these on the
overhead projector, and each student has corresponding copies on his/her
desk.
I am teaching them to use a "reading strategy" to help them better
comprehend what they read. This strategy is described below, and each
student is expected to follow it both during class and when he/she completes
homework.
READING STRATEGIES (from the work of Dr. Ruby Payne, to be used when
completing the CRCT practice pages)
1. Box in and read the title
2. Trace in and number the paragraphs or sections.
3. Read the questions to set a purpose for reading. What am I looking for
in this passage? Underline the key words.
4. Read each paragraph. Underline the key words that will help you answer
the questions.
5. Re-read the questions.
6. Choose and mark your answer.
7. Prove your answer
In order to prove an answer, your child must understand the QUESTION AND
ANSWER RELATIONSHIP, a strategy I am also teaching them in class. It is
very important for children to understand that most answers to questions are
not directly stated in what they read. They must learn to apply their own
knowledge and background experiences in order to better comprehend. I
believe this approach can be extremely valuable in helping students achieve
that goal.
Answers to questions fit into four categories, as defined below.
1. IN THE BOOK/RIGHT THERE: The answer is in the book/passage and easy to
find. The words used in the question are often right from the book/passage.
When a student "proves" an answer, and it is RIGHT THERE, he/she must label
the answer RT and also note the paragraph in which the answer was found.
2. IN THE BOOK/THINK AND SEARCH: The answer is in the book/passage but the
reader has to put together different parts of the story to find the answer.
The answer is not found in just one word. When a student "proves" that the
answer is a THINK AND SEARCH, he/she must write T&S and note the paragraph
in which the answer was found.
3. IN MY HEAD/WRITER AND ME: The answer is not in the book. The reader
must combine their background knowledge and what they have read in the book
and fit that information together to answer the question. MOST OF THE
QUESTIONS ON THE CRCT ARE THINK AND SEARCH QUESTIONS AND WRITER AND ME
QUESTIONS. WRITER AND ME QUESTIONS ARE THE MOST DIFFICULT FOR THE CHILDREN
TO ANSWER BECAUSE THEY REQUIRE USING INFERENCE, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS,
FIGURING OUT THE MAIN IDEA, ETC. These questions require higher level
thinking. When a student "proves" an answer is Writer and Me, he/she must
write W & M. There is no need to note a paragraph number because the answer
cannot be found in the text.
4. IN MY HEAD/ON MY OWN: The answer is not in the book. The reader's
background knowledge helps the reader answer the question. Reading the
passage is usually not necessary. An example of this would be asking the
question "Which of the following words is a compound word?" The student
need only know what a compound word is. When a student "proves" an answer
is On My Own, he/she must write OMO. Again, it is not necessary to identify
the paragraph in which the answer was found because it cannot be found in
the text.
I hope you find this information helpful and will assist your child in
mastering these strategies. If you have questions about this, please feel
free to e-mail, or I would be happy to meet with you and explain further.
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What are the casual and formal registers of language?
After studying the work of Dr. Ruby Payne, I am convinced that the registers
of
language need to be directly taught in order to ensure the future success of
our children. There are actually 5 registers of language:
1. FROZEN: language that is always the same (pledge of allegiance, for
example).
2. FORMAL: standard english that is spoken correctly (the language that
shoud be spoken at school, in business, at church, etc.)
3. CONSULTATIVE: formal register used in conversation
4. CASUAL: language between friends in which slang, incomplete sentences,
gestures, or non-standard English are used
5. INTIMATE: language between lovers, language of sexual harassment
Many children come to school knowing only frozen (perhaps) and casual
registers of language. Casual register is non-standard English, and using
it is certainly acceptable in certain settings (at home, with friends,
etc.). However, in order for a child to become a successful adult in the
work place, he/she needs to be aware that formal register is required in
certain settings (at school, at church, at certain social gatherings, in
business/employment, etc.). I believe it is necessary to directly teach
this. It is very simple to do, and the children catch on quickly and begin
helping each other learn. Here is an example. A child may say, "I ain't got
no pencil." The teacher says, "Please restate using the formal register."
The child soon learns to say, "I don't have a pencil." The bottom line is,
in my opinion, that students simply need to be aware that there are settings
in which casual register is fine, and other settings in which the formal
register is required.
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What are context clues?
Context clues are one of the reading "tools" your child has available to him/
her. When reading and coming into contact with an unfamiliar word, that
word can often be "figured out" by reading the words surrounding the
unfamiliar word.
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What is inference?
Being able to make an inference requires a higher level of thinking. In
books and passages, the author rarely tells you EVERYTHING. Many times, you
must make inferences about what is happening in the story. The easiest way
I can explain it is this: The reader decides what is probably true based on
what he has read in the story and by using his/her own background knowledge.
For example: if the author tells us the weather is warm and sunny,
wildflowers are blooming, and a gentle breeze is blowing, we can infer that
it is Springtime.
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What is a metaphor?
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as if it
were something else. For example, "The world is a stage."
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What is a simile?
A simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another
through the use of the words like or as. For example, "Her eyes were as
blue as the sky."
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What is a word family?
A word family is simply a group of words with like endings. For example,
the word family -ame would include name, game, blame, same, shame, etc. We
work with word families frequently in class, usually as a warm-up activity.
I encourage students to think of words that fit into the families using
preixes and suffixes to make new words (for example, shame could become
shameful or shameless.)
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What is a narrative?
A narrative is a story that is told by a narrator rather than by one of the
characters in the story. A narrative includes several elements: an
introduction, a beginning event, the build-up, a solution and a conclusion.
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