Parents,
IF ANYONE HAS THE OLDER VERSION OF CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY VIDEO OR
DVD, PLEASE SEND IT TO SCHOOL IF YOU DON'T MIND LOANING IT TO THE CLASS.
THANKS!!
I did a check and was very pleased at all the parents who check and sign
planners daily. The students were praised and given a treat and
recognition. Thanks for the effort in keeping your child on track!
Look in your child's red folder for 2 websites they can utilize at home to
practice their reading voc. and spelling words!
Just in from Mrs. Canfield the librarian:
AR cutoff dates: (remember 8 tests passed on their reading level each 9
weeks...)
2nd 9 weeks: December 18
3rd 9 weeks: March 5
4th 9 weeks: May 14
Your child should have passed 2 by now. Remember this does not include
the Storytown tests.
The passing % for AR tests has been changed!!! 60% is now passing or 6/10
and above and 3/5 and above!! This should help some of the students to be
more successful with the AR program.
I THINK I HAVE THE INFO NECESSARY FOR YOUR CHILD TO GET ON STORYTOWN SITE AND
STUDY, PLAY GAMES, AND ENJOY THE STORYTOWN WEBSITE. BE LOOKING FOR THE 1/2
SHEET INFORMATION IN THE WC FOLDER. IT WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS SO THAT YOU CAN GET ALL THE BENEFIT FROM THAT SITE AT HOME!!!!
******IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!*********
Access the activities for the new reading series @ www.thinkcentral.com
Fill in the information for state, parish, and school.
The user name is your child's FIRST AND LAST NAME, ALL CAPS ,AND NO SPACE
The password is their LIBRARY NUMBER WITH A ZERO IN FRONT!!!!
Click in "Library", then scroll to the ebook for grade 3 and click on it.
Next, click on the right arrow and then click on the reader we are using and
go to the Theme we are on.
Find the story we are working on.
The children can listen to the story, practice skills, or work on their
vocabulary using a fun game!
We will be using this website in class and the children will become familiar
with it!!!
I hope everyone gets a chance to utilize this great resource at home!!!!
***************************************************************************
A great thing to remember:
You can get on teacherweb site and go to "library" and click on Accelerated
Reader to determine if some of the books you have at home or you bought from
Scholastic are AR books.
ANOTHER AR UPDATE!! Some parents still have
questions about the AR tests and how it ties into their reading grade.
Hopefully this will clear it up for you. On the reports you get
periodically the only thing I consider is whether the
test was passed or not. 60% or above is passing. [ I don't even look at the
points.] I then look to see if the test passed is on their level. If it is
too far below, I will not consider that passed test when I count for the
required 8 tests passed each 9 weeks. If a chapter book is on their level
and 100pages+ and passed, I will count that as 2 tests. So actually your
child could read and pass 4 chapter books a nine weeks and that would be
their "8" tests passed!!At the end of the 9 weeks if your child passed the 8
tests , I simply give them an 8/8. If they only passed say 5, then they will
receive 5 pts. out of 8 in the gradebook. This is going to give
less "weight" to these tests. As an incentive if a child surpasses my
expectations and really does well (passes much more than just 8 and has a
good overall %) I will use that info. when averaging grades. If your child
has a 89% but an impressive AR report, I will give them a 90% A on their
report card. Believe me, those close calls are very common, especially in
reading so it is a good idea to try your best on AR. Another thing I do is
pick my top 2 girl and top 2 boy AR people and reward them with a gift,
treats, and wonderful recognition each 9 weeks. I am already very impressed
with many of the students. They are going above and beyond my
expectations!!!! Remember that your child has SSR time daily to read.
I tell the boys and girls to read the smaller picture books
twice before taking the quiz. Also, if they take the AR test on the week's
story we are doing in class, that test will not be counted towards their 8
passed. However, I am requiring they do that weekly during reading center
time on either Wed., Thurs., or Friday. I will occasionally read a book
aloud to the class. I will let them know if it is an AR book and if it is,
I will encourage them to take the test. If passed, that will count towards
their 8 tests passed.
Remember it is encouraged that in order for your child to be successful on
AR they check out at least 2 books weekly. They may go about 3 x a week
to the library either as an early finisher or at recess time. I have also
told the
children since the beginning of the school year that it is fine to take
their library books home each night but BE SURE AND RETURN THEM DAILY TO
SCHOOL so they can read them during SSR time. [silent sustained reading] I
have also requested they take their books home on the weekend since they can
get a lot of good reading done then because there is no homework. You can
also access the AR list of books through Mrs. Canfield's website. HAPPY
READING!!!!
I will be continuing to do random planner checks for parent signatures and
thorough copying of homework. Thanks again for my dedicated website
readers.
